The improbable actor Sean Connery endorsed as James Bond: “I think that time has passed”
One inescapable fact of life for any actor who plays James Bond is that they’re going to spend the rest of their personal and professional lives being followed everywhere they go by the spectre of 007.
George Lazenby has never seemed to mind the latent attention his status as the only one-and-done Bond in the franchise’s history has brought him, although that probably has a lot to do with the fact it’s pretty much the only noteworthy accomplishment of his onscreen endeavours.
As the most recent incumbent of the tux, Daniel Craig couldn’t care less about who picks up the mantle after he vacated the role following No Time to Die, but as far as sage words of wisdom from predecessors go, “Don’t be shit” is about as blunt as it is accurate.
Sean Connery eventually accepted that cinema’s secret agent was going to come up in every conversation he had, which led to the original big screen iteration of Ian Fleming’s literary creation overcoming his hatred towards the character, matters that were helped exponentially by the stellar career he carved out for himself in the aftermath.
The casting conversation over who has the credentials to be the next Bond begins long before the next reboot even starts casting, with Connery throwing his weight behind an improbable candidate during a period when Pierce Brosnan was still settling into his post-GoldenEye groove.
Much like Michael Bay’s The Rock, Jon Amiel’s 1998 heist caper Entrapment was indebted to Connery’s baggage to power his performance, with the grizzled Scotsman playing a suave, debonair, and disarmingly charismatic thief who uses his wits and wiles to evade capture on his latest daring job.
The film partnered him with Catherine Zeta-Jones, and criticism over the age gap between the two love interests aside, they had chemistry to spare. Beyond that, though, the latter revealed herself to be a self-proclaimed 007 superfan who gained the ultimate seal of approval.
“I am a Bond fanatic, and he once said to me, ‘You would have made a great Bond, girl,'” the Academy Award winner said, per Cinema Express. “I asked, ‘A Bond girl, or Bond?’ He went, ‘Bond, girl’. Oh my gosh, I would have loved to have played James Bond. But I think that time has passed.”
Zeta-Jones’ initial confusion was completely understandable when Bond girls have been part of the furniture since Ursula Andress first emerged from the sea in 1962’s Dr No, matters that were complicated by Connery using “girl” as a term of affection in much the same way the actors and filmmakers who got on his good side were simply coined “boy”.
Needless to say, Zeta-Jones was never going to get the chance to realise her dreams and become the first female Bond, but Connery was nonetheless convinced she could have pulled it off, regardless of the firestorm it would have ignited among the purists.
