25 Mind-Blowing James Bond Facts You Need To Know

The 1969 film, On Her Majesty's Secret Service, was the first official Bond film that didn’t star Sean Connery. Looking to recast the role, the producers auditioned an Australian called George Lazenby who claimed to have starred in many films in his home country. Wowed by his charm and experience, Lazenby won the role. The studio was so excited, they signed Lazenby for seven films.

However, Lazenby wasn’t an actor. He was a cars salesman.

Before the audition, he went to the same barber as Connery and got the same haircut so he would look like Bond.

Another reason why Lazenby won the role was because he was a two-time skiing champion, which the producers thought was perfect since skiing played a huge part in the story.

However, Lazenby refused to use a stuntman for the harder skiing scenes and broke his arm during filming, which delayed production. Believing that Lazenby was cocky and unprofessional, the producers decided to terminate his contract.

Lazenby was sure the spy genre was on the way out and so, was more than happy to walk away from the franchise. Ironically, Connery loved the film and regretted not starring in it.