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Diamonds Forever: Sean Connery lived like a king - and died like a king

Sean Connery knew how to live - and knew how to die.

He was always the right man in the right place, until Hollywood changed, and he understood the hint and retired just in time.

Farewell to "The Best Bond of All" and "The Sexy Man of the Century", who also knew how to pamper himself with quality films when he wanted

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• Sean Connery

• Indiana Jones

• James Bond

Avner Shavit

Saturday, 31 October 2020, 17:14

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Everyone has their own Sean Connery.

Most remember him from the James Bond movies, in which he was the first to get into the character of the spy.

Later generations keep a warm corner in his heart thanks to his appearance in "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade," one of the wonderful blockbusters of the 1980s, and perhaps in general.

Well-wishers, not to mention smart ones, will prefer to mention lesser-known commercial films, such as "Marnie" or "The Inquiry."

Those who were born at the beginning of the present century, and have not seen a movie made before, may not know him at all - for he retired many years before his death today.

There are actors who, for one reason or another, are not willing to leave the light of the cameras, even if the price is participation in works below their level.

The Scottish star, ironically for someone who once starred in a film called "Never Say No", knew when to refuse and knew when to stop, so he leaves behind an almost flawless legacy, with an extraordinary amount of iconic films and with very few misses.

The first major film of these was "Dr. No" from 1962, in which Connery first played the character of Agent 007. Today, he is so identified with the role that it already seems obvious, but in fact - he almost did not accept it. Ian Fleming, the creator of Bond, hoped for a better-known star, such as Kerry Grant or Richard Burton, while the Scottish actor had a meager resume that included a negligible children's film called "Darby O'Gill and the Little People." .

but the presence of Connery was so magnetic, enough profile that visit. Albert R. broccoli, producer of hits Bond Watch forgotten when looking for players in the role of the spy, and he did so with who was counselor closest to him, his wife Dana. when she saw the young Scot was quick Notice his unique charisma, and offered to bet on him.

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What a class.

Connery after being cast as Bond in 1962 (Photo: Imagebank, Holton Archive)

Aside from being titled "The Best Bond of All," his appearances in spy hits helped Connery pick up another title - he was voted by People magazine as the sexiest man of the last century.

The fact that he was bald at a young age did not bother, and the star himself was not ashamed of it

Connery was the first to play Bond and was not the last, but he was considered the best of them all - and the past years did not dull his charm, but only strengthened him.

Just three months ago a poll was conducted among the British public to decide between him and those who came after him, and the Scot won lightly.

Aside from being titled "The Best Bond of All," his appearances in spy hits helped Connery pick up another title - he was voted by People magazine as the sexiest man of the last century.

The fact that he was bald at a young age did not bother, and the star himself was not ashamed of it.

In the first episodes of the film series, he still wore a wig, but at one point he abandoned it and walked around with his bald head raised.

But even if it was Bond films that made him an international icon, the best illustration of his sex appeal can be found in another film - "Marnie" from 1964, one of Hitchcock's late, beautiful and bizarre works, in which Connery starred alongside Tippy Encore.

Encore was supposed to play a sexless character, and legend has it that after a few rehearsals on Connery's side, she approached Hitchcock and told him "Are you sure my character is going to stay frigid? Did you see what he looked like?".

The collaboration with Hitchcock symbolizes another direction in Connery's career, which makes her in perspective a diverse, unique and high-quality varnish.

He starred in quite a few box office hits - not only Bond films, but also Steven Spielberg's "Indiana and the Last Crusade," 1989's biggest box office hit;

"Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves", third place in the 1991 box office chart;

And Michael Bay's "Breakthrough Alcatraz," fourth on the 1996 box office charts.

Revolutionary boy.

Sean Connery in 1968 (Photo: Imagebank)

"It was a nightmare, he was crazy, and because of him I realized I was tired of wasting time on idiots," Connery would say to explain why the trauma caused him to announce his retirement from the world of entertainment.

But at the same time, Connery has also starred in more personal, artistic and rugged films - for example, Sydney Lumet's 1973 "The Inquiry," one of the most radical and violent films of the period, and John Houston's 1975 "The Man Who Wanted to Be King."

There are not many actors who can attest to having worked with both Michael Bay and Alfred Hitchcock and John Houston, but Connery could, and the list could have been longer had he not rejected in the 1960s Michelangelo Antonioni's offer to participate in the masterpiece classic "Passions," Because the Italian director refused to show him a script.

Another Italian, Umberto Eco, was indirectly responsible for another milestone in his career.

"The Name of the Rose," an English-language adaptation of his book, came out in the late 1980s and won Connery the British Oscar.

During that time, he climbed a few more steps and won, for the first and most recently, the most important award of all - the American Oscar.

It was about "The Unbiased," which Brian de Palma directed based on a screenplay by David Mamet, in which the Scot played a polished policeman who takes under his wing Elliott Ness, the lawman who fights El Capone.

This was the stage where the actor began to play father characters, which he also did with great success in "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade."

The 1990s were a little less successful, but with huge hits like "Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves," "Hacking Alcatraz" and "Trap," Connery and his fans had no reason to complain.

But the industry was facing change, and it turned out to be crucial for him.

At the end of the decade, the actor received generous offers to participate in "The Matrix" and "The Lord of the Rings", which became the characteristic blockbusters of the period, but refused to participate in them simply because he could not understand their scripts.

That was the beginning of the golden age of science fiction and fantasy hits, and said that the amount was used for a completely different type films, had trouble finding her own.

Out of regret on this double refusal, agreed Connery in 2003 to star in the movie "Extraordinary Gentlemen", and taste A bit of a superhero world. The result was disastrous. Not only did the high-budget production crash at the box office, but the veteran star spent it in endless arguments with director Stephen Norrington. Will say later to explain why the trauma caused him to announce his retirement from the world of entertainment.

In the end it happened.

Sean Connery with the Oscars (Photo: Imagebank)

In the little over a decade and a half since then, Connery has been able to participate in many more projects - but preferred to rest on the sidelines, perhaps also realizing that the new Hollywood is no longer what it used to be, and no longer has room for two unrelated phenomena he symbolized. Vulnerability and fragility;

And not for the blockbusters he used to star in, which are not from the world of comics.

Connery's recent public appearances were not necessarily in a cinematic context, but as part of his struggle for Scottish independence.

Indeed, as befits a life full of contradictions, it was precisely one of the greatest British icons of all who sided with the dissolution of the kingdom, a historic move that would no longer be seen in his lifetime.

It is only fitting that he ended this life in the sweetest way possible, when he died in his sleep.

Connery started his career as the right man in the right place, and knew how to retire on time.

He lived with class, and died in class.

The Scottish actor once starred in a movie called "The Man Who Wanted to Be King", but the film they will make about him can simply be called that - "The Man Who Was King".

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