Today, we celebrate Sean Connery, on his 87th birthday, by looking back at some little-known facts about his life and career as James Bond.
Before He Was Bond
Sean Connery was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, as was other notable James Bond celebrities Anthony Dawson (Dr. No) and Shirley Manson (singer, “The World is Not Enough). He is the only Bond actor to have actually enlisted in the Royal Navy. After being discharged for medical reasons, he worked a number of odd jobs, including a coffin “polisher” and art school model. He also turned his attention to body building. In 1953, he entered the Mr. Universe contest and finished third in his division.
Connery’s first film credit was the 1957 British B-movie, No Road Back. Arguably, his breakout role came in 1958, with Another Time, Another Place, starring Lana Turner and Barry Sullivan. During filming, Sean Connery had an altercation with Turner’s then-boyfriend, gangster Johnny Stompanato, who accused the two of having an affair. Connery makes a veiled reference to the film in Thunderball, when leaving shrublands and telling Patricia Fearing that the two should have met “in another time, another place.”
However, it was his role in the children’s film, Darby O’Gill and the Little People (1959) that caught the attention of producers Cubby Broccoli and Harry Saltzman.
Sean Connery’s James Bond Career and Statistics
Connery, of course, went on to star in six James Bond films, seven if counting the non-EON-produced Never Say Never Again. During the filming of You Only Live Twice, in summer of 1966, Connery announced that the film would be his last as James Bond. The departure led to a long-runnign feud between Connery and Broccoli. Nevertheless, Connery was coaxed back to complete Diamonds Are Forever, in 1971. Connery earned nearly $7 million for the film (according to imdb.com), more than his previous outings as 007.
Never Say Never Again, an allusion to Connery’s statement that he would never play Bond again, was Kevin McClory’s remake of Thunderball and released in 1983, opposite Octopussy.
According to Box Office Mojo, Connery’s Bond films ranked as follows, based on gross earning (adjusted for inflation):
- Thunderball ($664m)
- Goldfinger ($589m)
- You Only Live Twice ($319m)
- From Russia with Love ($237m)
- Diamonds Are Forever ($236)
- Dr. No ($168m)
- Never Say Never Again ($156m)
Rankings based on Rotten Tomatoes Score:
- Goldfinger 96% (89% audience score)
- From Russia With Love 96 % (83% audience score)
- Dr. No 96% (82% audience score)
- Thunderball 86%
- You Only Live Twice 72%
- Diamonds Are Forever 67%
- Never Say Never Again 63%
Did You Also Know That Connery…
- has a younger brother named Neil, who was also an actor?
- reportedly dated both Jill St. John and Lana Wood during filming of Diamonds Are Forever?
- broke his wrist while preparing for Never Say Never Again? And that the martial arts instructor who broke it was Steven Seagal?
- received a Kennedy Center Honor in 1999?
- was made “Knight Bachelor” in 2000, for his contribution to film?
- voted People magazine’s “Sexiest Man of the Century” in 1999?
- received the American Film Institute Lifetime Achievement Award, in 2006? See for yourself.