Sean Connery Revealed: Take a Look Back at the Screen Legend’s Life and Career — Bond and Beyond!

Early Days

Sean was born Thomas Sean Connery on August 25, 1930 in Fountainbridge in Edinburgh, Scotland. Named after his grandfather, his father, Joseph, worked in a factory and also served as a truck driver, while his mother, Euphemia, was a cleaning woman. He has a younger brother named Neil, who dabbled in acting but spent most of his professional life as a plasterer. By the time he was 18, Sean had reached his full height of 6-foot-2.

Money was always an issue in the Connery household, which could go a long way in explaining the future actor’s well-known frugalness. In an interview back in the ‘60s, Sean commented, “My background was harsh. We were poor, but I never knew how poor till years later.”

His first job was as a milk delivery man, though it wasn’t long before he joined the Royal Navy. His time there didn’t last long as he found himself suffering from a duodenal ulcer. From there, he took on a number of different jobs to earn money, among them being a lifeguard, a truck driver, a construction worker and, interestingly, as an artist’s model at the Edinburgh College of Art. Eventually, though, he would find himself drawn to the worlds of soccer (called football overseas) and bodybuilding.

Sean actually found himself intrigued by the world of bodybuilding. Decades ago, he commented in an interview, “I don’t know when I first envisioned myself as a sort of muscle-boy, a Scottish Arnold Schwarzenegger, but it must have been in my mid-teens. Teenagers are very conscious of their bodies anyway, and the rugged jobs I’d held helped build up those muscles.”

Part of the allure, it’s been suggested, is that he always liked the idea of improving his look and attracting the ladies. Whatever the reason, in 1950 he decided to enter the “Mr. Universe” competition to see how he could do. He trained vigorously and actually did fairly well, but, according to one biography, he didn’t stick with it because Americans frequently beat him out due to their muscle size, and were so dedicated to bodybuilding that they refused to participate in any other sports. That wasn’t a life for him.

Sean’s interest in soccer began when he was much younger. Showing a natural flair for the sport, in 1950 he went so far as to win a medal and acclaim by participating in a newspaper cup competition as part of the boy’s club team, Fet-Lor Amateurs. From there, he became a part of Bonnyrigg Rose, which was a mining village’s junior league team. For a brief time, he actually considered trying to pursue the sport as a career — he was genuinely that good — but something prevented him from doing so, even after a team known as East Fife offered him a signing fee to join them. Sean saw something bigger on the horizon.

The Road to Acting

In the early 1950s, Sean found himself drawn to the idea of becoming an actor. In fact, it was during a 1953 bodybuilding competition he was participating in that he got word about a stage production of South Pacific. He scored the role of a chorus boy in the traveling show, and eventually moved up to the role of Marine Cpl. Hamilton Steeves, the following year taking on the part of Lieutenant Buzz Adams, a featured role. That same year, he struck up a friendship with American actor Robert Henderson, who is the one that convinced him to take voice lessons and also helped him to get hired by London’s Maida Vale Theatre. On his own, Sean was hired as an extra in the 1954 musical Lilacs in the Spring. More stage work followed, and from there he managed to score some small roles on British television and then on the big screen.

‘No Road Back’ (1957)

Sean had a more prominent role in this British crime drama, playing a gangster named Spike who is distinct in the sense that he has a speech impediment. Google describes the plot as follows: “A blind and deaf woman dedicates her life and sacrifices all she has for her son, a good-for-nothing troublemaker who gets mixed up with a criminal gang that tries to frame him for a robbery.”

‘Hell Drivers’ (1957)

In this British crime noir film about an ex-con trucker who tries to expose what his boss is really up to, Sean had a small, supporting role as the character Johnny Kates.

‘Action of the Tiger’ (1957)

In 1957 he was cast in the feature film Action of the Tiger (pictured above), which has the distinction of being directed by Terence Young, who would later oversee him in three 007 films. That same year he had a role as “2nd Welder” in the British thriller Time Lock.

‘Another Time, Another Place’ (1958)

Lana Turner is American reporter Sara Scott, who, during the final year of World War II, is torn between her feelings for British reporter Mark Trevor (Sean) and her rich American boss (Barry Sullivan).

‘Darby O’Gill and the Little People’ (1959)

His role as Michael McBride in this Disney film — about the title character (Albert Sharpe) and his battle of wills against leprechauns — was definitely a step up, even allowing him to sing a bit. Janet Munro stars as Darby’s daughter, Katie.

‘Tarzan’s Greatest Adventure’ (1959)

Four British villains (Sean being one of them) raid a settlement to obtain explosives for use in a diamond mine. In doing so they nearly destroy the settlement, so  Tarzan pursues them to their mine and the results ain’t pretty. A Tarzan film credited with appealing to adults as well as children.

‘On the Fiddle’ (1961)

For this British comedy, Sean moved to top billing. When he is brought to court and charged with selling stuff on the street, Horace Pope (Alfred Lynch) says he was only doing it while waiting to enlist. The judge calls his bluff and forces him to sign up. Pope makes friends with the easy going but loyal Pedlar Pascoe (Sean), who happily goes along with all of his scams in an effort to avoid the front lines and make a bit on the side, unaware that Horace’s scams are going to get the two of them into a lot of trouble.

‘The Frightened City’ (1961)

Sean plays burglar Paddy Damion in this British neo-noir gangster film about extortion rackets and gang warfare in London’s West End. Costars include Yvonne Romain and Herbert Lom. Also in 1961 he played the title role in Macbeth and Count Alexi Vronsky in Anna Kaarenina.

‘The Longest Day’ (1962)

For Sean, this film was the opportunity to deal with an important subject — the D-Day landings at Normandy during World War II — alongside an all-star cast that includes John Wayne, Robert Mitchum, Steve Forrest, Henry Fonda, Eddie Albert, Peter Lawford, Jeffrey Hunter, Rod Steiger, George Segal, Robert Wagner and Paul Anka(!).

Between Films, Sean Takes a Wife

Sean certainly had a ruggedness in common with James Bond, but another element was his attraction to and from the ladies. He dated quite a few of them, but something definitely connected with Australian actress Diane Cilento, whom he met while costarring with her in a theatrical version of Anna Christie. Initially, she wasn’t attracted to him, feeling that he had an enormous chip on his shoulder, but as time went on they developed a friendship with each other, which gradually led to romance. They were married in 1962, and they had a son, Jason. It should be noted that Diane was the one who convinced him to take on the role of James Bond. In the photo above, the couple can be seen with James Bond producers Harry Saltzman and Albert R. Broccoli.

There was, however, a darker side to their relationship. Back in the 1960s, Sean made headlines from an interview with Playboy magazine in which he expressed his feeling that it was OK to strike a woman. “I don’t think there is anything particularly wrong about hitting a woman, although I don’t recommend doing it in the same way that you’d hit a man,” he said. “An open-handed slap is justified, if all other alternatives fail and there has been plenty of warning. If a woman is a bitch or hysterical, or bloody-minded continually, then I’d do it.” According to Diane’s autobiography, My Nine Lives, three years into their marriage, Sean actually beat her. Although it apparently only happened once, it was an unexpected attack. As she writes in the book, “Everything had changed. Looking back, I think my conviction that Sean was my loyal protector, the one person who always made me feel safe, had been shattered. I still love him deeply, but he would never again be the same person I had trusted unconditionally.” The marriage ended in 1973.

‘Dr. No’ (1962)

The film that got James Bond off the ground, and an unexpected hit from the get go. Sean brings Bond to life in such a way that he instantly connects with the audience. In this first mission Bond is sent to Jamaica to stop the efforts of Dr. No (Joseph Wiseman) to disrupt the American space program. Along the way he meets the lovely Honey Ryder (Ursula Andress). 007 was here to stay and all these years later, he hasn’t gone anywhere.

‘From Russia With Love’ (1963)

In the second 007 adventure, Bond is sent in pursuit of a Lektor decoding machine, and finds himself falling into a trap laid by SPECTRE that has him battling for his life on the Orient Express against Red Grant (Robert Shaw). That fight remains one of cinema’s best. This film was much more of a spy thriller than escapist fare like most of the other Bond films.

‘Goldfinger’ (1964)

Still held by many as the best of the Bonds, Sean is back again as 007 takes on Auric Goldfinger, who plans on radiating the gold in Fort Knox so that his own supply will increase in value. Also introduced to the world was Goldfinger’s henchmen, Odd Job (watch out for that hat!) and Pussy Galore (Honor Blackman, fresh off of Britain’s TV series The Avengers). On top of that, there’s the Aston Martin DB5 (ejector seat and all), the laser that threaten’s Bond’s crotch … and the rest of him, and the lovely Shirley Eaton as golden girl Jill Masterson.

‘Marnie’ (1964)

Right from the start of his tenure as James Bond, Sean knew two things: first, that he could be hopelessly typecast if he didn’t try different things, and, two, that his success as Bond would open the door for non-007 projects. Released the same year as Goldfinger was Marnie, from director Alfred Hitchcock. It sees Sean as a man who blackmails a woman thief (played by Tippi Hedren) into marrying him as he is completely in love with her. What he’s unaware of is the psychological damage she carries and which he is hopeless against.

‘Woman of Straw’ (1964)

This one saw him play the nephew of a millionaire (Ralph Richardson) for who he hires a nurse (Gina Lollobrigida) and who they manipulate into marrying the older man. The plan is that then they’ll kill him, and she’ll inherit his money, which they’ll use to start a life for themselves. As dark as that sounds, Sean’s character is even darker.

‘The Hill’ (1965)

Far grittier than Bond, Sean plays one of five British soldiers sentenced to a detention camp in a North African military prison during World War II. He and others struggle to survive the violence meted out by the guards.

‘Thunderball’ (1965)

SPECTRE is back (and so is Sean), this time capturing a pair of atomic weapons that it threatens the world with unless their financial demands are met. The battle at the end has been described as an underwater ballet. Adjusted for inflation, this would be the highest-grossing Bond film ever.

‘A Fine Madness’ (1966)

Samson Shillitoe (Sean) is a sociopathic — yet genius — poet who is suffering from a major case of writer’s block and decides to see a psychiatrist. The fact that he’s irresistible to women just complicates things.

‘You Only Live Twice’ (1967)

Working from a hollowed out volcano in Japan, SPECTRE — led by Donald Pleasance‘s Ernst Stavro Blofeld — is capturing Russian and American space capsules from orbit in the hopes of triggering World War III.

Sean Connery Leaves Mr. Bond Behind

Twenty-four (almost 25) films later it’s difficult to realize just how big “Bondmania” became in the 1960s, but it was massive. Playing James Bond in the first five 007 films between 1962 and 1967 turned Sean into a superstar. Unfortunately, feeling he wasn’t being treated fairly financially as he watched the Bond films pull in hundreds of millions of dollars, he quit the series. He was replaced by Australian model turned actor George Lazenby in 1969’s On Her Majesty’s Secret Service and believed he was leaving 007 behind forever. Not quite.

One Silver Lining of Bondage

Whatever Sean’s feelings about Mr. Bond, one thing he came out of the series with was an absolute obsession with golf. A key scenes in the film Goldfinger is James Bond engaging in a game of golf with the film’s villain, Auric Goldfinger (Gert Frobe). Sean had to learn the game for filming, but ended up genuinely falling in love with the sport, and it’s been a part of his life ever since. In an interview reported by PGA.com, he explained, “I began to see golf as a metaphor for living, for in golf you are basically on your own, competing against yourself and always trying to do better. If you cheat, you will be the loser, because you are cheating yourself.”

‘Shalako’ (1968)

Upon giving up James Bond for the first time, Sean starred with Brigitte Bardot in the western film Shalako. Brigitte plays the Countess Irina Lazaar, who finds herself alone in dangerous Apache territory while Sean’s title character is a “tracker,” who is trying to locate her.

If he was looking to shake up his 007 image, this certainly did it, although it was admittedly odd to hear a cowboy with his particular accent. The film, unfortunately, was a critical and commercial flop.

‘The Red Tent’ (1969)

Sean stars alongside Peter Finch in this film based on the mission to rescue Umberto Nobile and his fellow survivors after the airship Italia crashes.

‘The Molly Maguires’ (1970)

Next up was the social drama The Molly Maguires, which costarred Richard Harris and Samantha Eggar. It looked at the challenges facing Irish coal miners in Pennsylvania, who needed to fight back for decent conditions and wages. Although the critics were more responsive to it than they had been for Shalako, the audience stayed away.

‘The Anderson Tapes’ (1971)

Following his release from prison, Duke Anderson (Sean), who pleaded guilty to a crime committed by a member of the Mafia, is bankrolled in his attempt to rob an apartment building. Christopher Walken made his movie debut in this one.

‘Diamonds Are Forever’ (1971)

Things were initially rough-going for Sean in his non-Bond career, and he ultimately accepted a $1.25 million payday (which he donated to a Scottish trust fund he started) as well as a two-non-Bond-film deal to renew 007’s license to kill one more time. Blofeld (this time played by Charles Grey) is back, using stolen diamonds to power a laser from space to threaten the world. The plot actually doesn’t make a lot of sense, but it was certainly great to have Sean back as Bond.

‘The Offence’ (1972)

Reteaming with Sidney Lumet, director of The Anderson Tapes, Sean is cast as a British police officer at the end of the line emotionally, who snaps while interrogating a man accused of child molestation.

‘Zardoz’ (1974)

In a post-apocalyptic future, a community of immortals, who have grown bored with their eternal existence, are “invaded” by a man named Zed (Sean), who has been trained only to kill. What follows in this surreal adventure is an exploration of how they impact on each other.

‘Murder on the Orient Express’ (1974)

Agatha Christie‘s novel is adapted. The setting is 1935 and when the Orient Express comes to a stop, a murder takes place which is investigated by Hercule Poirot (Albert Finney). Sean plays one of the suspects aboard.

‘The Terrorists’ (1975)

When a British airliner is hi-jacked, a Scandinavian national security chief (Sean’s Colonel Tahlvik) must run a rescue operation. At the same time, the British ambassador is being held hostage in his residence by another terrorist team.

‘The Wind and the Lion’ (1975)

Raisuli (Sean), a Moroccon Sharif, kidnaps American Eden Pedecaris (Candice Bergen) and her children, which triggers a rescue operation ordered by President Theodore Roosevelt (Brian Keith) in this early 20th Century-set adventure.

‘The Man Who Would Be King’ (1975)

A pair of British former soldiers come up with a scheme to set themselves up as kings in Kafiristan, a land where no white man has set foot since Alexander the Great. Great fun thanks largely to the chemistry between Sean and Michael Caine.

Mr. Connery Takes a Second Wife

Her name is Micheline Roquebrune and there isn’t a lot known about her, beyond the fact that she and Sean were married in 1975 and have been together ever since. One interesting connection between her and his first wife, Diane Cilento, is that whereas Diane was instrumental in Sean taking on the James Bond role back in the early 1960s, Micheline is the one who got him to see the virtues of stepping back into the role in the early 1980s for Never Say Never Again. In fact, she’s the one who actually came up with the title.

‘Robin and Marian’ (1976)

Set years after the traditional Robin Hood stories are told, it shows all the characters in their later years. Robin (Sean) and Little John (Nicol Williamson) return to Sherwood after many years, where they discover that Maid Marian (Audrey Hepburn) is now a mother superior at a convent. But when the arrest order is issued for her by the Sheriff of Nottingham (Robert Shaw, who Sean last battled in From Russia With Love in 1963), it leads to a final encounter between the two men.

‘The Next Man’ (1976)

Sean continues his change-of-pace roles as an Arab diplomat who develops a plan to create peace with Israel by allowing them to join OPEC (Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries). His attempts to do so results in a series of assassination attempts made on his life.

‘A Bridge Too Far’ (1977)

Like The Longest Day before it, an ensemble World War II drama with Sean in a cast that is assigned the task of capturing strategically located bridges in the Netherlands.

‘The Great Train Robbery’ (1978)

Set in Victorian England, Sean and Donald Sutherland are a pair of criminals who plot the then-unprecedented idea of stealing a shipment of gold from a moving train. Also starring Lesley Anne-Down. Written and directed by author Michael Crichton (ER, Jurassic Park).

‘Meteor’ (1979)

Sometimes you can tell when they’re doing it for the money, and that can be said about pretty much everyone in this disaster (in all senses of the world) movie about an asteroid on a direct heading towards Earth. Besides Sean, it stars Natalie Wood, Karl Malden, Brian Keith and Martin Landau.

‘Cuba’ (1979)

Major Robert Dapes (Sean) is a British mercenary in pre-revolution Cuba who has been hired to train General Batista’s army against Fidel Castro’s guerillas. While there, he rekindles a romance with Alexandra Lopez de Pulido (Brooke Adams), a former lover who is now married to a corrupt plantation owner.

‘Outland’ (1981)

Set on Io, Jupiter’s moon, Sean is Marshall William T. O’Niel, who is stationed on a mining colony where he uncovers a drug-smuggling operation.

‘Five Days One Summer’ (1982)

Douglas Meredith (Sean), an aging doctor, is joined by his mistress (Betsy Brantley) on an Alpine “walking” holiday, when he discovers that she is developing feelings for their tour guide.

‘Wrong Is Right’ (1982)

Television reporter Patrick Hale (Sean) sets off to find a pair of suitcase-sized nuclear weapons stolen by terrorists. The film is a satire of American news reporting of the time and covert agencies.

The ‘Battle of the Bonds’ Never Existed

Yes, in 1983 there were two James Bond movies released. One was Octopussy, which represented Roger Moore‘s sixth 007 film; while the other was Never Say Never Again, a rival Bond production that had Sean return to his most famous role after a 12-year hiatus. The media took those films and attempted to manufacture some sort of a feud between the leading men, but nothing could be further from the truth. While Roger had indeed assumed the Bond role from Sean with 1973’s Live and Let Die, both men had been great friends for decades and could care less about the so-called competition.

‘Never Say Never Again’ (1983)

For reasons that are far too complicated to explain here, producer Kevin McClory was granted the rights to remake the James Bond film Thunderball, which he also produced. The plot is pretty much the same: SPECTRE steals two nuclear bombs and attempts to hold the world hostage. Sean is back as 007 and has to stop them. We don’t think we’re spoiling anything when we say he succeeds. Kim Basinger was introduced to the world in this one.

‘Sword of the Valiant’ (1983)

Sean is the Green Knight, who bests a squire in King Arthur’s court — the consequence of which is death. But, instead, he gives the squire a year to travel the world an experience life before his fate is handed out to him.

‘Highlander’ (1986)

Christopher Lambert is Connor MacLeod, one of a group of Immortals who are attempting to be the last among them standing (“In the end, there can be just one” proclaims the film’s advertising). To face the most powerful of them all, Kurgan (Clancy Brown), he is trained by Ramirez (Sean). A very cool action film. Sadly, the same cannot be said about 1991’s Highlander II: The Quickening, in which Sean reprises the role. Yeesh.

‘The Name of the Rose’ (1986)

Certainly a unique plot: William von Baskerville (Sean) is a nonconformist friar who finds himself investigating a number of deaths that seem to defy explanation at an isolated abbey. He’s assisted by Adso von Melk (Christian Slater).

‘The Untouchables’ (1986)

If there was a decade in which Sean truly came into his own as an actor, and where he could finally put James Bond behind him, it would be the 1980s (this despite the fact in 1983 he played Bond in Never Say Never Again) when the roles were more varied than ever, and the nuance he brought to them even more acclaimed. Best of all was The Untouchables (1987), based on the classic TV series that saw him playing Jim Malone, teaming up with Kevin Costner’s Elliot Ness to bring down Al Capone in 1920s Chicago.

And the Oscar Goes To … Sean Connery!

Above we mentioned the fact that 1987’s The Untouchables was a true highlight of Sean’s films from that decade. We’re far from alone in feeling that way, as he was the recipient the Academy Award in the category of Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of Jim Malone. What was wonderful to see was the genuine enthusiasm the audience has for him, and Sean’s own delight at winning.

‘The Presidio’ (1988)

In San Francisco, Mark Harmon plays police detective Jay Austin, who is forced to work with his former commanding officer, Lt. Colonel Alan Caldwell (Sean) to solve a series of murders. He also happens to be dating Caldwell’s daughter, Donna (Meg Ryan).

‘Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade’ (1989)

As if the Indiana Jones didn’t have enough going for them, by the time we got to 1989’s Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, we discovered that director Steven Spielberg had the brilliant idea of bringing Sean aboard. Playing Indy’s father, Henry Jones Sr., it provided wonderful moments of humor and pathos as it explored this particular father/son dynamic while they searched for the Holy Grail. The chemistry between Sean and Harrison Ford was great, and we’re only sorry that we didn’t get to see more of it.

‘Family Business’ (1989)

Sean, Dustin Hoffman and Matthew Broderick are three generations of family who work together to commit a high-tech crime. Yet another collaboration between Sean and director Sidney Lumet.

‘The Hunt for Red October’ (1990)

Tom Clancy‘s Jack Ryan is brought to life for the first time with Alec Baldwin playing the character. In this adventure, Sean plays the captain of a Russian submarine who has decided to defect and heads for the U.S. The question is whether or not he truly intends to defect, or if this is a ploy to start World War III.

‘The Russia House’ (1990)

Barley Blair (Sean), a British publisher, comes to Moscow where he inadvertently discovers a manuscript that details the nuclear missile capabilities of the Soviet Union. Getting word of this, the CIA and British Intelligence have him investigate the editor of said manuscript, Katya Orlova (Michelle Pfeiffer). Along the way, they fall in love.

‘Medicine Man’ (1992)

In the Amazon Jungle, scientist Richard Campbell (Sean) believes he’s discovered the cure for cancer. The company they work for sends Dr. Rae Crane (Lorraine Bracco) to investigate his discoveries, but the two of them find their lives in danger from commercial loggers determined to destroy the jungle.

‘Rising Sun’ (1993)

Sean teams up with Wesley Snipes as a pair of Los Angeles detectives who find themselves investigating the death of a female escort in the offices of a Japanese company located in Los Angeles.

‘A Good Man in Africa’ (1994)

The film is officially described as follows: “Morgan Leafy (Colin Friels) is a British diplomat living in Kinjanja, an African nation recently freed from British rule. Arthur Fanshawe (John Lithgow), a new diplomat eager to leave Africa, learns that Kinjanja sits on top of a huge oil reserve. Unfortunately, Morgan is too preoccupied with alcohol and women to know what to do with the oil. To make matters worse, a woman is struck by lightning on the British compound, creating a tense political situation with the local government.” Sean plays Dr. Alex Murray.

‘Just Cause’ (1995)

When a man (Laurence Fishburn) is sentenced to death in the murder of a child, Harvard professor Paul Armstrong (Sean) comes out of retirement and re-enters the courtroom 25 years after he walked away from the law.

‘First Knight’ (1995)

Lancelot (Richard Gere) falls in love with Guinevere (Julia Ormond), who is due to be married to King Arthur (Sean). Meanwhile, a violent warlord tries to seize power from Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table.

‘The Rock’ (1996)

Anyone who felt like they were missing the old James Bond vibe from Sean in the 1990s, had no farther to look than 1996’s The Rock. In it, he plays a former British agent who has been illegally held by the Americans for decades, but is released to team up with nerve gas specialist Stanley Goodspeed (Nicolas Cage) to mount a mission to stop a team of mercenaries who have taken hostages on Alcatraz and are threatening to unleash a deadly chemical agent. Tremendous rapport between the leading men, and this early directorial effort of Michael Bay just … well, rocks.

‘The Avengers’ (1998)

There’s not a superhero in sight. It’s based on the ’60s spy series from England of the same name and stars Ralph Fiennes and Uma Thurman as agents John Steed and Dr. Emma Peel, who must go up against the weather-controlling Sir August de Wynter (Sean).

‘Playing by Heart’ (1998)

It’s a story exploring how 11 random people are bound by the idea of love. Among the cast are Sean and Gene Rowlands as a married couple who are getting ready to renew their vows.

‘Entrapment’ (1999)

Catherine Zeta-Jones is insurance agent Gin, who is given the assignment of tracking down art thief Mac (Sean). The film actually took a lot of heat for its romantic aspects given the age difference between Sean and Catherine.

‘Finding Forrester’ (2000)

Official summary: “A black teenager, Jamal Wallace (Rob Brown), is invited to attend a prestigious private high school. By chance, Jamal befriends a reclusive writer, William Forrester (Sean), through whom he refines his talent for writing and comes to terms with his identity.”

Sean Becomes a Sir

Sean had been nominated for knighthood in both 1997 and 1998, but due to opposition of the fact that he has not only spent most of his life as a supporter of Scottish independence from the United Kingdom, but has been a member of the Scottish National Party as well, it was denied. Despite that, on July 5, 2000, Sean met with Queen Elizabeth II and found himself knighted. Given his long career, coupled with the positive impact his role as James Bond had on the country in the 1960s, one would consider it an honor long overdue.

Turning Down ‘Lord of the Rings’ — And $400 Million

Back when director Peter Jackson was gearing up the Lord of the Rings trilogy, Sean was given an offer to play the wizard Gandalf (ultimately played by Ian McKellan). He turned the part down because he didn’t like the idea of filming a project for 18 months in New Zealand, and largely because he didn’t understand the script for the classic fantasy. Given the percentage he had been offered and how much the trilogy grossed, it’s estimated that that decision cost him in excess of $400 million. Ouch. At the same time, let’s not feel too bad for him: His net worth is already in excess of $300 million.

‘The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen’ (2003)

In 1899 as a group of terrorists work to turn the nations of the world against each other, a team of fictional characters from the era come together to stop them, including Allan Quatermain (Sean), Mina Harker (Peta Wilson), Tom Sawyer (Shane West), and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (Jason Flemyng).

Time to Retire, Mr. Connery

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen was, as far as Sean was concerned, a nightmare to make, with a lot of wasted time during filming. It was also an example of how moviemaking was changing with an ever-increasing reliance on visual effects. After it was finished and he fulfilled his obligations to promote it, he’d decided that he’d had enough and essentially retired from acting. “It was a nightmare,” he said of the process. “The experience had a great influence on me. It made me think about showbiz. I get fed up dealing with idiots.”

American Film Institute Lifetime Achievement Award

It took three years, but Sean finally made his retirement official in 2006. That was also the same year that a highly significant event took place: in June the American Film Institute (AFI) presented him with their Lifetime Achievement Award, celebrating an incredible career in films. There couldn’t be a more appropriate way, then, to cap off all that he had achieved before and after he uttered those famous words, “Bond. James Bond.”