Sean Connery died, he was 90 years old

Within minutes the news came that Sean Connery passed away at the age of 90. The Scottish actor died in his sleep in his home in the Bahamas for some time, family members had reported suboptimal health conditions but no news of serious illness or, given the ominous historical moment, Covid-19 infection had been reported. He retired from the stage at the end of 2003.

Sean Connery - career

Sean Connery was born in Edinburgh on August 25, 1930 into a modest family: his father was a farmer and truck driver, the maid mother. At 16, he joined the British Navy from which he was discharged in 1950 due to a severe stomach ulcer. After practicing various professions (including bricklaying, dishwasher and coffin painter), Connery ventured first as a model (also posing nude for Edinburgh Art College) and then with the theater.

Since 1951 participates in small theatrical performances where he immediately stands out for his physical prowess on stage. In 1953 he participated in the Mister Universo competition, participation that opened the way first to the world of television and then to that of cinema where he officially made his debut in 1957 in Il bandito dell'Epirus by Terence Young,

onnery He then practiced various professions, including the lifeguard, the bodyguard and finally the model. At the age of nineteen he posed nude for Edinburgh Art College, and began to exhibit what initially seemed unfortunate, early baldness, a trait that later contributed to his mature appeal.

Sean Connery - success as James Bond

The turning point came in 1962 when Sean Connery was chosen by Albert Broccoli and Harry Saltzman to play James Bond, code name 007, the British secret agent protagonist of the novels by Ian Fleming , a role he played in seven films.

Two curiosities: by contract with the producers, Connery was forced to wear a toupee due to premature baldness which was considered a negative factor for the representation of the character. Shortly before 1962, Connery participated in a competition, organized by the London Express newspaper, to choose the future James Bond film, ranking only in 3rd place!

Success was immediate, net of a very tight budget for the first film (Agent 007 - License to Kill) and Sean Connery immediately became a sex symbol. He also acted alongside famous women who later became movie stars including Ursula Andress and Daniela Bianchi. The actor will return for the next four films: 007, From Russia with Love (1963), Agent 007 - Goldfinger Mission (1964), Agent 007 - Thunderball (Operation Thunder) (1965) and Agent 007 - You Only Live Twice ( 1967). All had an extraordinary success both in box office and in criticism.

In 1967 he decided to abandon the role, fearing that as an actor he was identifying too much with the character, with Agent 007 - You only live twice. He was replaced by George Lazenby in the following film Agent 007 - On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969) only to return, after long and complex negotiations, in 1971 in the role of the Secret Agent in Agent 007 - A cascade of diamonds passing the baton to Roger Moore.

In 1983 he played 007 one last time in Mai dire mai or a remake - out of the official cycle - of Agent 007 - Thunderball (Operation thunder), played in 1965.

Sean Connery - after 007 and the awards

Sean Connery played other incredible characters such as William of Baskerville, the enigmatic but rational monk, from The Name of the Rose (1986) by Jean-Jacques Annaud, based on the novel of the same name written by Umberto Eco. The film earned him a BAFTA Award. Also in 1986 it was Juan Sánchez Villa-Lobos Ramírez in the cult Highlander - The Last Immortal.

In 1987 it will be Jimmy Malone, incorruptible policeman and defender of justice, alongside Kevin Costner, Robert De Niro and Andy García, in The Untouchables (1987) by Brian De Palma. This film earned him an Oscar and a Golden Globe for supporting actor.

In Steven Spielberg's Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, he played the father of the protagonist, Indiana Jones aka Harrison Ford. Also in 1990 he took on the role of Marko Ramius, commander of the Soviet submarine Red October in Hunt for Red October directed by John McTiernan. The following year he starred in Kevin Reynolds' film Robin Hood - Prince of Thieves, where he plays Richard the Lionheart in a cameo. In 1994 he took part in the film The First Knight, with Richard Gere and Julia Ormond, where he played King Arthur, while he was an elegant but deadly former British secret agent, unjustly imprisoned in the United States, in the adventurous The Rock (1996) by Michael Bay . He again took on the role of a thief, an accomplice of Catherine Zeta Jones, in Jon Amiel's Entrapment (1999).

In 2003 he starred and co-executive produced in Stephen Norrington's The Legend of Extraordinary Men, inspired to the comic book The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen and in which he plays an elder Allan Quatermain. In retrospect, Connery himself stated that the disastrous experience of this film led him to reflect on the state of the film industry and convinced him to retire from the stage. In the early 2000s I rejected both the role of Gandalf in the Lord of the Rings trilogy and that of Albus Dumbledore in the Harry Potter franchise.