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Sir Thomas Sean Connery (born August 25,
1930 in Edinburgh, Scotland) is an Oscar-winning Scottish film and stage
actor who is best known as the original cinematic James Bond. His
character's catch phrase "Bond, James Bond," has become particularly
famous.
He began his theatrical career as an extra
in the chorus, playing bit parts, and modeling. From those modest
beginnings, he has become an international film icon. Many fans and
critics believe that his talent and appeal continued to improve with
time.
Connery is known for his trademark Scottish
accent and saturnine good looks, repeatedly mentioned as one of the most
attractive men alive by magazines, even though he is considerably older
than most other sex symbols. When advised of the award, Sean seemed to
be unaffected as he replied, "Well, there aren't many sexy dead men, are
there!".
****
Born: August 25, 1930
Edinburgh, Scotland
Occupation: Actor
Website: seanconnery.com
****
Personal life
Connery was born in Fountainbridge,
Edinburgh, to a Christian mixed-denomination couple. His father, Joseph
Connery, was a Catholic of Irish descent with roots in County Wexford,
Ireland and his mother, Euphamia "Effie" Maclean, was Protestant. He
claims he was called by his middle name Sean long before he became an
actor, explaining that he had an Irish friend named Seamus and those who
knew them both decided to call him by his middle name whenever he was
with Seamus, and it stuck.
His first job was as a milkman with St.
Cuthbert's Co-operative Society.[1] He then joined the Royal Navy, and
after being discharged on medical grounds he briefly returned to the
Co-op then went on to a succession of jobs, including truck driver,
labourer, artist's model for the Edinburgh College of Art[2] and
lifeguard. He competed (under the name Thom Connery) in the 1953 Mr.
Universe contest won by Bill Pearl, coming third in the tall man's
division. Another competitor, Johnny Isaacs, suggested that he try out
for a stage production of South Pacific, which led to work on the stage,
TV, and eventually film. As a weight lifter, his nickname was "Big Tam".
He was married to the Australian-born
actress Diane Cilento from 1962 until 1973 (he was her second husband).
They have one son, Jason Connery (born January 11, 1963), who was
educated at Millfield School in Somerset, England, and the rigorous
Gordonstoun boarding school in Scotland, before going on to become an
actor. According to Jason, his parents' divorce was an extremely bitter
and painful affair (Diane Cilento has reportedly just written an
autobiography that paints an unflattering portrait of her ex-husband).
Since 1975, Sean Connery has been happily married to French-Tunisian
artist Michelle Roquebrune Connery.
Accusations of Abuse
In her autobiography My Nine Lives and
subsequent interviews on radio and in print The Scotsman Diane Cilento
claimed that Connery had beaten her on several occasions, which Connery
vehemently denies.
He caused an uproar in a December 1987
interview with Barbara Walters in which he said it was OK for a man to
hit a woman, assuming that it was required to calm her down or "keep her
in line". Connery had made similar remarks in a November 1965 interview
with Playboy magazine on the set of Thunderball.
In Vanity Fair in 1993 he said: "There are
women who take it to the wire. That's what they are looking for, the
ultimate confrontation. They want a smack."
James Bond
Connery, best known to audiences around the
world for his role as James Bond, has appeared as Bond in seven films,
beginning with Dr. No in 1962, and concluding with Never Say Never Again
in 1983. In all, the Connery-Bond films are:
Dr. No (1962)
From Russia with Love (1963)
Goldfinger (1964)
Thunderball (1965)
You Only Live Twice (1967)
Diamonds Are Forever (1971)
Never Say Never Again (1983 'unofficial')
The hulking yet light-footed Connery was
discovered by Harry Saltzman after numerous names as possible contenders
for Bond were ruled out or unavailable, including most notably David
Niven, who later played Bond in the 1967 spoof Casino Royale, and Cary
Grant (who was said to have been part of the inspiration for Bond), who
was ruled out after committing to only one film; some sources also
suggest that Grant, at 58, turned the role down feeling he was too old
for the part. Due to the relatively small budget, the producers were
forced to go with an unknown, and Connery was in part cast for that
reason.
Ian Fleming, the creator of James Bond,
reportedly had doubts about the casting of Connery, on the grounds that
the muscular, 6'2" Scotsman was too "unrefined", but a female companion
of Fleming's told him that Connery had "it", and reportedly that was
good enough for Fleming. The author later changed his doubts about
Connery after "Dr. No" premiered and was so impressed he went on to
introduce a half-Scottish (and half-Swiss) heritage for his literary
character in the later books. Connery's on-screen portrayal of Bond is
due in part to tutelage from director Terence Young, who helped to
smooth over Connery's rough edges while utilizing his imposing
physicality and graceful, cat-like movements during action sequences.
Robert Cotton once wrote that in one biography of Connery, Lois Maxwell
(who played the first Miss Moneypenny) noticed, "Terence took Sean under
his wing. He took him to dinner, showed him how to walk, how to talk,
even how to eat." Cotton said, "Some cast members remarked that Connery
was simply doing a Terence Young impression, but Young and Connery knew
they were on the right track."
Connery's own favorite Bond film was From
Russia with Love, one of the most critically acclaimed films in the
series. He confirmed this in a 2002 interview with Sam Donaldson for
ABCNews.com. (American Movie Classics erroneously listed Thunderball as
Connery's favorite during its recent Bond retrospectives.)
In 1967, during the unsatisfying experience
of filming You Only Live Twice, Connery quit the role of Bond, having
grown tired of the repetitive plots, lack of character development, and
the general public's growing demands on him and his privacy (as well as
fear of typecasting). This led to the producers hiring George Lazenby to
take over the role in 1969's On Her Majesty's Secret Service. However,
Lazenby backed out of a seven-film contract, and quit before On Her
Majesty's Secret Service was even released, and the film had a mixed
response from fans at the time. Broccoli again asked Connery to return
to the role and paid him £1.2 million to do so — at the time the highest
salary of any actor. Connery returned one final "official" time in
1971's Diamonds Are Forever, quitting the role shortly after release.
Connery has also stated that he did not like the direction the Bond
franchise was heading in, feeling that the filmmakers were straying too
far from the source material.
As a result of a deal between EON
Productions and Kevin McClory (co-writer of Thunderball), McClory was
given the right to create a remake of Thunderball after 13 years had
passed since the release of the original film. In the late 1970s McClory
teamed with Connery to write an original James Bond film, but the idea
was blocked by lawsuits brought by EON and United Artists. However, the
project was revived in the 1980s and Connery signed to play Bond for the
seventh and final time (on screen) in the unofficial film Never Say
Never Again. The title of the film has long believed to have derived
from Connery's comments after the release of Diamonds Are Forever who,
after filming it, claimed he would never play James Bond again. (For the
legal battle see the controversy of Thunderball)
Connery returned to the role once more in
2005, providing the voice and likeness of James Bond for the video game
adaptation of From Russia with Love.
Over 40 years since he first played the
role, Connery is still widely regarded as the definitive cinematic
incarnation of James Bond, despite popular interpretations of the
character by the likes of Roger Moore, Pierce Brosnan, and what many
believe to be a more literarily-authentic performance by Timothy Dalton.
Connery's own feelings on Bond in interviews has run the gamut from
bitter resentment to great fondness. At one point he stated he hated the
Bond character so much that he'd have killed him, but he has also stated
that he never hated Bond, he merely wanted to pursue other roles.
Certainly, when the James Bond series was at its peak in the mid-1960s,
his association with the 007 image was so intense that different
performances in his non-Bond films, such as Alfred Hitchcock's Marnie, A
Fine Madness, and Sidney Lumet's The Hill, were being virtually ignored.
When asked if he'd ever escape the identification, he replied, "Never.
It's with me till I go in the box." At another point, he stated that he
still cared about the future of the character and franchise, having been
associated with the icon for too long not to care, and that all Bond
films had their good points. He praised Pierce Brosnan's performance as
Bond in GoldenEye, but was highly critical of Timothy Dalton's
portrayal, saying the actor had taken it too seriously and was not cool
[citation needed] (an opinion not shared by his co-star, the late
Desmond Llewelyn, who played gadget master Q, who voiced his support of
Dalton's portrayal). In December 2005 he also voiced his support for
Daniel Craig, the latest actor chosen to play Bond, for Casino Royale.
Post-James Bond career
Although his most famous role was that of
Bond, Sean Connery has also maintained a successful career since, much
more so than any of the other actors who assumed the role. As part of
the agreement to appear in Diamonds are Forever, Connery was given carte
blanche to produce two films at United Artists but felt that the only
film made under this deal, The Offence, was buried by the studio. Apart
from The Man Who Would Be King, most of Connery's successes in the next
decade were as part of ensemble casts, in films such as Murder on the
Orient Express and A Bridge Too Far. After his experience with Never Say
Never Again and the following court case, Connery became unhappy with
the major studios and for two years did not make any films. Following
the critically celebrated European production The Name of the Rose, for
which he won a BAFTA award and universal praise, Connery's interest in
more credible material was revived. That same year, a supporting role in
Highlander showcased his ability to play older, wise mentors to young,
leading protagonists, which certainly became a recurring role in many of
his later films. The following year, his highly acclaimed performance as
a hard-nosed cop in The Untouchables (1987) earned him an Academy Award
for Best Supporting Actor. Subsequent box-office hits such as Indiana
Jones and the Last Crusade (1989) (in which he played father to Harrison
Ford, actually only 12 years his junior), The Hunt for Red October
(1990), The Rock (1996), and Entrapment (1999) re-established him as a
bankable leading man. Both Last Crusade and The Rock alluded to his
James Bond days. Steven Spielberg and George Lucas wanted "the father of
Indy" to be Connery since Bond directly inspired the Indiana Jones
series, while his character in The Rock, John Patrick Mason, was a
British secret service agent imprisoned since the 1960s. In more recent
years, Connery's filmography has included its fair share of box office
and critical disappointments such as The Avengers (1998) and The League
of Extraordinary Gentlemen (2003), but he also received positive reviews
for films including Finding Forrester (2000). He also later received a
Crystal Globe for outstanding artistic contribution to world cinema.
In September 2004, media reports indicated
that Connery intended to retire after pulling out of Josiah's Canon,
which was set for a 2005 release. However, in a December 2004 interview
with The Scotsman newspaper from his home in the Bahamas, Connery
explained he had taken a break from acting in order to concentrate on
writing his autobiography. However, the book project was later abandoned
because the publishers wanted to delve too far into his private life.
Connery has long denied accusations from his first wife Diane Cilento
that he physically abused her throughout their marriage. He also courted
controversy by condoning the physical abuse of women in a 1965 interview
with Playboy magazine, and in a 1993 interview with Vanity Fair
(magazine).
About a month before his 75th birthday,
over the weekend of July 30th/31st 2005, it was widely reported in the
broadcast media (and again in The Scotsman[1]), that he had decided to
retire from film making following disillusionment with the "idiots now
in Hollywood", and the turmoil making and subsequent box office failure
of the 2003 film The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. He stated in
interviews for the film included on the DVD release that he was offered
roles in both The Matrix and The Lord of the Rings series, declining
both due to 'not understanding them', and after they went on to have
huge box office grosses he decided to accept the League role despite not
'understanding' it either.
At the Tartan Day celebrations in New York
in March 2006, Connery again confirmed his retirement from acting, and
stated that he is now writing a history book.
As a personality he has been accused of
being an overbearing bully but has also been praised as a highly
professional and polite actor, courteous and supportive of those around
him. He made a big impression on actors such as Harrison Ford, Kevin
Costner, Pat Adams and Christopher Lambert, who considered him a great
friend during filming. His punctual example and highly vocal refusal to
tolerate her tardiness left a lasting impression on Catherine
Zeta-Jones.[citation needed]
He was planning to star in a $80 million
movie about Saladin and the Crusades that would be filmed in Jordan
before the producer Moustapha Akkad was killed in the 2005 Amman
bombings. Connery received the American Film Institute's Lifetime
Achievement Award on 8 June 2006, where he again confirmed his
retirement from acting.
Political causes
Connery has long supported the Scottish
National Party, a political party campaigning for Scottish independence,
both financially and through personal appearances. His involvement in
Scottish politics, however, has often provoked severe criticism, since
he has not actually lived in Scotland for more than fifty years. His
support for the SNP is illustrated by a comment from his official
website:
While it is generally accepted that his
support of Scotland's independence and the Scottish National Party
delayed his knighthood for many years, his commitment to Scotland has
never wavered. Politics in the United Kingdom often has more intrigue
than a James Bond plot. While Scotland is not yet independent, she does
have a new parliament. Sir Sean campaigned hard for the yes vote during
the Scottish Referendum that created the new Scottish Parliament. He
believes firmly that the Scottish Parliament will grow in power and that
Scotland will be independent within his lifetime.
—SeanConnery.com on Sean Connery's support
of the Scottish National Party,
http://www.seanconnery.com/biography/knighthood/
Connery used half of his fee from Diamonds
Are Forever (1971) to establish a charity to support deprived children
in Edinburgh as well as Scottish Film production. It was suggested in
1997 that the Labour government had prevented him being knighted for his
charitable work because of his support for the SNP. At the time a Labour
Party spokesman stated Connery's knighthood had been blocked because of
remarks the actor had made in past interviews condoning the physical
abuse of women. His nationalist beliefs have often been derided by
political opponents, especially given his status as a tax exile living
in the Bahamas.
Connery received the Légion d'honneur in
1991. He received Kennedy Center Honors from the United States in 1999,
presented to him by President Bill Clinton. He received a knighthood on
July 5, 2000, wearing a hunting tartan kilt of the MacLean of Duart
clan. He also received the Orden de Manuel Amador Guerrero from Mireya
Moscoso, former president of Panama on 11 March 2003, for his talent and
versatility as an actor.
Health
In 1993 news that Connery was undergoing
radiation treatment for an undisclosed throat ailment sparked media
reports that the actor was suffering from throat cancer following years
of heavy smoking, and he was falsely declared dead by the Japanese and
South African news agencies. Connery immediately appeared on the David
Letterman show to deny all of this. In a February 1995 interview with
Entertainment Weekly, he claimed the radiation treatment was to remove
"nodules" from his vocal chords. In 2003 he had surgery to remove
cataracts from both eyes. On March 12, 2006, he announced he was
recovering from surgery to remove a kidney tumour in January. The tumour
is thought to have been benign.
Filmography
Year Title Role Other notes
2003 The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen
Allan Quatermain
2000 Finding Forrester William Forrester
1999 Entrapment Robert MacDougal (also
producer)
1998 Playing by Heart Paul
The Avengers Sir August de Wynter
1996 The Rock John Patrick Mason (also
executive producer)
Dragonheart Draco (voice)
1995 First Knight King Arthur
Just Cause Paul Armstrong
The Thief and the Cobbler Tack the Cobbler
(voice; original version; unconfirmed)
1994 A Good Man in Africa Dr. Alex Murray
1993 Rising Sun Capt. John Connor (also
executive-producer)
1992 Medicine Man Dr. Robert Campbell
1991 Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves King
Richard (uncredited)
Highlander II: The Quickening Juan Sanchez
Villa-Lobos Ramirez
1990 The Russia House Bartholomew 'Barley'
Scott Blair
The Hunt for Red October Captain Marko
Ramius
1989 Family Business Jessie McMullen
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
Professor Henry Jones
1988 The Presidio Lt. Col. Alan Caldwell
1987 The Untouchables Jim Malone
1986 The Name of the Rose William of
Baskerville
Highlander Juan Sanchez Villa-Lobos
Ramirez
1984 Sword of the Valiant: The Legend of
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight The Green Knight
1983 Never Say Never Again James Bond
Sean Connery's Edinburgh Himself (short
subject)
1982 Wrong Is Right Patrick Hale
Five Days One Summer Douglas Meredith
G'ole! Narrator (documentary)
1981 Time Bandits King Agamemnon/Fireman
Outland O'Niel
1979 Cuba Maj. Robert Dapes
Meteor Dr. Paul Bradley
The First Great Train Robbery Edward
Pierce/John Simms/Geoffrey
1977 A Bridge Too Far Maj. Gen. Roy
Urquhart
1976 The Next Man Khalil Abdul-Muhsen
1976 Robin and Marian Robin Hood
1975 The Man Who Would Be King Daniel
Dravot
The Wind and the Lion Mulay Achmed Mohammed
el-Raisuli the Magnificent
The Dream Factory Himself (documentary)
Ransom Nils Tahlvik
1974 Murder on the Orient Express Colonel
Arbuthnot
Zardoz Zed
1973 The Offence Detective Sergeant
Johnson
1972 A Spain Golf Course Himself (short
subject)
1971 Diamonds Are Forever James Bond
The Anderson Tapes John Anderson
The Red Tent Roald Amundsen
1970 The Molly Maguires Jack Kehoe
1969 The Bowler and the Bonnet Himself
(Director; documentary)
1968 Shalako Moses Zebulon 'Shalako'
Carlin
1967 You Only Live Twice James Bond
1966 A Fine Madness Samson Shillitoe
A New World Himself (cameo)
1965 Thunderball James Bond
The Hill Trooper Joe Roberts
1964 Goldfinger James Bond
Women of Straw Anthony Richmond
Marnie Mark Rutland
1963 From Russia with Love James Bond
1962 Dr. No James Bond
The Longest Day Pte. Flanagan
1961 The Frightened City Paddy Damion
On the Fiddle Pedlar Pascoe
1959 Tarzan's Greatest Adventure O'Bannion
Darby O'Gill and the Little People Michael
McBride
1958 Another Time, Another Place Mark
Trevor
1957 Time Lock Welder #2
Action of the Tiger Mike
Hell Drivers Johnny Kates
No Road Back Spike
1954 Lilacs in the Spring Undetermined Role
(uncredited)
Trivia
Sean Connery, as a youth, had a job
delivering milk to Fettes College, in Edinburgh, Scotland. This was
James Bond's second school.
He wore a toupee in all the James Bond
movies. He began losing his hair at 21. Privately and in most other
movies, he wears none.
In the cartoon series Sonic Underground,
Connery is the voice of Athair, great-grandfather of Knuckles the
Echidna. Also, in the Archie Comics Sonic the Hedgehog series, there is
a character named Sir Connery, possibly for Sean, who is an
anthropomorphic horse.
His first American television role was as a
porter in an episode of The Jack Benny Show.
Originally it was intended by the producers
of Star Trek V: The Final Frontier for Connery to play the role of
Sybok, but Connery was unavailable at the time. As an in-joke, the
mythical planet the crew is searching for in the movie is named
"Sha-ka-ree", a play on "Sean Connery".
Darrell Hammond plays Connery in the
Celebrity Jeopardy! sketches on Saturday Night Live. In these sketches,
Connery is the contestant on all but two of the 13 sketches, where he
insults host Alex Trebek (played by Will Ferrell) with withering
invective and sexual innuendo, and blithely answers all questions
incorrectly. The sketches aired twice a season on SNL from 1996 to 2002,
and returned once more when Ferrell guest-hosted in 2005.
Starred in Never Say Never Again with Klaus
Maria Brandauer. Coincidentally, Brandauer was originally considered to
play Marko Ramius in The Hunt for Red October.
He has a tattoo that says "Scotland
Forever" on his forearm.
Was voted to have the worst movie accent by
Empire Magazine. He has been derided for using the same accent for every
character, despite playing roles as diverse as an Irish cop (The
Untouchables), Richard I of England (Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves), and
a Russian submarine captain (The Hunt for Red October).
Connery had been the original choice for
The Thomas Crown Affair (1968) but declined, a decision he later
regretted. The role went to Steve McQueen. Coincidentally, the 1999
remake of the same name starred the fifth Bond actor, Pierce Brosnan.
Sean Connery's line in Finding Forrester,
"You're the man now, dog," became immortalised as the phrase that
started the YTMND website.
George Lucas has said on multiple occasions
that Connery's portrayal of the character James Bond was one of the
primary inspirations for his Indiana Jones character. As a tribute to
this, when casting his third Indiana Jones film, The Last Crusade, Lucas
chose Connery for the role of Indiana's father, with his reasoning being
"Who else could play Indiana Jones' father, but the guy who inspired all
of this in the first place, James Bond himself!" (Sean Connery)
Sean Connery's likeness was used in the
MSX2 game Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake as a template for the character Big
Boss. In turn, James Bond was used as a template for Naked Snake, Big
Boss' younger self in Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater.
According to the "behind the scenes"
features of the DVD for The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Connery
is an excellent golfer and also a very fine dancer; castmate Tony Curran
recounts that his mother visited the set when they were having "Jazz
Night" and Connery danced with her.
Sean Connery is a member of Pine Valley,
considered by golf experts and magazines as the #1 Golf Course in the
World. The course is located in the Pine Barrens of Southern New Jersey.
Is the honorary chairman of the Friends of
Scotland organization.
Was voted in a British survey to be
Britain's sexiest pensioner.[3]
Connery's height is 6'2" (1.88 m).
While filming "Another Time, Another Place"
with Lana Turner, her lover, a hoodlum named Johnny Stompanato, arrived
at the studio in response to rumors that she was having an affair with
Connery. He waved a gun in Connery's face, and Connery delivered an
effective beating. Later, a jury would decide Turner's 14-year old
daughter had acted in self-defense when she stabbed the abusive
Stompanato to death; according to a forthcoming biography by Robert
Sellers, the gangster Mickey Cohen thought Connery was in some way
responsible for the death, and Connery spent some time in hiding.
In his initial interview for the role of
James Bond, Connery apparently wore a baggy sweater and slacks, banged
the table and told the producers what he wanted, even refusing a screen
test. This all however worked in his favour as Cubby Broccoli soon cast
him in the coveted part, admiring the actor's "ballsy" attitude.
Ian Fleming, the author of the James Bond
novels and movies, initially had reservations about the casting of Sean
Connery for the first James Bond film, saying Connery was "too
unrefined." However, Fleming would later change his mind, and say that
Connery was ideal for the role.
In the computer game Warcraft III, clicking
on the Mountain King unit produces a variety of lines delivered by
Connery and actors portraying him.
Sean Connery has never appeared on
Jeopardy! Alex Trebek has said he would love for Connery to be a
contestant.
References
1 From the Co-op with love.. the days Sir
Sean earned £1 a week
2 Even as an unknown, Sean was still a draw
3 "Britain's sexiest pensioners",
2006-05-09. Retrieved on 2006-05-09.
****
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