Sean Connery was a Scottish actor who became the symbol of a generation (perhaps more than one). He became famous thanks to his interpretation of the character of James Bond , and by most critics and fans of the series considered the best interpreter of him.

Class, style, elegance have characterized the career of an actor who has never been at the center of scandals of any kind. He was even named Sir by Queen Elizabeth of England. 

In this post by CineMagazine, we retrace the career of Sean Connery, the famous Scottish actor, in the new in-depth study dedicated to the biographies of foreign actors.

Summary

  • The beginnings
  • The success
  • Private life
  • Film Sean Connery

The beginnings

Born in Edinburgh in 1930, Sean Connery is the son of a truck driver and a waitress.

He soon approaches the world of theater and art in general: just think that at the age of 19 he poses nude for the Edinburgh Art College. In the meantime, however, he carries out various odd jobs as a lifeguard, bricklayer and so on.

At the beginning of the 1950s, however, his wheel began to turn in the right direction: after some minor theatrical appearances, he successfully participated in an important musical in London, ” South Pacific “, during which he shines for her beauty and her talent.

Some time later he took part in the Mister Universe contest, finishing third.

Probably also that participation is certainly important for his career: just think that after several calls arrive for parts in TV series such as “The bandit of Epirus”, “Ecstasy of love”, “Darby O ‘Gill and the king of the elves “. 

The success

The decisive turning point in Sean Connery’s career, however, will be in the 1960s. The actor, in 1962, would have played a character that would have given him worldwide fame and which still lasts today, after more than fifty years. We are obviously talking about James Bond, secret agent protagonist of the novels by Ian Flaming who arrives on the big screen with ” 007 “. It seems to be a role designed just for Sean Connery: a spy, seductive, skilled, but elegant and bewitching.

And even the creator Flaming knows it, who is present during the audition of the Scottish actor and who, after an initial doubt, realizes that he is the most suitable man for that role.

Just the interpretation of the first film of the series that met with incredible success, also affirms it as a sex symbol. To play the role, Connery is however forced to wear a toupee, due to the precocious baldness that hit him: a toupee that he also uses for other films, such as in Marnie

Curiosity that perhaps not everyone knows and that the actor participates in a competition that had been organized by the London Express, and which was aimed at choosing the cinematographic face of James Bond: in that competition, Connery, was only third. 

He stars in seven films that were focused on the spy created by Fleming and he does it alongside some actresses of rare beauty such as Ursula Andress and Daniela Bianchi.

To be precise, the actor played the role of Bond for five consecutive films, until 1967, and then left it to Lazenby. Only after long negotiations did he agree to reprise the role in 1971 for two other films (the last in 1983). He will then be Roger Moore to replace him later.

Connery wants to avoid that his name could be caged in the role of James Bond and so he decides to devote himself to other projects, with great directors. The first of these was Alfred Hitchcock. In 1964, in fact, the Scottish actor was chosen for an important role in the masterpiece Marnie. Also in 1964 he starred in Dearden ‘s The Straw Woman , alongside our Gina Lollobrigida. Another important collaboration will be in 1965, with director Sidney Lumet for the film The hill of dishonor . But not only. Throughout the 1960s, Sean Connery starred in films by Kershner, Woodward and Seberg. 

We could say, however, that the definitive consecration as a sacred monster will be there, for Connery, in the Eighties. After other more or less important roles in the seventies, the actor starred in Terry Gilliam ‘s Bandits of Time , then in Zinnemann’s Five Days a Summer and in the Highlinder saga – the last immortal, alongside Christopher Lambert. Precisely with this saw he managed to increase his fame in an even more significant way. 

After another excellent performance, this time in the film by Jean-Jacques Annaud “The Name of the Rose” , inspired by the novel by Umberto Eco, comes the most coveted award for a film actor. His portrayal of policeman Jimmy Malone in Brian De Palma’s The Untouchables was praised by international critics and earned him the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor, as well as a BAFTA. The film, we recall, dealt with in a fictional way the story of the team that managed to frame Al Capone for tax evasion and have him convicted. Connery gives life to an exceptional interpretation , which is considered by many to be the best of his career.He is also awarded the Golden Globe. 

By now the actor has officially entered the legend. He starred, between the end of the 1980s and the beginning of the 1990s in various films such as The Presidium-Scene of a Crime , by Peter Hyams; It’s family business , again with Sidney Lumet and Steve Spielberg’s Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade , alongside Harrison Ford. Another excellent interpretation and remembered in John McTiernan’s Hunt for Red October.

Another very interesting film will be Discovering Forrester in 2000, by Gus Van Sant.

He retired in 2003, as admitted by himself, also and above all due to the bad experience in the film The legend of extraordinary men

Private life

Sean Connery has always been very reserved, only the main facts are known about his private life. He was married to the Australian actress Diane Cilento, with whom he had a son, Jason, while he later remarried to the painter Micheline Roquebrune, who remained his wife until her death. His commitment to his country of origin, Scotland, is also particularly significant.

Sean Connery passed away on October 31, 2020, at the age of 90, when he was in Nassau, at his residence in the Bahamas. It was the same family who announced his passing. The son, Jason, said he hadn’t been well for some time. The same wife had previously made it known that he was suffering from senile dementia.

Film Sean Connery

We leave you to the complete filmography of Sean Connery, in alphabetical order:

  1. The Arms of the King (Lilacs in the Spring), by Herbert Wilcox (1954) – uncredited
  2. Club di gangsters (No Road Back), regia di Montgomery Tully (1957)
  3. Hell Drivers, by Cy Endfield (1957)
  4. Time Lock, by Gerald Thomas (1957)
  5. Action of the Tiger, directed by Terence Young (1957)
  6. Ecstasy of Love – Operation Love (Another Time, Another Place), directed by Lewis Allen (1958)
  7. Titanic, latitude 41 north (A Night to Remember), directed by Roy Ward Baker (1958) – uncredited
  8. Darby O’Gill and the Little People, directed by Robert Stevenson (1959)
  9. Tarzan’s Greatest Adventure, by John Guillermin (1959)
  10. Scotland Yard homicide sections (The Frightened City), by John Lemont (1961)
  11. A 077, from France without love (On the Fiddle), by Cyril Frankel (1961)
  12. The Longest Day, by Ken Annakin (1962)
  13. Agent 007 – License to Kill (Dr. No), directed by Terence Young (1962)
  14. A 007, dalla Russia con amore (From Russia with Love), directed by Terence Young (1963)
  15. Woman of Straw, by Basil Dearden (1964)
  16. Marnie, regia in Alfred Hitchcock (1964)
  17. Agent 007 – Goldfinger Mission (Goldfinger), directed by Guy Hamilton (1964)
  18. The Hill, directed by Sidney Lumet (1965)
  19. Agent 007 – Thunderball (Thunderball), directed by Terence Young (1965)
  20. A Fine Madness, directed by Irvin Kershner (1966)
  21. A New World, directed by Vittorio De Sica (1966) – uncredited
  22. Agent 007 – You Only Live Twice, directed by Lewis Gilbert (1967)
  23. Shalako, regia di Edward Dmytryk (1968)
  24. La tenda rossa (Krasnaya palatka), regia di Mikheil Kalatozishvili (1969)
  25. The Molly Maguires, by Martin Ritt (1970)
  26. Rapina record a New York (The Anderson Tapes), regia di Sidney Lumet (1971)
  27. Agent 007 – Diamonds Are Forever, directed by Guy Hamilton (1971)
  28. Reflections in a Dark Mirror (The Offence), by Sidney Lumet (1972)
  29. Zardoz, by John Boorman (1974)
  30. Ransom – State of Emergency for a Kidnapping (Ransom), directed by Nils Tahivik (1974)
  31. Murder on the Orient Express, by Sidney Lumet (1974)
  32. The Wind and the Lion, by John Milius (1975)
  33. The Man Who Would Be King, by John Huston (1975)
  34. Robin and Marian, by Richard Lester (1976)
  35. The Next Man, by Richard C. Sarafian (1976)
  36. That Last Bridge (A Bridge Too Far), directed by Richard Attenborough (1977)
  37. 1855 – The First Great Train Robbery, directed by Michael Crichton (1979)
  38. Meteor, directed by Ronald Neame (1979)
  39. Cuba, by Richard Lester (1979)
  40. Atmosphere Zero (Outland), by Peter Hyams (1981)
  41. Time Bandits, by Terry Gilliam (1981)
  42. Wrong Is Right, by Richard Brooks (1982)
  43. Five Days One Summer, directed by Fred Zinnemann (1982)
  44. Never Say Never Again, directed by Irvin Kershner (1983)
  45. Sword of the Valiant – The Legend of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, regia di Stephen Weeks (1984)
  46. Highlander – The Last Immortal (Highlander), directed by Russell Mulcahy (1986)
  47. The Name of the Rose, by Jean-Jacques Annaud (1986)
  48. The Untouchables – Gli untouchables (The Untouchables), directed by Brian De Palma (1987)
  49. The Presidio – Scene of a Crime (The Presidio), directed by Peter Hyams (1988)
  50. Discovering Papa (Memories of me), directed by Henry Winkler (1988) – uncredited
  51. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, by Steven Spielberg (1989)
  52. Family Business, directed by Sidney Lumet (1989)
  53. The Hunt for Red October, by John McTiernan (1990)
  54. La casa Russia (The Russia House), directed by Fred Schepisi (1990)
  55. Highlander II – The Return (Highlander II: The Quickening), directed by Russell Mulcahy (1991)
  56. Robin Hood – Prince of Thieves (Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves), directed by Kevin Reynolds (1991)
  57. Mato Grosso (The Medicine Man), by John McTiernan (1992)
  58. Sol levante (Rising Sun), regia di Philip Kaufman (1993)
  59. In Search of the Sorcerer (A Good Man in Africa), by Bruce Beresford (1994)
  60. Just Cause, by Arne Glimcher (1995)
  61. First Knight, by Jerry Zucker (1995)
  62. The Rock, regia at Michael Bay (1996)
  63. The Avengers – Special Agents (The Avengers), by Jeremiah S. Chechik (1998)
  64. Playing by Heart, by Willard Carrol (1998)
  65. Entrapment, by Jon Amiel (1999)
  66. Finding Forrester, directed by Gus Van Sant (2000)
  67. The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, by Stephen Norrington (2003)