13 Hyped Movie Roles That Were Total Cop-Outs

8. James Bond (George Lazenby) - On Her Majesty's Secret Service

First things first, this is not yet another opportunity to excoriate George Lazenby for his lack of acting experience and, as some will attest, his "bad" performance as James Bond.

Lazenby is actually a perfectly fine Bond, and On Her Majesty's Secret Service is easily one of the most under-appreciated films in the entire 007 canon.

The problem with Lazenby, then, is that he foolishly quit the role after just a single movie - before OHMSS was even released, in fact - never giving audiences the opportunity to truly warm to him as the iconic spy.

Sean Connery of course returned to the role for 1971's Diamonds Are Forever, serving as a palate cleanser to audiences before the Roger Moore era began with Live and Let Die in 1973.

But had Lazenby at least stuck around for another movie, he likely wouldn't be the black sheep of the Bond line-up that he unmistakably is.

After all, Timothy Dalton only ever played 007 twice, but he's a firmly respected member of the Bond family and is often held up as one of the more novel-accurate depictions of the character.

Lazenby's acting chops were undeniably rough around the edges, but considering how well he pulled off the more caustic and emotional aspects of Bond, it was extraordinarily short-sighted of him to ditch the part after just one film.