In Memoriam: Sir Sean Connery

On Halloween 2020 we lost a true icon of the 20th century, a most recognisable face and voice of the film industry had died, this was of course Sir Sean Connery at the age 90 years old.

Born in Scotland in 1930, Connery worked in a wide range of occupations before he found stardom, most notably as a milkman, a lorry driver, and even tried his hand at bodybuilding. But at the age of 32 Connery quickly became a household star, fulfilling the main role in what would become one of the biggest Film franchises the world has ever seen. With it’s release in 1963, Dr. No saw Connery bring to life the elegantly suave, devilishly handsome and mysterious secret agent that is James Bond.

For the next five years Connery became one of the biggest faces of the British film industry, reprising the role of Bond for a further 4 years before passing the baton onto the many successors who would continue to play Bond till the modern day (though Connery did famously return for one last film in the shoes of Bond in the 1983 picture Never Say Never Again) . Though obviously subjective, many people share the belief that Connery was and will be the true great James Bond, with his ability to really bring to life the character created by Ian Fleming, who had written the infamous spy novels.

However, Sir Sean was much more than just the face of James Bond, his reign as a British star continued in films such as the 1975 film The Man Who Would Be King, and his brilliance as an actor was finally awarded to him in the late 1980’s, with an academy award for Best Supporting Actor in the 1987 classic The Untouchables where amongst stars such as Kevin Costner and Robert De Niro. Connery excelled in his role as a tough skinned Irish-American policeman helping to bring down Chicago’s drug kingpin and one of the most famous gangsters in recent history, Al Capone.

Only two years later Connery received even more praise and various nominations for his starring role alongside Harrison Ford in the third instalment of the Indiana Jones franchise.

As Connery’s good friend and fellow film star Michael Caine has recently tweeted, ‘The Man Who Would Be King was THE KING’.

Connery spent his later years in the brisk sunshine of the Bahamas, which is eventually where he ended up passing away, leaving behind his wife Micheline and son Jason.

As Connery’s good friend and fellow film star Michael Caine has recently tweeted, ‘The Man Who Would Be King was THE KING’.

Rest in Peace Sir Sean Connery.

Featured Image: Wikimedia