His name is Lazenby, George Lazenby. And though his reign as James Bond was short-lived, he remains a legend.
May 20th marked the premiere of the new Hulu documentary Becoming Bond which follows the rise and fall of the one-time Australian James Bond, George Lazenby. Before the film was released to the public however, Hulu kicked off the occasion in true Bond fashion. The company paired with The Cinefamily on May 17th for the West Coast premiere of Becoming Bond preceding a special screening of On Her Majesty’s Secret Service and of course a “shaken not stirred” cocktail reception.
While the theatre was filled with Bond fans, there were also some notable attendees including Lazenby himself, actor Josh Lawson who plays Lazenby in the reenactments, actress Kassandra Clementi who plays “the one who got away” Belinda, and director and writer Josh Greenbaum. Following the documentary’s screening the cast opened themselves up during a Q&A where they were able to discuss recreating the, at times surreal, life of George Lazenby.
To label Becoming Bond a documentary would be a slight misnomer, as it diverts from typical doc fashion. The entire film rests solely on the accounts of Lazenby himself, with a few splits into live video footage from his Bond days. Lazenby takes viewers through what he considers the highlights of his life. From not graduating high school, to becoming a used car salesman turned male model, through some rather promiscuous times before and while he played Bond, to his final moments in the spotlight when he walked away from all of it and all the while recounting his love for Belinda.
Throughout the screening audience members will catch themselves saying, “There’s no way that’s how it happened.” And it’s possible they’re right. But after understanding the essence and aura of George Lazenby, one realizes it doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter that Belinda was a brunette instead of a blonde, it doesn’t matter that Lazenby supposedly stole Sean Connery’s actual suit for this Bond audition, none of it matters because to Lazenby it’s incredibly real and no matter different his road looks from reality, it still got him to Bond. Hulu brings to screens a docu-memory of sorts, in which the details and even the reality of the discussed events comes secondary to the man we become entranced in.
While talking to Lawson after the event, he laughed about a particular reenacted memory, in which Lazenby travels to London to reunite with Belinda only to find her in a pub drinking with the Oxford Polo team and her new boyfriend, the team captain.
“I don’t know why I get so caught up on that detail, that he was the ‘captain’,” Lawson said shaking his head, “but that’s so George (Lazenby) when he’s telling a story, maybe she was dating a polo player, but no, to George he was the ‘captain’.”
But that gift of story telling and that audaciousness is what defines Lazenby. He truly gives power to the idea that if you describe your life as legendary long enough, it becomes so. And while his outlandishness, arrogance, and a touch of misogyny is what led him to walk away from Bond and end his acting career, without that same personality he would not have won the role and opportunity to walk away from in the first place.
Lawson went on to summarize it the best, “If everyone acted like just a touch of George, they’d probably end up having one hell of a life.”
Becoming Bond is now available to stream on Hulu.