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Sean Connery on being Bond

Broadcast Date: Nov. 15, 1965

Three years ago, a little-known Scottish actor exploded onto movie screens worldwide with a mix of dry wit, raw sexuality and lethal menace. Sean Connery's role as British spy James Bond made Dr. No into a hit and has helped create a hugely popular movie franchise. In 1965, while working on his fourth Bond adventure, Sean Connery talks about his iconic new role as well as his old Shakespearean work on CBC-TV.

Sean Connery on being Bond

• Sean Connery played the title role in a CBC-TV production of Macbeth in 1961, just one year before the filming of Dr. No. As a little-known actor, Connery was a tough sell to both the movie studio and Bond creator Ian Fleming, but producers Albert Broccoli and Harry Saltzman fought for their choice.

• Connery already had almost 30 television and movie appearances to his credit before Dr. No, but his career didn't take off until he became Bond. After Dr. No, he typically had starring roles, and in many big films; he starred in Alfred Hitchcock's Marnie two years after Dr. No.

• Thunderball, the film that Connery is starring in at the time of this interview, typically ranks as one of the best Bond films, according to movie magazines and critics. Entertainment Weekly ranked it fourth on its 2006 list, with Goldfinger taking top honours.

• Thunderball was the fourth James Bond film released, and it had a bigger budget than the first three combined. It was also the first and, as of 2008, only Bond movie to win an Academy Award, taking the prize for special visual effects.

Sean Connery on being Bond

Medium: Television

Program: Take 30

Broadcast Date: Nov. 15, 1965

Guest(s): Sean Connery

Interviewer: Rita Greer

Duration: 14:43

This clip was edited for copyright reasons.

Last updated:
Oct. 28, 2009