Former James Bond actor George Lazenby announces retirement from acting: ‘Getting old is no fun’

Bond actor had the shortest tenure in franchise’s history

George Lazenby, the Australian actor best known for playing James Bond in the 1969 film On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, has announced his retirement from acting.

The 84-year-old said in a statement that his career has been a “fun ride but getting older is no fun”.

“This hasn’t been an easy decision but it’s time to announce my retirement from work. Therefore, I won’t be doing any more acting or making public appearances, doing any more interviews or signing any more autographs as of today,” he said.

Lazenby, who also played Civil War General J Johnson Pettigrew in the 1993 film Gettysburg, said he will be concentrating on spending time with his family in Los Angeles.

“I would like to thank my manager and friend, Anders Frejdh, for helping me since 2013 - the best representative I ever had,” he said. “My sincere gratitude to everyone out there for your love and support over the years. It has meant a lot to me.”

George Lazenby poses with his wax figure at Madame Tussauds in 2015 (Getty Images)

He was the second actor – and only Australian so far – to play British MI6 agent 007 in the James Bond movie franchise, replacing Sean Connery after five films. But unlike ​​his Bond colleagues – Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton, Pierce Brosnan and Daniel Craig – Lazenby played Bond only once. He has the shortest Bond tenure in the franchise’s history.

According to Lanzeby, and the 2017 documentary Becoming Bond, Lanzeby turned down a million-dollar contract proposed by the studio after shooting his first Bond.

The documentary explored how a young Lanzeby, who was a model with no acting experience, sweet-talked his way into the audition room by pretending to be a seasoned actor and nailed the part.

Lazenby in his Bond role, ‘On Her Majesty’s Secret Service’ (Getty Images)

Speaking to The Guardian in 2017 about why he turned down continuing with Bond, he said: “I had advice that James Bond was over anyway. It was Sean Connery’s gig and, being in the 60s, it was love, not war. You know, hippy time. And I bought into that.”

“They also said there’s a guy called Clint Eastwood doing movies in Italy, getting 500 grand for a month, for doing a western. They said, you could do that. So I didn’t feel like I was losing the million dollars.”

He said that he decided to take part in the documentary Becoming Bond because he felt as though the industry had branded him a one-hit-wonder, but wanted to tell his own story.

Lazenby photographed in 2016 (Getty Images)

“Word got around that I was difficult to handle. They said that was the reason I didn’t do another Bond, but that wasn’t the truth,” he said.

More recently, his work has included a voice role in the DC Batman animated series, Batman Beyond and as Jim Jefferies’ father in the 2004 film Legit.

In March, Lazenby showed his support for the potential casting of Nowhere Boy actor Aaron Taylor-Johnson, who is rumoured to be the next James Bond, taking over from Daniel Craig.

Lazenby said he believes that the 33-year-old “can handle the stunts, and all the ladies who love a man in a tux”.