‘Becoming Bond’ Docu-Drama hits Hulu on May 20

Documentary-Drama about Australian actor George Lazenby landing the role of James Bond will hit streaming service Hulu on May 20th

Much can be said about actor George Lazenby and his performance as agent 007 in ‘On Her Majesty`s Secret Service’ in 1969 – the opinions differ from downright appaling to absolutely brilliant. Fact of the matter is, the producers decided to cast an unknown car salesman and former model from Australia to star in one of the hottest roles to have at the time.

Following Sean Connerys departure from the role of James Bond in 1968, it was a chance encounter of producer Albert R. Broccoli and George Lazenby which led to the screen test for the next Bond film: both men were getting their hair cut at the same barber. Also in the running for the much sought-after film role were Englishman John Richardson, Dutchman Hans De Vries, American Robert Campbell and Englishman Anthony Rogers. George Lazenby got the part and delivered a solid performance as agent 007. After being offered the next six Bond films and a $1 million signing bonus, he turned it all down.

Now, in a unique documentary/narrative hybrid chronicling the stranger-than-fiction true story of George Lazenby, a poor Australian car mechanic who, through an unbelievable set of circumstances, landed the role of James Bond will be shown on streaming service Hulu on May 20th.

The trailer for the 92 minute film looks promising and many will surely welcome this unique look at the story how George Lazenby landed the world-famous role just to throw it away in an instant. Undeniably, Lazenbys character is debatable as people who worked with him on ‘On Her Majesty’s Secret Service’ are unanimous in saying that he was a difficult person to work with. I myself had a brief meeting with Lazenby in 2015 and I was stunned how impolite and dismissive he is. It’s true what they say: never meet your star!

Beside George Lazenby himself, the film stars Josh Lawson as Lazenby, Adamo Palladino as Peter Hunt, Dana Carvey as Johnny Carson as well as Kassandra Clementi, Jeff Garlin, Jake Johnson and former Bond Girl Jane Seymour.

Director Josh Greenbaum is an Emmy Award-winning director in film, TV, and commercials. His feature documentary “The Short Game” won the Audience Award at SXSW and was acquired by Netflix to launch their Originals film division. He is a graduate of Cornell and Oxford Universities and received his MFA in film from USC’s School of Cinematic Arts.

If you want to see the documentary on May 20, hop over to Hulu to register for their streaming service.