Sean Connery.. who often tops polls as the best Bond ever, came to hate the iconic role that made him famous

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Speaking in 1967, James Bond star Sean Connery gave his brutally honest opinion about Ian Fleming’s spy novels.

Scottish actor Sean Connery starred as 007 between 1962 and 1971 before briefly reprising the role in 1983. However, he didn’t have a very high opinion of the books the James Bond films were based on and told author Ian Fleming exactly what he thought of the character.

Appearing in an old interview clip shown on BBC’s Talking Pictures, Sean told young Alan Whicker what impact the role had on his life.

He said: “I met [Ian] Fleming two or three times and we got on very very well.

“I liked him enormously but the [James Bond] books lacked humour.”

Alan went on to ask: “How has being James Bond affected your life?”

Sean replied: “Well, this is the outcome of one of the facets, I live in acting and I’m put in wonderful situations.”

The rare footage was unearthed two years after the actor passed away aged 90.

It was reported Sean, who often tops polls as the best Bond ever, came to hate the iconic role that made him famous.

The Dr. No star felt disillusioned with the character and felt the role started to consume him and stifle his true acting capabilities.

Fed up with being typecast, the Dr. No star said if he had his way, the spy would’ve been killed off a long time ago.

Speaking to the Guardian he said: “I am fed up to here with the whole Bond bit. I have always hated that damned James Bond. I’d like to kill him.”

Celebrity friends confirmed the star had become fed up with the role.

Michael Caine once said it was common knowledge that you did not bring up the character to the Indiana Jones star.

He said: “If you were his friend in these early days you didn’t raise the subject of Bond.

He’d be walking down the street and people would say ‘look there’s James Bond.’ That was particularly upsetting to him.”

Sean was the first actor to assume the role of the most recognised MI5 agent.

Starting with Dr. No in 1962, he played the character for further eight years and quit in 1969.

George Lazenby took over the role but he only played Bond once before being replaced by Roger Moore.

Sean went on to garner cult-like status with his performances in From Russia With Love and Goldfinger.

Surprisingly, after claiming he hated Bond, Sean returned to the franchise in 1983 in Never Say Never, 21 years after he had made his debut in Dr. No.

Bond has been played by a succession of popular actors including David Niven, Timothy Dalton, Pierce Brosnan, and Daniel Craig who quit the role in 2021.

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