British actor, film producer and Oscar winner Sir Thomas Sean Connery has died at the age of 90. The BBC reported on Saturday.
Connery first became famous in the 1960s as the secret agent James Bond. But after his departure from the 007 films, Connery needed a lot of time to establish himself as a successful actor beyond the Bond role. He only succeeded in doing this in the mid-1980s. He was awarded an Oscar for his appearance in the gangster thriller Die Unbrechlichen, in which Connery hunted down the notorious Al Capone (Robert De Niro) as an Irish police officer.
In 1989 he was voted “Sexiest Man Alive” by “People Magazine” and in 1999, when he was 69 years old, “Sexiest Man of the Century”. In 2004 he ended his film career.
James Bond makes Sean Connery a world star. But the actor takes a long time to break away from the 007 image. In the 80s and 90s, the uncomfortable Scot celebrated great film successes and won an Oscar. He withdrew from the public for a long time.
Whether in swimming trunks as 007, in captain’s uniform in “The Hunt for Red October” or in a monk’s robe in “The Name of the Rose” – Sean Connery always cuts a fine figure. At the beginning of the 1960s he became a world star through his parade role as British secret agent James Bond, and with dozens of other films he consolidated his popularity as an action star, character actor and sex symbol. The Scot will be 90 years old on Tuesday.
>> Sean Connery voted best James Bond actor of all time <<Connery was born on August 25, 1930, the son of a truck driver and a cleaning lady in Fountainbridge, a working-class suburb of Edinburgh. Even in elementary school, he helped to top up the household budget by bringing milk to school before school. “Born in the hideous poverty of the suburbs of Edinburgh, his only dream was to flee,” writes Connery biographer Michael Feeney Callan.Connery dropped out of school early and did odd jobs through World War II until he enlisted in the Royal Navy at 16. There he served on battleships before being retired after three years due to an ulcer.The teenager used his free time during his army career for his three passions: boxing, soccer - he was so good that he was offered a contract with Manchester United - and girls. To please them, Connery started bodybuilding. In 1950, the 1.88 meter tall Scot took part in the Mister Universe competition in London: He came third.Then Connery toured the country with a musical production and laid the foundation for his acting career by reading classical literature.After a few films, United Artists talent scouts Albert Broccoli and Harry Saltzman became aware of Connery. They were impressed by his athletic stature and self-esteem and gave him the role of Ian Fleming's secret agent 007 in "James Bond Chases Dr. No ”.The 1962 film was followed by five more 007 adventures with Connery by 1971, including “Goldfinger” from 1965, one of the greatest commercial successes in film history. When Connery already had his second 007 successor in Roger Moore, he was persuaded to make a Bond film again: In 1982 he appeared self-deprecatingly as an aging agent in "Never Say Never". To this day, many consider Connery the best Bond actor of all time.But Connery did not rest on his mega-success as 007. He built his career with films such as the Hitchcock psychological thriller "Marnie" (1964) and the Umberto Eco film adaptation "The Name of the Rose" (1986).In 1987, Connery won the Oscar for best supporting actor for his role in the gangster thriller "Die Unbrechlichen". Connery also delighted his fans with adventure films such as "Highlander" and "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade" and other exciting films such as "Hunt for Red October", "The Russia House" and "The Rock - The Rock of Decision".His deep sonorous voice and his great looks contributed to his success into old age. In 1989, when Connery was about to turn 60, he was named "Sexiest Man Alive" by the US magazine "People".In 2006 Connery ended his acting career. Two years later he published his autobiography "My Scotland, My Life". It shows once again how important his homeland is to Connery and that he stands up for Scotland's independence. That is why he was only crowned a knight by the British Queen Elizabeth II in 2000.The fact that Connery, despite his passion for Scotland, lived with his second wife, the French painter Micheline Roquebrune, in the tax haven of the Bahamas, in Spain and New York, earned him some criticism. But Connery doesn't want to return to Scotland until it's independent. The film legend has not yet achieved at least one big goal in the twilight years.
