The biggest driving force behind Sean Connery’s legendary career: “I think I’m entitled to it”
There are any number of reasons why somebody would decide to try and make a living in the acting business, and it doesn’t have to be about a love of performing.
While there are countless actors who fell in love with the craft at an early age and dedicated their lives to it, it’s not a requirement. Some people want to be famous, others want to be rich, and there are even a few who use it as a means to an end so they can realise their real dreams, not to name any Ron Howards in particular.
It may not have been his first film, but Sean Connery nonetheless became something of an overnight cinematic sensation when he debuted as James Bond in 1962’s Dr No. It was his 11th time being credited in a feature, so he was hardly a novice, but turning 007 into an instant silver screen icon set him up for the rest of his days.
Before getting into acting, Connery had worked a number of jobs. He’d been a milkman, joined the Navy, drove lorries, spent time as a lifeguard, modelled for artists, took up bodybuilding, competed in Mr Universe, and played non-professional football before he’d made his acting bow, so he’d been around.
The role of Bond was transformative in more ways than one, making Connery one of the industry’s most talked-about young stars and also rewarding him with more money than he’d ever dreamed of. It was the gift that kept giving, and for a working-class lad, it rocketed to the top of his priority list.
In an interview with Playboy ahead of the release of 1965’s Thunderball, it was noted that Connery was one of cinema’s highest-paid stars. When asked if he enjoyed the trappings of wealth, the Scotsman couldn’t have been more honest about what motivated him to commit to acting.
“Certainly. I want all I can get,” he said. “I think I’m entitled to it. I have no false modesty about it. I don’t believe in this stuff about starving in a garret or being satisfied with artistic appreciation alone.” As obvious as it sounds, Connery was nonetheless happy to confirm that the plan for his filmic future was to make as much money as he possibly could.
There’s nothing wrong with an actor coming clean and saying they’ve only got their eyes on the financial prize, and it’s not like it stopped Connery from winning an Academy Award, starring in countless classic films, and becoming a multi-generational icon in the four decades that followed.
By the time he stepped away from the business in 2003, he was a ridiculously wealthy man, and mission accomplished may have been an understatement when his net worth before his passing at the age of 90 in 2020 was estimated to be a cool $350 million.
