Iconic Scottish actor Sean Connery died at the age of 90 at his home in the Bahamas. According to reports, he died peacefully in his sleep surrounded by family members. His wife was by his side as he slipped away. She mentioned that the late actor was suffering from dementia in his last days, due to which he could not express himself properly.
Sean was famous for playing James Bond for the very first time on screen. Till now, Hollywood fans and some other stars referred to him as the original Bond. His death prompted an outpour of tributes from all across the world. While remembering the legendary actor, it is also imperative to discuss the string of landmark films under his belt.
List Of Best Sean Connery Movies Ever Made
Sean has played almost every role there is in the film industry; from a soldier to a cop, and from a mercenary to a king. Entertainment media has hailed him as the last ‘real’ movie star to walk on the earth. The film industry and fans will miss his rugged charisma, his screen presence, and his ability to make every film huge.
There is no doubt that Ian Flemming’s series of spy fiction films brought him immense popularity. However, Bond is not at all his best performance on screen. There are so many other films that showcase what Connery was all about. Listed below are 10 of his world’s greatest performances in Hollywood.
10. Dr. No (1962) – Sean Connery As James Bond For The First Time
As soon as Connery appeared on screen with a cigarette in his mouth and serene look on his face, speaking his name Bond….James Bond; immediately established this character as an unflappable hero the world continues to know today. There are 14 books and 26 films in the lore of James Bond. 27th bond film, No Time To Die is also set to release this month. Daniel Craig will be playing the part for the 5th time. A total of 12 actors have portrayed the iconic hero but Connery gave Bond his first license to kill. Everyone who played the role after Connery displayed the same steadiness in both: action and seducing women.
Connery appeared in a total of 7 bond movies. Dr. No was the very first installment in the franchise. The legendary actor brought a sophisticated appearance, a suave sex appeal, wittiness, and a certain chill to the whole movie. In the story, the superspy went up against the mysterious Dr. No, who was an evil scientist hell-bent on destroying the US space program. In order to put an end to the doctor, Bond went to a huge island facility in Jamaica while being paired with the first titillating bond girl, Ursula Andress.
9. Time Bandits (1981)
Sean Connery played a Greek mythical king Agamemnon in Terry Gilliam’s time-traveling fantasy thriller. He was a regent who took part in the Trojan War in 1250 BC. A kid from modern times takes a temporal ride back in time and encounters Agamemnon, who helps the kid kill a humanoid bull creature.
Connery’s part was not major but the chemistry he shared with the little boy, became the backbone of this film. Even with limited screen time, he managed to create a friendly environment. It appealed even to those who were not into this genre. Audience revered this beautiful relationship which was a breath of life in the dark, gritty, and horrendous world of Time Bandits.
8. Zardoz (1974)
A psychotic sci-fi thriller by John Boorman showed Connery again as a merciless killer in a post-apocalyptic future that is ravaged by a group called Brutals. A God named Zardoz ruled the land and spoke through a massive stone idol imitating the face of a barbarian in order to intimidate the locals. He has brainwashed everyone into thinking that whenever they die, they will be transported to a vortex where they will be immortals.
He provided weapons to another group called Exterminators, where Connery’s character Zed was the most ruthless. Zardoz’s promoted the philosophy that killing is good and procreation is the root of all evil. Later the film revealed that Zardoz was indeed a false God. An advanced race called the Eternals operated it to exact their dominance. Whenever they died, their bodies were reconstructed, so they said procreation is irrelevant as their society has reached equilibrium. The film was so weird that it’s brilliant. Connery was seen wearing a leather thong and bullet strap, which was still more than what the rest of the cast was wearing.
7. Robin And Marian (1976) – Sean Connery As Robin Hood
One of the most underrated entries in Connery’s filmography is Richard Lester’s contribution to the Robin Hood saga. Connery brought a unique face of the folk hero, which didn’t see before. His Robin of Locksley was no longer a young hero who stole from the rich and helped the poor. He was rather a middle-aged man covered in battle scars, focused on settling some old scores. He went to find Maid Marian played by Audrey Hepburn, who was his lost love but became a nun while he was away.
The scenes of Connery and Hepburn revealed genuine chemistry and a bone-shivering sense of regret, agony, and pain which was timeless. Meanwhile, the notorious Sheriff of Nottingham and his associates kept on trying to keep Robin on his toes. Connery gave a memorable performance and made the film seem like an A+ fan-fiction finale to the popular story.
6. The Untouchables (1987)
Connery won Oscar Award for Best Supporting Actor in Brian De Palma’s Mafia thriller. He played an Irish cop with a Scottish accent that went very well with the audience. As expected from a De Palma film, it also included Robert De Niro as the greatest gangster this world has ever seen, Al Capone. The Untouchables was over the top but with absolute style. The film appointed two cops to stop Capone’s activities that nullified the Prohibition era.
Connery roared on all cylinders as Jimmy Malone and mentored Kevin Costner’s, Eliot Ness. His dialogue about the ‘Chicago Way’ is still referenced in many Hollywood films. The sheer grit that Connery displayed as a cop determined to take down Capone was rarely seen on the television screen. The following video clip from the movie shows Connery in action.
5. The Man Who Would be King (1975)
Sean Connery and Michael Caine paired up to play 19th-century rogue soldiers from British India. They pretended to be some divine entities in a remote location in Afghanistan. This inspirational adventure was based on Rudyard Kipling’s novel of the same name. The duo in the film decided to become mercenaries, which they thought was a bigger royalty than being a disgraced member of the British Indian Army.
Locals mistake Connery’s Daniel Dravot to be a God. He happily played along with the charade and ended up being their ruler and God. Natives kept on worshipping this colonialist conman who was enjoying every bit of it like a true English King. The film is filled with questionable misadventures that make the viewer laugh and think at the same time.
Eventually, natives learned about Dan’s con, so they sent him towards his tragic end. He went down singing the hymn “The Son Of God Goes Forth To War”; staying true to the imperialistic ambitions of Brits, which was to replace native chaos with British order. The scene went on to become one of the best deaths ever recorded on celluloid, here it is:
4. The Hunt For Red October (1990)
The Hunt For Red October was based on writer Tom Clancy’s first book of the same name. In this mystery-thriller, he introduced his widely famous C.I.A analyst Jack Ryan. Director John McTiernan adapted the novel, but dialed back on the violence and focused on the dramatic tension, which is the whole setting of this franchise. Alec Baldwin played the C.I.A analyst, who appeared to be very sociable and a wildly smart nerd. He just talked a few Americans out of blowing up the Russians and starting World War 3.
Sean Connery played a Soviet Submarine captain, Marko Ramius, and set the film in motion with his entry. Contrary to Ryan, Marko was a man of action and the Soviet Navy referred to him as The Vilnius Schoolmaster (Vilnius is the capital of Lithuania). Marko hailed from there which is why Russians considered him an outsider rather than one of them. His Scottish accent as a Soviet Zealot was bound to create a difference of opinion among fans. However, Connery’s passion for this role might let the audience slide this one geographical mismatch under the rug.
Jack doubted that Marko may defect but Connery stayed mysterious throughout the film and never revealed his character’s motives. He only let his guard down for a few minutes to let out a battle sigh that a life spent at war is a life knowing only death. Marko’s reason for defecting was not a political calculation but a burst of dark energy that festered through careful and painful consideration of what Americans and Russians were doing. He tries to explain his actions to Jack in this video:
3. Indiana Jones And The Last Crusade (1989)
Steven Spielberg added Indiana Jones’s dad (Henry Jones) to the third installment in the popular adventure series. Sean Connery played the role and became a father to Harrison Ford’s Indiana Jones in both; literal and figurative manner. Whatever Indy has done as a brave archeologist, Henry has done it better. It was a delight to watch these two Hollywood legends try to one-up each other. Originally Connery turned down this role but changed his mind after researching what the character was about. The particular relationship between Father and Son was the major part that brought him back to the film.
In this part of the series, Indy learned that his father has gone missing while searching for Holy Grail. He embarks on an adventure to make sure his father is safe from the Nazis.
2. The Rock (1996)
Michael Bay’s masterpiece, The Rock is mostly like his other blockbusters, with extreme violence and noise. However, this one had a couple of saving graces. One was the weirdness of Nicholas Cage, and the other was the mere presence of Sean Connery. Cage’s Dr. Stanley Goodspeed was a goofy chemical-weapons expert who did not look like someone that could defeat an evil maniac on his own. Good thing, Connery’s John Patrick Mason joined the Dr. to take down the self-righteous general played by Ed Harris. He took over Alcatraz Island and threatened to launch missile strikes on San Francisco if his demands were not met.
Mason and Goodspeed tried to foil that plan which escalated things to combat level. Rest is history how Connery’s Mason picked apart the general’s military with the help of Godspeed and eventually saved San Francisco from being ashes.
1. Finding Forrester (2000)
Indie director Gus Van Sant (Good Will Hunting) managed to create another beautiful film on the life of a writer. Now the difficult part about making a film about writers is that writing is not cinematic in nature. Finding Forrester overcame this difficulty by introducing a reclusive writer who stopped writing a long time ago and became afraid of leaving his home.
William Forrester (Sean Connery) used to watch his neighborhood through binoculars from the window of his apartment building near the schoolyard. Black teenagers who played basketball in the yard made him famous as the man in the window. That led to a turning point in the life of one boy named Jamal Wallace (Rob Brown).
Jamal was a brilliant student but he didn’t have anyone to share his brilliance with. Due to inbred racism of the US everyone at school assumed that he got accepted because of basketball. He got a dare to enter Forrester’s apartment which kick-started an unusual but meaningful friendship. He inspires Jamal to use his brilliance and start writing. His mentorship takes Jamal to earn a non-athletic scholarship for a reputable Academy.
The chemistry between the 50-year career gaps of Connery and Wallace (who was in his first gig) was the heart of this movie. Connery played a couple more side roles before retiring in 2006. The very last part (short) he played was in The League of Extraordinary Gentleman (2003) but the film did not do so well. Finding Forrester is greatly regarded as his Swan Song.
Here is one of the best scenes from the film, where Connery’s William describes the key to writing.
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