Sexiest man alive turns 90

Happy Birthday, Sean Connery. Still the best 007.

https://www.dw.com/en/sexiest-man-alive-sean-connery-turns-90/g-18668821

Or maybe I should have posted this in the "You know you are getting old" thread. (In other words, I associate Sean Connery with my youthful days when Connery was the last word in leading men.)

Ramius!

Zardoz!

Allan Quartermain. Look at that hat!

90, my goodness. I remember when he was "too young" to be playing Harrison Ford's (Indiana Jones') father.

While I prefer the Craig Bond films, I know Connery will forever be the favourite of most. For me, those films for the most part (From Russia With Love exempted) are just too dated for me.

Since no women have weighed in yet, I asked my girlfriend and her opinion is Connery first, Craig second as she says they are handsome men (with an emphasis on "men"); whereas, (dismissively, she say) "all those other guys" [who played Bond] are pretty boy actors.

I for one think George Lazenby has always been unfairly critiqued. First, he was not fired, he quit the franchise over how poorly he was treated by his director (for being a model and not an "actor"), and had he gone on to do four or more films I have little doubt he would be up there with Connery and Craig.

I also have a soft spot for Roger Moore, as he was Bond when my parents took us to see his era's films. Sauve versus tough, but he had his moments.

Mulay Hamid El Raisuli, Lord of the Riff, Sultan to the Berbers, Last of the Barbary Pirates!

I agree that Connery was the best 007 by far. Naturally suave but with a rugged toughness waiting in reserve. A masculine presence with not one ounce of pretty boyness. Slight Scottish brogue adding a bit of elegance to his character.

MisterCairo said:

...I also have a soft spot for Roger Moore, as he was Bond when my parents took us to see his era's films. Sauve versus tough, but he had his moments.

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Roger Moore was the "Bond of the moment" when I was growing up and The Man With the Golden Gun was the first Bond movie I saw. I was 13 years old at the time, and Moore was 47. I knew the franchise was in trouble because as I was watching the movie I kept thinking, "This is James Bond?" I don't mean to sound "ageist", but at the time he looked old and frail to me and I was convinced I could kick his ass. Now, I don't expect movie heroes to be flawless; far from it. But if I think I can beat them up, the movie is in deep trouble. So, I'm not a Moore fan. As a result, I've never really been much of a Bond fan either.

That being said, Mr. Connery is my favorite Bond with Daniel Craig running a close second. Happy Birthday, Sir Connery!

I'd probably go with Connery as best Bond. But, without a doubt. the Craig films were the best Bond movies. About a year ago I watched all the Connery films again and much too dated to appeal to me anymore.

The Connery Bond films are like curiosities of 1960's modernism to me. But he is certainly the most convincing Bond. These days Bond is just another dull and improbable superhero.

My GF works at a large institution on the southside of Chicago with a staff & clientele which are 99% African-American. Per her very blunt co-workers, "For Black ladies, there are only two F*%&-able white men: Sean Connery, and JFK Jr."

[needless to say there was widespread heartbreak after the latter's plane crash]

For me Sean Connery Is James Bond. As others have said, his movies are probably dated by now, but not having seen one in 40+ years, they aren't dated to me. I agree with @HoosierDaddy that there isn't a bit of pretty boyness in him.

My wife, however prefers Daniel Craig.

Hi

!. Sean Connery because he IS James Bond.
2. Daniel Craig because he looks like killing anyone wouldn't at akk be upsetting.
3. Roger Moore because he looked like he had fun all day every day being a secret agent.
The others weren't BAD, just not as good.

Later

So sad...

My sadness at Connery's passing is..... limited. Yeah, I wish he was still around, BUT let's not forget the man had ninety years... Not many make it that long. His second marriage seems to have been happy, and he was in the position of being able to afford to retire and spend his last twenty odd years playing golf and doing what he fancied. He had his flaws - don't we all? - but he did alright for himself.

For me, the highlight of his career will always be his turn as Henry Jones Snr; the chemistry with Ford was superb, despite the mere dozen years between them, I never once questions them as father and son. My absolute favourite bit is the deftness of touch in the throwaway delivery of the line "she talks in her sleep", and his facial expression thereafter. To me his performance in that film always hints that had he wanted to, he could have had a real second career-wind as a comic actor, in much the same manner as DeNiro.

Knew a guy who used to work front of house in the West End. Connery arrived in the theatre one night, and this guy is showing him to his seat - while his mind is being blown by the fact that, well, Sean Connery! Mind blown, he just blurts out - "there you go, Sir - these are very good seats." Which gets the response "Of coursh they're good sheats - I bloody paid for them!"

MisterCairo said:

I for one think George Lazenby has always been unfairly critiqued. First, he was not fired, he quit the franchise over how poorly he was treated by his director (for being a model and not an "actor"), and had he gone on to do four or more films I have little doubt he would be up there with Connery and Craig.

I also have a soft spot for Roger Moore, as he was Bond when my parents took us to see his era's films. Sauve versus tough, but he had his moments.

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I can never get behind Lazenby as Bond. In my era, though I didn't see all the films, Moore was Bond. When I fist saw From Russia... I think I was about ten - it seemed odd for the first five minutes to see another actor in the role (probably my first childhood experience of seeing such a big change in a lead role), but I liked him. Lazenby just failed to convince - though his "This never happened to the other fella" line to camera was great. The film was a bit weak overall, I felt - Tele Savalis, much as I like him, was a poor substitute for Donald Pleasance; Charles Gray in Thunderball was a better alternative Blofeld.

Moore I found poor in the role but to be fair I can't see any other way he could have played it as even then Bond was already deep into weak self-parody territory. As a human ,though, he had real charm; I love the story about him "being Bond" for a kid at an airport.... https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-...irport-story-anecdote-signature-a7752636.html It's completely true, too.

HoosierDaddy said:

I agree that Connery was the best 007 by far. Naturally suave but with a rugged toughness waiting in reserve. A masculine presence with not one ounce of pretty boyness. Slight Scottish brogue adding a bit of elegance to his character.

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Bizarrely, Flemming always said he'd imagined him more like Roger Moore, but Connery impressed him so that Bond's Scottishness was written in to the later books because of that. Connery never lost the Edinburgh accent - and good for him!

Seb Lucas said:

The Connery Bond films are like curiosities of 1960's modernism to me. But he is certainly the most convincing Bond. These days Bond is just another dull and improbable superhero.

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They're very much of their time and work still as period pieces. I think the problem they had pre-Craig with Bond was that they were flailing around still trying to make a 60s trope work in an era utterly changed; Austin Powers satirised this very well, in the first film at least. By the time they got to Brosnan and the Cold War was over, they were utterly lost as to what to do. Craig-Bond I like, even if it's more Bourne than Bond. Whereas the others were just trying to keep the Bond Connery had played alive out of time, what they did with Craig was completely reimagine it and make something that works in the modern era - and making a plot point of where it struggles to fit. It'll be interesting to see how many more years they can keep it going without another serious reimagining, though I'd still like them to go back to the books and make them as MadMen style period pieces.

Connery was, and, will always be Bond. He fit the mold, added a few bits for good measure.
The others who followed were forced to compete with a tough act and the mold broke to various
degree but Brosnan seemed to fit the literary protagonist Fleming created. Cambridge, WWII veteran,
a polished man, not an East Ender off the barrow. Caste and class with attendant psychological complexity.
Of course, Brosnan didn't have the script but better material and time period mixed with Fleming
would have given sufficient thespian grasp.

The Walther PP automatic used by Sean Connery in Dr No sold at auction today for $256,000.

Harp said:

The Walther PP automatic used by Sean Connery in Dr No sold at auction today for $256,000.

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Yeah, that might have covered the mortuary bill.