20.Diamonds Are Forever
Sean Connery, Sammy Davis
Released: 1971
Directed by: Guy Hamilton
19.Medicine Man
Sean Connery, Lorraine Bracco
Released: 1992
Directed by: John McTiernan
18.Marnie
Sean Connery, Alfred Hitchcock
Released: 1964
Directed by: Alfred Hitchcock
17.Murder on the Orient Express
Sean Connery, Ingrid Bergman
Released: 1974
Directed by: Sidney Lumet
16.The Longest Day
Sean Connery, John Wayne
Released: 1962
Directed by: Darryl F. Zanuck, Ken Annakin, Bernhard Wicki, Andrew Marton, Gerd Oswald
15.Highlander
Sean Connery, Clancy Brown
Released: 1986
Directed by: Russell Mulcahy
14.Finding Forrester
Anna Paquin, Matt Damon
Released: 2000
Directed by: Gus Van Sant
13.Entrapment
Catherine Zeta-Jones, Sean Connery
Released: 1999
Directed by: Jon Amiel
12.You Only Live Twice
Sean Connery, Donald Pleasence
Released: 1967
Directed by: Lewis Gilbert
11.A Bridge Too Far
Sean Connery, Anthony Hopkins
Released: 1977
Directed by: Richard Attenborough
10.The Name of the Rose
Sean Connery, Christian Slater
Released: 1986
Directed by: Jean-Jacques Annaud
9.The Rock
Nicolas Cage, Sean Connery
Released: 1996
Directed by: Michael Bay
8.The Man Who Would Be King
Sean Connery, Michael Caine
Released: 1975
Directed by: John Huston
7.Thunderball
Sean Connery, Luciana Paluzzi
Released: 1965
Directed by: Terence Young
6.Dr. No
Sean Connery, Ursula Andress
Released: 1962
Directed by: Terence Young
5.The Hunt for Red October
Alec Baldwin, Sean Connery
Released: 1990
Directed by: John McTiernan
4.Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
Harrison Ford, Sean Connery
Released: 1989
Directed by: Steven Spielberg
3.Goldfinger
Sean Connery, Honor Blackman
Released: 1964
Directed by: Guy Hamilton
2.The Untouchables
Robert De Niro, Sean Connery
Released: 1987
Directed by: Brian De Palma
1.From Russia with Love
Sean Connery, Robert Shaw
Released: 1963
Directed by: Terence Young
Sean Connery
Connery grew up in a working-class family. After a three-year stint in the Royal Navy and a series of odd jobs, he began practicing bodybuilding and became a model for student artists and men’s fashion catalogs. He competed in the 1953 Mr. Universe contest, which in turn led to work as an extra in stage productions. In 1954 he landed a small part in a touring production of the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical South Pacific and eventually took the leading role. More stage and television work followed, including a much-praised performance as washed-up boxer Mountain Rivera in the BBC television production of Rod Serling’s Requiem for a Heavyweight in 1957. Connery made his film debut in Lilacs in the Spring (1954; U.S. title Let’s Make Up) and received top billing for the first time in the comedy On the Fiddle (1961; also released as Operation Snafu). His other notable films of the period included the Disney fantasy Darby O’Gill and the Little People (1959) and the World War II epic The Longest Day (1962).
In 1962 Connery was cast in the role of James Bond, Agent 007 of the British Secret Intelligence Service, in the screen adaptation of Ian Fleming’s spy thriller Dr. No. The immense success of the film and its immediate sequels, From Russia with Love (1963) and Goldfinger (1964), established the James Bond films as a worldwide phenomenon and Connery as an international celebrity. Not wanting to be typecast as the superspy, Connery continued to take other acting roles, notably in Alfred Hitchcock’s psychological thriller Marnie (1964). After completing the next two James Bond films, Thunderball (1965) and You Only Live Twice (1967), Connery renounced the role of Bond. Four years later, however, he was persuaded to return to the role for Diamonds Are Forever (1971), which he declared was his last movie as Bond.
Two films in the mid-1980s reestablished him as a major star. He won a British Academy Film Award for his portrayal of a monk turned detective in the film adaptation of Umberto Eco’s The Name of the Rose (1986) and followed this with a best supporting actor Academy Award for his role as a veteran Chicago cop in pursuit of Al Capone in The Untouchables (1987). In Steven Spielberg’s Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989) Connery played the title figure’s father, and in The Hunt for Red October (1990) he played a defecting Soviet submarine captain. Connery’s memorable films of the 1990s included Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991), First Knight (1995), The Rock (1996), Dragonheart (1996), and Entrapment (1999). Connery officially retired from acting following his appearance in the film adaptation (2003) of the comic-book series The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, though he went on to perform various voice roles.
Connery received a Kennedy Center Honor for lifetime achievement in 1999 and was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 2000. In addition to his film work, Connery was an outspoken advocate of Scottish independence, strongly supporting the Scottish National Party.