Sean Connery: 12 Facts About Characters and Roles

1. #008

   Sean Connery turned down the lead role in the original The Thomas Crown Affair (1968), which he later admitted was a big mistake on his part.

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2. #013

   Sean Connery turned down the role of Simon Gruber in Die Hard with a Vengeance (1995) because of the character's villainous nature. John McTiernan, who directed Connery in The Hunt for Red October (1990) and Medicine Man (1992), said Connery was his first choice for the role.

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3. #022

   Ian Fleming, the creator of James Bond, initially disliked Connery's casting as Bond for Dr. No (1962) because he felt he was not "refined" enough. The actor Fleming had in mind to embody Bond was Cary Grant. Fleming later changed his mind and admitted Connery was an ideal actor for the role.

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4. #038

   Connery received excellent reviews for his leading role in Macbeth (1961) and wanted to make a film of "the Scottish Play." Plans to make a film in the early 1970s ended with Roman Polanski's Macbeth (1971).

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5. #064

   Before Sean Connery was cast as James Bond in Dr. No (1962), Cary Grant, David Niven, Patrick McGoohan, Laurence Harvey, Richard Todd, Trevor Howard, Rex Harrison, James Mason, Steve Reeves, Richard Johnson, William Franklyn, Stanley Baker, Ian Hendry, Richard Burton, Rod Taylor and George Baker were considered for the role.

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6. #068

   Sean Connery played Juan Sanchez Villa-Lobos Ramirez in Highlander (1986) and Highlander II: The Quickening (1991). This is the only character other than James Bond that he played in more than one film.

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7. #069

   When Sean Connery played Richard the Lionheart in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991), he was 60 years old, although Richard was only 41 when he was killed on April 6, 1199.

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8. #072

   Tippi Hedren, the star of Marnie (1964), named one of her house cats after Sean Connery.

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9. #096

   Time Bandits (1981) originally called for Sean Connery to lead a group of Greek soldiers in King Agamemnon's battle against Evil and to return as he is killed, but the scene could not be worked into Connery's schedule. A compromise was devised between Connery and Craig Warnock, who played the child hero Kevin, to provide the film's ending.

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10. #117

    He was offered the role of Professor Waldman in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (1994) but turned it down; John Cleese, the star of his Time Bandits (1981), was eventually cast.

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11. #120

    He was seriously considered for the role of King Philip of Macedon in Oliver Stone's Alexander (2004).

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12. #158

    Sean Connery's insistence on seeing the complete script before accepting a role astonished Alfred Hitchcock, who called him to offer the part in Marnie (1964); as the legendary director put it, "a phone call from me is usually enough". He turned down Blow-Up (1966) because the only thing Michelangelo Antonioni could show him was "about seven sketchy pages and something written on a Woodbine packet".

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