How a faulty camera earned Sean Connery a 300% pay rise: “We knew he was up for a job”
For any actor to become an A-list superstar and enduring legend, many moving parts are required to work in perfect synchronicity. One of the most underrated is the ability to evolve into a savvy negotiator, something Sean Connery mastered to such an extent that he tripled his salary over a faulty camera.
Performers with their eyes on the summit of cinema need to be choosy over their roles, avoid starring in too many flops, leverage their way into positions of power through their own production companies, and quickly learn how to navigate the pitfalls and political minefields that are part and parcel of Hollywood.
As the first and arguably still the best iteration of James Bond, Connery gained early experience of being an important part of a well-oiled machine. By the time he vacated the role of 007, he was one of the highest-paid names in the business, and as his stock continued to rise in the aftermath, he knew his worth.
If the gruff and grizzled Scotsman was playing the lead in any film between the end of his Bond tenure and his retirement following the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen debacle, then the bare minimum he’d be paid would be single-digit millions, although it was often significantly more.
However, by his standards, he took a pay cut to lend support in Russell Mulcahy’s cult classic, Highlander, even if he wasn’t working for pennies. To secure him as the immortal Egyptian Juan Sánchez-Villalobos Ramírez, who speaks in a Scottish accent because Connery, the producers agreed to pay him $500,000 for three days’ work.
Naturally, his limited schedule required some ingenuity on the filmmakers’ part. Doubles were used for any shots where Connery wasn’t seen in profile, with Mulcahy revealing that he literally checked his watch to ensure the star wasn’t going over his allotted time: “I looked at my watch, and with one minute left, I said, ‘You’re wrapped,'” he recalled. “And he went, ‘You bastard.'”
The reason was that Connery had it written into his contract that if, for any reason, he was needed on set for any more than three days, his salary would dramatically increase to $500,000 per day. Unfortunately for Highlander, the financiers’ worst nightmare was realised when checking the dailies after his final scene.
“There was a fault with the camera, and the negative was damaged,” Michael Ryan shared, per The Herald. “The deal was $500,000 for three days, $500,000 for every day after that. Because of the technical problems, he got another million.”
Ryan had offered Connery the role because “we knew that he was up for a job, and we paid him $500,000 for three days,” but he walked away with 300% more than that when everything was said and done. It was an incredibly lucrative mishap, and as much as the actor might have been displeased that Highlander was eating into his golfing time, a million-dollar pay increase probably helped soften the blow.
Was it worth it? Considering the film failed to recoup its budget at the box office and the sequel earned a well-deserved reputation for being one of the worst movies ever made, it’s hard to say, although it can’t be denied that Connery was laughing all the way to the bank either way.
