A new documentary looks at the colorful life of one-and-done James Bond actor George Lazenby.
That man was George Lazenby.
A mutual friend of mine and Georges essentially introduced us, says Greenbaum.
You, as a filmmaker, I think would be interested to meet with him.
I mean, they were capturing a bit of me.
I once did a book with a guy, and Ive never released it because its not me.
Its, you know, what his version of me is, rather than me.
I know that he got all the locations right, and the dates right, but it wasnt me.
Of course, part of the inspiration is creative limitations.
I dont have footage of him.
Theres a good amount of footage of him once he becomes Bond but everything prior, theres really nothing.
The movies I was drawing from in my head were Forrest Gump and Big Fish.
Thats really what his story felt like to me, this incredible larger-than-life tale.
I was peeing backwards into my kidneys, says Lazenby calmly.
They didnt know why I was screaming every time I had a pee.
They operated on my bladder 68 times over a period of 18 months.
And I had half a kidney left.
Absolutely, he affirms when asked if that was the case.
See, I didnt believe in authority.
Because the doctors screwed up 68 times.
And they were gods.
They were demigods in that society.
And I thought, I dont think so!
I thought everyone was wrong about everything.
So I never listened to anybody.
It was that headlong confidence that led Lazenby to try his luck with 007.
I tried to make it fun, says Lazenby of his overnight fame at the time.
I went out every night.
Stayed out till daybreak.
I used to sleep two or three hours a day.
In those days I could do that.
I went to nightclubs.
I was like, Shit!
You start believing it.
I had a good relationship with everyone, he maintains.
We fell out a couple of times.
Telly Savalas and I got along.
Even though Telly tried to steal my per diem playing poker.
And the accountant looked at Harry and Harry looked back at the accountant and said, Tell him.
And so I gave Harry this look, and he said, Okay, give him a thousand.
But I didnt have anywhere to spend it.
Telly saw that and said, Hey kid, you play poker?
The next thing I know I lost half of it!
I never felt it was me, he says.
I always felt it was James Bond.
But I had what they were looking for, whatever that was.
But I didnt want to be an actor in the first place.
Of course, Georges performance is really strong, especially given his background.
anybody who had stepped into that spot would be compared to Connery.
I dont think audiences were quite ready for that.
Its the best story, opines Lazenby.
And it stuck to the book.
And, I mean, I was sincere.
I didnt know how to act, but I was sincere.
And it came across.
This is Georges version of his story, says Greenbaum.
Becoming Bondis now available on Hulu.
