Lazenby began his professional career as a model and had only acted in commercials when he was cast to replace the original Bond actor, Sean Connery, playing the character in On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969).

Lazenby's single portrayal of Bond and lack of standing as a favourite in the series, has resulted in his name being used as a metaphor for forgettable, non-iconic acting efforts in other entertainment franchises, and for entities that are largely ignored.

[11] In 1968, after Sean Connery had left the role of James Bond, producer Albert R. Broccoli met Lazenby for the first time while they were getting their hair cut at the same barbershop.

[10] Broccoli later saw him in the Big Fry commercial and felt he could possibly portray Bond, on which basis he invited him to do a screen test.

During the audition, Lazenby accidentally punched a professional wrestler, who was acting as stunt coordinator, in the face, impressing Broccoli with his ability to display aggression.

[15] In July 1969, after making On Her Majesty's Secret Service, Lazenby returned home to Queanbeyan to see his parents.

[25] At the time of the release of On Her Majesty's Secret Service, Lazenby's performance received mixed reviews.

[32] Lazenby has appeared as James Bond in various parodies and unofficial 007 roles, including the 1983 television film The Return of the Man from U.N.C.L.E., where his character is identified only by the initials J.

[37] Lazenby made another film a year after On Her Majesty's Secret Service – Universal Soldier (1971), which he helped write.

Due to his reported poor treatment on the set of On Her Majesty's Secret Service, he sought out a director whom he would work with better and found Cy Endfield.

[41] He spent the next 15 months sailing around the world with Chrissie Townson; the trip ended when she became pregnant with their first child, prompting Lazenby to settle down and try to reactivate his career as an actor.

[42] In February 1973, he revealed that he had spent all of the money he had earned from playing Bond, had experienced two nervous breakdowns, and had become an alcoholic.

[43] In 1973, Lazenby said he was "flat broke" when he went to Hong Kong to meet Bruce Lee and producer Raymond Chow.

[44] In the end, Lazenby shot three films for Golden Harvest: The Shrine of Ultimate Bliss,[45] The Man from Hong Kong (1975) (also known as The Dragon Flies),[46][47] and A Queen's Ransom (1976).

[50] In a 1977 interview with the Australian Women's Weekly, he stated that he did not really feel like an actor as he had very few acting credits, but hoped that he could find more work.

[51] In 1978, Broccoli described casting Lazenby as his biggest mistake, claiming that the actor couldn't deal with fame and labelling him as "very arrogant".

But remember, it was my first film .... Now what I've got to do is live down my past; convince people I'm not the same person who made a fool of himself all those years ago.

[62] In 2019, Lazenby starred as Dr. Jason Love in an audiobook version of James Leasor's spy novel Passport to Oblivion.

[64] Lazenby's single portrayal of the iconic Bond character, and his lack of standing as a favourite in the series, has resulted in his name being used as a metaphor for forgettable, non-iconic acting efforts in other entertainment franchises, and for entities that are largely ignored.

[67][68] In 2009, Sondre Lerche released a song called "Like Lazenby" on his album Heartbeat Radio, in which he laments squandered opportunities and wishes for a "second try".

Bauer told Filmink that he chose the title because "these are the situations that our characters face – continuously being in the shadow of this movie icon.

"[70] While working as a car salesman at the age of 21, Lazenby fathered a daughter, Jennifer, with Maureen Powell, who was then an Australian army sergeant and a physical education and fitness instructor at Royal Military College, Duntroon.

[71] In 1973, Lazenby married his girlfriend of three years, Christina Ross "Chrissie" Townson (later Matser), an heiress of the Gannett family.