No, Fleming was so impressed he wrote Bond as half-Scottish in future books. Author Ian Fleming wanted the suave British actor James Mason. In spite of these efforts at refinement, Connery was not the first choice of Bond's creator. He got the part and toured England with the show. 'I said, 'Well, I'll have a go at that,' so I went along and auditioned.' Universe, one of the guys, he was in South Pacific and he said, 'Do you want to do a show?'' Connery said. 'What happened was: When I went to London for the Mr. In the 1980s, he told ABC's Barbara Walters that his life changed with a trip to London. Born in 1930 to a cleaning woman and truck driver in depressed Edinburgh, he dropped out of school at age 13. For many, his performance in the Bond role has never been bettered. James Bond.'Ĭonnery's trajectory, as Bond and otherwise, took off like a bullet from a Walther PPK. A Scotsman who could rock a kilt, he possessed cliffhanger eyebrows over piercing eyes.Īs a struggling actor in 1962, he managed to change pop culture forever in the first scene of his first lead role, when he introduced himself in Dr. On screen, Connery brimmed with innate sexuality, topped off by a cool, insolent sense of menace. He is undoubtedly largely responsible for the success of the film series and we shall be forever grateful to him.' James Bond' - he revolutionised the world with his gritty and witty portrayal of the sexy and charismatic secret agent. 'He was and shall always be remembered as the original James Bond whose indelible entrance into cinema history began when he announced those unforgettable words - 'The name's Bond. 'We are devastated by the news of the passing of Sean Connery,' read the statement from producers Michael G. Sean Connery, the first actor to portray James Bond and later one of the biggest and wealthiest stars in the history of film, has died at age 90.Įon Productions, the film studio behind the James Bond films, confirmed the death in a statement on its website. Sean Connery, pictured in Amsterdam during the 1971 filming of Diamonds Are Forever, played James Bond in seven movies.

007 actors