It’s a challenge to distill any Bond actor into 007 sentences or less, but I’ll try my best with George Lazenby. His singular outing in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service is too often reduced to a footnote, when in truth it offers one of the most distinct interpretations of 007. Daniel Craig has nothing on George Lazenby’s vulnerability, most obviously at the end of the movie when his wife is murdered.

Of course it was tragic, but at the same time, fans were robbed of exploring the emotional fallout of Bond’s devastating loss when Sean Connery returned as 007 in Diamonds Are Forever. As I mention in most posts about Lazenby, he should have gotten at least one more shot, if not just to prevent Connery’s lackluster return in Diamonds Are Forever but also to expand the range of his portrayal. It remains as one of the greatest what-ifs in James Bond movie history. What a shame we never got to see it!