Australian actor George Lazenby, best known for portraying James Bond in the 1969 romp On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, has announced his retirement.
Lazenby said he plans to hang up his acting boots for good in a statement shared on social media this morning.
“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,” Lazenby wrote in his first of a series of retirement posts.
“It’s been a fun ride but getting older is no fun. I would like to thank my manager and friend, Anders Frejdh, for helping me since 2013 – the best representative I ever had. I can now concentrate on spending more time with my family. My sincere gratitude to everyone out there for your love and support over the years. It has meant a lot to me. George xx.”
Lazenby, 84, was the second actor to play MI6 agent 007 in the James Bond movie franchise, replacing Sean Connery. He had the shortest tenure as Bond, only acting in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service. Connery later returned to the James Bond universe with the 1971 feature Diamonds Are Forever.
In his post-Bond career, Lazenby acted in TV movies, and commercials, and had various recurring roles in TV series. Some of his other credits include the Emmanuelle film series and several James Bond movie spoofs. He most recently starred in the action flick Mundije.
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