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Sean Connery

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Biography

One of the few movie "superstars" truly worthy of the designation, actor Sean Connery was born to a middle-class Scots family in the first year of the worldwide Depression. Dissatisfied with his austere surroundings, Connery quit school at 15 to join the Navy (he still bears his requisite tattoos, one reading "Scotland Forever" and the other "Mum and Dad"). Holding down several minor jobs, not the least of which was as a coffin polisher, Connery became interested in body-building, which led to several advertising modeling jobs and a bid at Scotland's "Mr. Universe" title. Mildly intrigued by acting, Connery joined the singing-sailor chorus of the London Production of South Pacific in 1951. South Pacific whetted his appetite for stage work; Connery worked for a while in repertory, then moved to television, where he scored a success in the BBC's re-staging of the American teledrama Requiem for a Heavyweight. The actor moved on to films, playing bit parts (he'd been an extra in the 1954 Anna Neagle musical Lilacs in the Spring) and working up to supporting roles. Connery's first important movie role was as Lana Turner's vis-a-vis in Another Time, Another Place (1958) -- though he was killed off 15 minutes into the picture.

After several more years in increasingly larger film and TV roles, Connery was cast as James Bond in 1962's Dr. No; he was far from the first choice, but the producers were impressed by Connery's refusal to kowtow to them when he came in to read for the part. The actor played Bond again in From Russia With Love (1963), but it wasn't until the third Bond picture, Goldfinger (1964), that both Connery and his secret-agent alter ego became major box-office attractions. While the money steadily improved, Connery was already weary of Bond at the time of the fourth 007 flick Thunderball (1965). He tried to prove to audiences and critics that there was more to his talents than James Bond by playing a villain in Woman of Straw (1964), an enigmatic Hitchcock hero in Marnie (1964), a cockney POW in The Hill (1965) and a looney Greenwich Village poet in A Fine Madness (1966). Despite the excellence of his characterizations, audiences preferred the Bond films, while critics always qualified their comments with references to the secret-agent. With You Only Live Twice (1967), Connery swore he was through with James Bond; with Diamonds are Forever (1970), he really meant what he said. Rather than coast on his celebrity, the actor sought out the most challenging movie assignments possible, including La Tenda Rossa/The Red Tent (1969), The Molly Maguires (1970) and Zardoz (1973). This time audiences were more responsive, though Connery was still most successful with action films like The Wind and the Lion (1974), The Man Who Would Be King (1975), and The Great Train Robbery (1981). With his patented glamorous worldliness, Connery was also ideal in films about international political intrigue like The Next Man (1976), Cuba (1979), Hunt for Red October (1990) and The Russia House (1990). One of Connery's personal favorite performances was also one of his least typical: In The Offence (1973), he played a troubled police detective whose emotions -- and hidden demons -- are agitated by his pursuit of a child molester.

In 1981, Connery briefly returned to the Bond fold with Never Say Never Again (1981), but his difficulties with the production staff turned what should have been a fond throwback to his salad days into a nightmarish experience for the actor. At this point, he hardly needed Bond to sustain his career; Connery had not only the affection of his fans but the respect of his industry peers, who honored him with the British Film Academy award for Name of the Rose (1986) and the American Oscar for The Untouchables (1987) (this last film also helped make a star of Kevin Costner, who repaid the favor by casting Connery as Richard the Lionhearted in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991) -- the most highly publicized "surprise" cameo of its year). While Connery's star had risen to new heights, he also continued his habit of alternating crowd-pleasing action films with smaller, more contemplative projects which allowed him to stretch his legs as an actor, such as Time Bandits (1981), Five Days One Summer (1982), A Good Man In Africa (1994) and Playing By Heart (1998). Although his mercurial temperament and occasionally overbearing nature is well known, Connery is nonetheless widely sought out by actors and directors who crave the thrill of working with him: among those so anointed were Harrison Ford, Steven Spielberg and George Lucas, who collaborated with Connery on Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989), where the actor played Jones's father. Connery served as Executive Producer on his 1992 vehicle Medicine Man, and continued to take on greater behind-the-camera responsibilies on his films, serving as both star and executive producer on Rising Sun (1993), Just Cause (1995) and The Rock (1996). He graduated to full producer on Entrapment (1999), and like a true Scot he brought the project in under budget; the film was a massive commercial success and paired Connery in a credible onscreen romance with Catherine Zeta-Jones, a beauty 40 years his junior. He also received a unusual hipster accolade in Trainspotting (1996), in which one of the film's Gex-X dropouts (from Scotland, significantly enough) frequently discusses the relative merits of Connery's body of work. Still a megastar in the 1990s, Sean Connery commands one of moviedom's highest salaries -- not so much for his own ego-massaging as for the good of his native Scotland, to which Connery donates a sizable chunk of his earnings. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Filmography

League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, The (2003) .... Allan Quatermain
Best Ever Bond (2002) (TV) .... Himself/James Bond
Behind the Scenes: Finding Forrester (2001) (V) .... Himself
Inside 'Diamonds Are Forever' (2000) (V) (archive footage) .... Himself
Ken Adam: Designing Bond (2000) (V) (archive footage) .... James Bond
Music of James Bond, The (2000) (V) (archive footage)
Finding Forrester (2000) .... William Forrester
BBC and the BAFTA Tribute to Michael Caine, The (2000) (TV) .... Himself
Trouble with Marnie, The (2000) (TV) (archive footage) .... Himself
Inside 'Dr. No' (2000) (V) .... Himself
James Bond Story, The (2000) (TV) .... Himself
... aka 007: The James Bond Story (2000) (TV) (New Zealand: English title)
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade: A Look Inside (1999) (TV) (archive footage) .... Prof. Henry Jones
Kennedy Center Honors, The (1999) (TV) .... Himself
Entrapment (1999) .... Robert 'Mac' MacDougal
... aka Verlockende Falle (1999) (Germany)
"30 Years of Billy Connolly" (1998) (mini) TV Series .... Himself
Nobody Does It Better: The Music of James Bond (1998) (TV) (archive footage) .... James Bond
Playing by Heart (1998) .... Paul
... aka Intermedia (1998) (Canada: English title)
Junket Whore (1998) .... Himself
Avengers, The (1998) .... Sir August de Wynter
70th Annual Academy Awards, The (1998) (TV) (uncredited) .... Himself (Past Oscar Winner Tribute Sequence)
Sean Connery, an Intimate Portrait (1997) .... Himself
Sean Connery Close Up (1997) (V) .... Himself
Secrets of 007: The James Bond Files, The (1997) (TV) .... Himself
Rock, The (1996) .... John Patrick Mason
Dragonheart (1996) (voice) .... Draco
Behind the Scenes with Goldfinger (1995) (V) .... Himself
... aka Making of 'Goldfinger', The (1999) (V) (USA: DVD title)
Behind the Scenes with Thunderball (1995) (V) .... Himself
James Bond 007: Yesterday and Today (1995) (V) .... Himself
Three Decades of James Bond 007 (1995) (V) .... Himself
World of 007, The (1995) (TV)
First Knight (1995) .... King Arthur
Just Cause (1995) .... Paul Armstrong
Good Man in Africa, A (1994) .... Dr. Alex Murray
Rising Sun (1993) .... John Connor
"Fame in the Twentieth Century" (1993) TV Series (uncredited) (archive footage) .... Himself
Medicine Man (1992) .... Dr. Robert Campbell
... aka Last Days of Eden, The (1992)
Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991) (uncredited) .... King Richard
Highlander II: The Quickening (1991) .... Juan Sánchez Villa-Lobos Ramírez
... aka Highlander II: The Renegade Version (1991) (UK: director's cut) (USA: video title (director's cut))
... aka Highlander - Le retour (1991) (France)
Russia House, The (1990) .... Bartholomew 'Barley' Scott Blair
Hunt for Red October, The (1990) .... Marko Ramius
Many Faces of Bond, The (1989) (V) (uncredited) (archive footage) .... Himself
Family Business (1989) .... Jessie McMullen
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989) .... Professor Henry Jones
Memories of Me (1988) .... Himself
Presidio, The (1988) .... Lieutenant Colonel Alan Caldwell
... aka Presidio: The Scene of the Crime, The (1988) (UK)
Untouchables, The (1987) .... Jim Malone
Happy Anniversary 007: 25 Years of James Bond (1987) (TV) .... Himself
Name der Rose, Der (1986) .... William of Baskerville
... aka Name of the Rose, The (1986) (USA)
... aka Nom de la rose, Le (1986) (France)
... aka Nome della rosa, Il (1986) (Italy)
Highlander (1986) .... Juan Sanchez Villa-Lobos Ramirez
James Bond 007: Coming Attractions (1984) (TV) (archive footage) .... Himself
Never Say Never Again (1983) .... James Bond
... aka James Bond 007 - Sag niemals nie (1984) (West Germany)
Five Days One Summer (1982) .... Douglas Meredith
G'ole! (1982) (voice) .... Commentator
Sword of the Valiant: The Legend of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (1982) .... The Green Knight
... aka Sword of the Valiant (1984) (USA: video box title)
... aka Sword of the Valiant: The Legend of Gawain and the Green Knight (1982)
Wrong Is Right (1982) .... Patrick Hale
... aka Man with the Deadly Lens, The (1982)
Time Bandits (1981) .... King Agamemnon
Outland (1981) .... Marshal William T. O'Niel
American Film Institute Salute to Alfred Hitchcock, The (1979) (TV) .... Himself
Cuba (1979) .... Major Robert Dapes
Meteor (1979) .... Dr. Paul Bradley
First Great Train Robbery, The (1979) .... Edward Pierce/John Simms/Geoffrey
... aka Great Train Robbery, The (1979) (USA)
Bridge Too Far, A (1977) .... Maj. Gen. Roy Urquhart
Next Man, The (1976) .... Khalil Abdul-Muhsen
... aka Arab Conspiracy, The (1976)
... aka Double Hit (1976)
Robin and Marian (1976) .... Robin Hood
Dream Factory, The (1975) .... Himself
Man Who Would Be King, The (1975) .... Daniel Dravot
... aka Rudyard Kipling's The Man Who Would Be King (1975) (USA: complete title)
Wind and the Lion, The (1975) .... Mulay Achmed Mohammed el-Raisuli the Magnificent
Ransom (1975) .... Nils Tahlvik
... aka Terrorists, The (1975) (USA)
Murder on the Orient Express (1974) .... Colonel Arbuthnot
Zardoz (1974) .... Zed
Offence, The (1973) .... Detective Sergeant Johnson
... aka Offense, The (1973) (UK)
... aka Something Like the Truth (1973)
España campo de golf (1972) .... Himself
Diamonds Are Forever (1971) .... James Bond
... aka Ian Fleming's Diamonds Are Forever (1971) (USA: complete title)
Anderson Tapes, The (1971) .... John Anderson
Krasnaya palatka (1971) .... Roald Amundsen
... aka Red Tent, The (1971) (USA)
... aka Tenda rossa, La (1971) (Italy)
... aka Tsiteli karavi (1971) (Soviet Union: Georgian title)
Molly Maguires, The (1970) .... Jack Kehoe
Male of the Species (1969) (TV)
Shalako (1968) .... Moses Zebulon 'Shalako' Carlin
... aka Man nennt mich Shalako (1968) (West Germany)
You Only Live Twice (1967) .... James Bond
... aka Ian Fleming's You Only Live Twice (1967) (USA: complete title)
Fine Madness, A (1966) .... Samson Shillitoe
Un monde nouveau (1966) (uncredited) .... Himself
... aka Mondo nuovo, Un (1966) (Italy)
... aka New World, A (1966)
... aka Un monde jeune (1966)
... aka Young World, A (1966)
Thunderball (1965) .... James Bond
... aka Ian Fleming's Thunderball (1965) (UK: complete title)
Hill, The (1965) .... Trooper Joe Roberts
Goldfinger (1964) .... James Bond
... aka Ian Fleming's Goldfinger (1964)
Woman of Straw (1964) .... Anthony Richmond
Marnie (1964) .... Mark Rutland
From Russia with Love (1963) .... James Bond
... aka Ian Fleming's From Russia with Love (1964) (USA: complete title)
Dr. No (1962) .... James Bond
... aka Ian Fleming's Dr. No (1962) (UK: complete title)
Longest Day, The (1962) .... Pvt. Flanagan
Frightened City, The (1961) .... Paddy Damion
On the Fiddle (1961) .... Pedlar Pascoe
... aka Operation Snafu (1965) (USA)
... aka Operation War Head (1961) (USA: reissue title)
Anna Karenina (1961/II) (TV) .... Wronski
"Age of Kings, An" (1960) (mini) TV Series .... Hotspur
Without the Grail (1960) (TV) .... Innes Corrie
Colombe (1960) (TV) .... Julien
Tarzan's Greatest Adventure (1959) .... O'Bannion
Darby O'Gill and the Little People (1959) .... Michael McBride
Square Ring, The (1959) (TV) .... Rick Martell
Women in Love (1958) (TV) .... Jewish Pianist/Nazi War Criminal
Another Time, Another Place (1958) .... Mark Trevor
No Road Back (1957) .... Spike
Time Lock (1957) .... Welder #2
Hell Drivers (1957) .... Johnny Kates
... aka Hard Drivers (1957)
Action of the Tiger (1957) .... Mike
Anna Christie (1957) (TV) .... Mat Burke
Lilacs in the Spring (1955) (uncredited)
... aka Let's Make Up (1955) (USA

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