--- title: Being James Bond: LIFE Behind the Scenes at 007 Auditions, 1967 description: LIFE.com presents photos -- most of which never ran in LIFE magazine -- from auditions for a Bond movie in 1967. canonical: https://time.com/3502846/being-007-life-behind-the-scenes-at-james-bond-auditions/ author: Ben Cosgrove article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2013-04-01T15:54:37.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T05:07:26.325Z og:title: Being James Bond: LIFE Behind the Scenes at 007 Auditions, 1967 og:description: LIFE.com presents photos -- most of which never ran in LIFE magazine -- from auditions for a Bond movie in 1967. og:url: https://time.com/3502846/being-007-life-behind-the-scenes-at-james-bond-auditions/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5aecb7951f474aa0/698760643c16394e7044f01d/being-007-james-bond-03.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2322 og:image:height: 1306 og:image:alt: On Her Majesty's Secret Service director Peter R. Hunt oversees a test love scene between John Richardson and an actress, moving her leg just so. og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Being James Bond: LIFE Behind the Scenes at 007 Auditions, 1967 twitter:description: LIFE.com presents photos -- most of which never ran in LIFE magazine -- from auditions for a Bond movie in 1967. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5aecb7951f474aa0/698760643c16394e7044f01d/being-007-james-bond-03.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Being 007: LIFE Behind the Scenes at James Bond Auditions > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME Subscription: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition TIME is a general-interest news organization founded in 1923, reporting on the people, ideas and issues shaping the world. 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They are at time.com/newsletters and are separate from a paid subscription. by [Ben Cosgrove](https://time.com/author/ben-cosgrove/) ## Ben Cosgrove Apr 1, 2013 3:54 PM UTC  On Her Majesty's Secret Service director Peter R. Hunt oversees a test love scene between John Richardson and an actress, moving her leg just so. On Her Majesty's Secret Service director Peter R. Hunt oversees a test love scene between John Richardson and an actress, moving her leg just so. Loomis Dean—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Image by [Ben Cosgrove](https://time.com/author/ben-cosgrove/) ## Ben Cosgrove Apr 1, 2013 3:54 PM UTC In the early 1960s, movie producers adapting Ian Fleming’s novels about a suave British spy named James Bond plucked a relative unknown, Sean Connery, from obscurity and offered him the role of a lifetime. When Connery left the franchise after five movies (although he would briefly be back, in 1971, in _Diamonds Are Forever_) the hunt for another Bond was on. In 1967 LIFE sent photographer Loomis Dean to casting sessions for the James Bond movie, _On Her Majesty’s Secret Service_. The magazine published a handful of those photos in an article on the film and on the Bond phenomenon. But some of Dean’s choicest frames — Bond wannabes suiting up, brandishing guns, sipping _faux_ martinis, wooing women — never ran in the magazine. Here, LIFE.com presents photos from those 1967 auditions, featuring the five top candidates — including George Lazenby, who would eventually win the coveted role. [\[Buy the LIFE book, _50 Years of James Bond_.\]](http://subscription-assets.timeinc.com/prod/assets/themes/magazines/default/template-resources/html/THEOX/splits/li-james-bond-50-gal.html) Critical reception of _On Her Majesty’s Secret Service_ has hardly been uniform. There was much initial grumbling, for example, about Lazenby’s performance — especially in light of Connery effectively defining the role for a generation of moviegoers. Lazenby was a 28-year-old Australian model living in London, with virtually no acting experience outside TV commercials. But there was something about George Lazenby that placed him a notch above his competitors. Particularly impressive was his physical prowess. (In a subsequent audition to test his fighting skills, Lazenby reportedly broke a stuntman’s nose. That clinched it.) “I’m really looking forward to being Bond, for the bread and the birds,” he told LIFE after his casting. Meanwhile, the years have been kind to the 1969 flick. _Entertainment Weekly_, for example, ranked _On Her Majesty’s Secret Service_ the sixth best of the Bond series, which now includes more than 20 feature films and is one of the highest-grossing movie franchises of all time.  A composite image of the five top candidates (including ultimate choice George Lazenby, bottom right). Published in the October 11, 1968, issue of LIFE. Loomis Dean—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Image  John Richardson during James Bond auditions, 1967. Loomis Dean—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Image  On Her Majesty's Secret Service director Peter R. Hunt oversees a test love scene between John Richardson and an actress, moving her leg just so. Loomis Dean—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Image  John Richardson during James Bond auditions, 1967. Loomis Dean—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Image  James Bond audition candidate John Richardson (left), in profile, 1967. Loomis Dean—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Image  John Richardson reacts as his screen-test costar pulls out a gun, 1967. Loomis Dean—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Image  Director Peter Hunt studies John Richardson during his audition, 1967. Loomis Dean—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Image  John Richardson continued to act after he lost out on the Bond role, appearing in On a Clear Day You Can See Forever (1970) and a string of Italian movies. Loomis Dean—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Image  James Bond audition finalist Anthony Rogers, 1967. Loomis Dean—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Image  Anthony Rogers and an actress during a screen test, 1967. Loomis Dean—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Image  Anthony Rogers smokes a cigarette during his James Bond audition, 1967. Loomis Dean—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Image  Anthony Rogers smokes a cigarette during his James Bond audition, 1967. Loomis Dean—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Image  Robert Campbell during James Bond auditions, 1967. Loomis Dean—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Image  Director Peter R. Hunt helps Robert Campbell get into a shoulder holster, 1967. Loomis Dean—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Image  Robert Campbell checks a page of lines during a James Bond audition, 1967. Loomis Dean—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Image  James Bond hopeful Robert Campbell adjusts his shirt and jacket, 1967. Loomis Dean—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Image  Robert Campbell looks in the mirror between filming scenes for his James Bond audition, 1967. Loomis Dean—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Image  Robert Campbell during a kissing test, opposite actress France Anglade, 1967. Loomis Dean—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Image  Hans de Vries during James Bond audition, 1967. Loomis Dean—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Image  Hans De Vries and France Anglade, James Bond audition, 1967. Loomis Dean—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Image  Hans de Vries during James Bond audition, 1967. Loomis Dean—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Image  George Lazenby during James Bond audition, 1967. Loomis Dean—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Image  James Bond hopeful George Lazenby fiddles with a knife while chatting with Bond director Peter R. Hunt, 1967. Loomis Dean—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Image  George Lazenby goofs off behind the scenes of his screen test, boxing with an unidentified man, 1967. Loomis Dean—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Image  George Lazenby twirls a gun beside potential Bond Girl Marie-France Boyer, 1967. Loomis Dean—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Image  George Lazenby during auditions for the role of James Bond, 1967. Loomis Dean—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Image  George Lazenby and Bond Girl hopeful Agneta Eckemyr, 1967. Loomis Dean—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Image  George Lazenby leans against a bar during a moment away from James Bond auditions, 1967. Loomis Dean—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Image  George Lazenby, 1967. 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