Miguel Ortiz at WeAreTheMighty.com notes that actor Sean
Connery, who recently turned 90, is best known due to his role of Navy
Commander James Bond in the movies, but few know that Sean Connery also served
in the Royal Navy.
Miguel Ortiz points out the other military roles Sean Connery
portrayed in his career.
"Bond. James Bond." These are Sir Sean Connery's first
lines in 1962's Dr. No as he brought Ian Fleming's spy of
mystique to life on the silver screen. Ironically, Fleming didn't want the
working-class, bodybuilding Scotsman to portray his suave and dapper British
super-spy.
However, Connery went on to play the role a total of seven
times, and each time was met with critical acclaim. In 1964, Fleming even wrote
Connery's heritage into the Bond character, saying that his father was from
Glencoe in Scotland.
On August 25, 2020, the veteran actor celebrated his 90th birthday. What many people don't know about him is that before he played Commander James Bond, Connery was a sailor himself.
On August 25, 2020, the veteran actor celebrated his 90th birthday. What many people don't know about him is that before he played Commander James Bond, Connery was a sailor himself.
In 1946, at the age of 16, Connery enlisted in His Majesty's
Royal Navy. He received training at the naval gunnery school in Portsmouth and
was assigned to an anti-aircraft artillery crew. His first and only ship
assignment was the Illustrious-class aircraft carrier HMS Formidable.
After three years of naval service, Connery was medically discharged due to a
duodenal ulcer.
After leaving the Navy, Connery went into bodybuilding and
football (the European sort). Though he was offered a contract with Manchester
United, the short-lived career of a footballer deterred him. "I realized
that a top-class footballer could be over the hill by the age of 30, and I was
already 23," Connery recalled. "I decided to become an actor and it
turned out to be one of my more intelligent moves."
Connery started his acting career onstage in the 1953 production
of South Pacific. Back in uniform, albeit a costume, Connery played
a Seabee chorus boy before he was given the part of Marine Cpl. Hamilton
Steeves. The next year, the production returned out of popular demand and
Connery was promoted to the featured role of Lt. Buzz Adams.
When Connery made the
transition to motion pictures, it wasn't long before he was portraying military
men again. Less than two weeks after Dr. No was released in
the UK, The Longest Day hit theaters with Connery playing the
role of Pte. Flanagan.
You can read the rest
of the piece via the below link:
Note: Although Ian
Fleming initially thought Sean Connery was wrong for the role of James Bond, he
soon agreed that the actor was a good choice. As for Ian Fleming giving James
Bond a Scottish background after meeting Sean Connery, it should be noted that
Ian Fleming, also a Navy veteran having served in British naval intelligence
during WWII, based much of James Bond on himself, and Fleming himself was a Scot.
I didn't care much for Sean Connery's last outing as James Bond in Never Say Never Again, but knowing the actor's background, I got a kick out the scene with Sean Connery and Kim Basinger in a shower together on a submarine. "It wasn't like this when I was in the Navy," Bond/Connery said.
I didn't care much for Sean Connery's last outing as James Bond in Never Say Never Again, but knowing the actor's background, I got a kick out the scene with Sean Connery and Kim Basinger in a shower together on a submarine. "It wasn't like this when I was in the Navy," Bond/Connery said.
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