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Comments
Much as Cubby is a legend and a genius, this is a silly comment. They were lucky Lazenby ‘DID’ have some natural raw acting ability.
And also I would suggest he wasn't really telling the truth there: especially as they hired Roger Moore a couple of years later- a man with almost no athletic ability at all! :)
I agree that Lazenby impressed more than this guy, although we've only seen him in the finished film where for all we know there were multiple takes to choose the best from and each shot being more intensely directed to coax a performance from Lazenby. From the sounds of that interview this guy was kind of chucked in the deep end a bit more!
Agreed on all points.
He says Tracy as well though, and bearing in mind OHMSS was the previous film (and not the book before DAF) it's a bit weird to have him sort of casually tossing that name out playfully.
A little bit harsh saying Moore didn't have any athletic ability at all. Have to remember he is the oldest Bond, and the oldest when he first took the role. Look how Connery moves in NSNA again - age catches us all. I know from myself how athletic I was up until 40 (boxing, martial arts, football, running), after which you can't help but start to creak a bit. I can still get involved but it gets tougher and tougher.
He does mostly ok I think, especially from LALD to TSWLM. He has the odd good moment later in the series. Obviously he is not moving like Craig, or sprightly like Lazenby. But he can throw a good enough punch early on in his career and up to about TSWLM. Not sure if back in those days a team of trainers would help an actor look more convincing on screen, like they do now. If they had, he might have looked more dynamic in those later films.
Also, he was athletic enough given what films were like back then. Comparing the fight scenes from LALD to OP with films made during the same period shows they are pretty much level with anything being produced, bar the odd one or two examples (and discounting Kung Fu movies - which don't really have the same style as Bond).
No doubt he is the least athletic Bond actor, but had he taken the role at 35 rather than 45 we might have a different opinion.
Why he turned down to FYEO screentest?
I don't know, if you watch him in anything when he was 35 I think you get much the same impression! It's not a great fault of his, I think his strengths lay in other areas and I think he's terrific regardless, but athleticism was just never one of his selling points! :) And Connery in NSNA doesn't exactly move badly- look at him sprinting off when he hears Rowan Atkinson sneaking up in the final scene. He was still pretty trim.
Imagine an actor being cast as James Bond today and actually asking to not be shown on screen running! :D I think Rog is only really seen running once or twice as Bond and you can see why he asked them not show it!
From what I read, Lazenby didn't get that many takes, which was one of his big complaints afterwards. He said that if he'd been a more experienced actor, he would've asked to try the scene again, but Peter Hunt seemed happy with what he got in the first couple of takes. The only noticeable multiple takes were for Tracy's death scene.
Roger Green wasn't terrible in that screen test. He just didn't seem to know when to pause in his line delivery or how to look at ease. Connery would've walked in there with one hand tucked behind his back, or with one hand stuffed in his trouser pocket to look more natural. Green kind of reminded me of an unpolished Pierce Brosnan; he had the same light wispy voice. Only thing really missing was the self-deprecating squint. I think the dialogue was pre-Tom Mankiewicz, which was why it lacked the final polish and still included an odd reference to Countess Tracy.
It's certainly interesting, on today of all days, to see someone else doing a version of a scene we're all familiar with Sean Connery doing and for that to really throw into sharp relief just what difference it makes having Connery in a scene. He's magnetic and charismatic and switches between playful and dangerous effortlessly, and we can tell what he's thinking and laugh with him and care for him; whereas this other guy in this version of the scene is.. present. He says the lines as they're written. But you're not getting all of that extra you got from Sean Connery.
Funny how a scene he's not in works as a tribute to his talents! :)
Solid
Handsome
Experienced in large- scale productions
Humorous touch. I've not seen him show the dramatic range Elba has covered, but, like many, I expect the films to go for a lighter tone with spectacular action. As at various junctures in the past, it is time for a tonal shift.
His English accent is fake though.
Pretty bad in Thor, Men in Black and Rush.
Like I said, he's the least athletic Bond and I am not saying athleticism is one of his selling points. But he's not terrible. Watch him in The Wild Geese and North Sea Hijack and you wouldn't say he couldn't pull off an action role.
I think when he's 35 he's fine too.
Matter of opinion of course, but Moore's moves in OP are far, far better than Connery's in NSNA. The fight in Octopussy's bedroom is great, for e.g. And I am a fan of NSNA too - not slagging Connery because I love him in that film.
I agree. Connery made it look effortless, which was a skill in itself.
I know it's been said before but I'd really love to see all the other Bond screen tests. The Champions' William Gaunt also screen tested for Connery's replacement after DAF; along with Jeremy Brett and Simon Oates. I'd also like to see Oliver Tobias' screen test, as I always thought he looked like a rugged version of Pierce Brosnan.
Also, with each performance , he has improved as an actor , particularly Thor: Ragnarok, where on top of the required action he showed both humor and charm , and in Extraction, where he gave a strong performance as a contemporary, mortal, hero.
If they want to balance a lighter Bond who can also pull off action, Chris Hemsworth is a strong contender, more do than Liam.
In all those films I’ve mentioned he puts on (or at least try’s to) a faux English accent.
In Men in Black he’s supposed to be an English agent. In Rush he’s an English Racing Driver (James Hunt). In Thor, for some reason, he try’s Received Pronunciation, but it’s clearly ‘put on’ and not natural.
He hasn’t mastered the English accent.
Well thankfully he has time to work on it. ;)
Extraction was good, I agree.
He couldn’t do the ‘Auzzie approach’ for Bond though.
Thor came out in 2011. So he’s already been trying for 9 years. It’s not looking good.
I think it would be fine for his other roles though: would anyone have cared if his character in Men in Black had had an Aussie twang? Just own it.
Another American who can do a decent Brit accent in that though: Tessa Thompson.
True.
I can’t argue with that.