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Sun 9 August 2026 20:45, UK
After the George Lazenby experiment failed miserably, no James Bond since has been played by a completely unknown actor, but one of them thought they had a chance of succeeding him.
The impression Cubby Broccoli seemed to be under was that the character would make the man, and not the other way around. On one hand, he had every right to think that, since nobody really knew who Sean Connery was before Dr No, but he turned 007 into an icon, making himself a star in the process.
That’s just one of the many reasons why Lazenby bombed so badly, even if On Her Majesty’s Secret Service has been reappraised in the years since. When the time came to recruit a full-time replacement after Connery’s one-off return in Diamonds are Forever, Broccoli cast the widest possible net.
Internally, Roger Moore was seen as the favourite, but there were concerns that he was too famous. He’d headlined The Saint and The Persuaders! by then, not to mention the dozens of movies he’d starred in, with the producers looking for someone who wasn’t a complete novice, but wasn’t too well-known, either.
Guy Peters fell somewhere in the middle, although much closer to the complete novice side of the equation. If you haven’t heard of him, that’s perfectly OK, because his experience was limited to stage and television, where he’d often performed under the stage name of Peter Laughton, and he eventually gave up acting altogether to become a journalist.
On May 1st, 1972, he met with Broccoli and regular 007 director Guy Hamilton at Eon Productions’ HQ in Mayfair. “He asked me about my acting experience in general and what parts I had played,” Peters explained. “Guy Hamilton was present and asked me questions, too. Cubbi Broccoli said that had he met me when they were looking for a new face, they might have used me instead of Lazenby.”
That was encouraging, even if he was also told that “they might want a known face to play Bond.” Still, after the meeting, he got a call from a casting agent, who informed him “that the interview went well, and they would be in touch.” Unfortunately for him, that’s when that pesky Moore entered the picture.
Further reading: Cutting Room Floor
Despite Broccoli telling him during their meeting, “Moore was known as The Saint and couldn’t be Bond,” Live and Let Die would ultimately cast none other than Roger Moore as the iconic secret agent, and he’d hang around in the role for at least two movies too long, while Peters explored other avenues.
After returning to education, graduating, and embarking on his second career, he even wrote to Barbara Broccoli, regaling her with the story of how he’d met her father, and asked if there was any chance he could return to the fold in some capacity as a writer on the Bond franchise. How did that go? “I didn’t receive a reply!”
