Sean Connery

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Scottish actor and film icon for the role of agent 007 in the "James Bond" series. He was awarded the Academy Award in 1987 for "Best Supporting Actor" in the film, "The Untouchables." Connery's over 50-film career has not slowed. Known on movie sets as a hard-working actor, he demands and expects professionalism from every actor, director, and crew member He lived in an Edinburgh tenement flat as a child where the lower dresser drawer served as his crib when he was a baby. At nine, he helped supplement his van driver father's income by delivering milk. Once he left school he tried his luck at brick laying, coal mining, usher at the cinemas and posing nude as a model at the Edinburgh Art School. He joined the Royal Navy but was discharged for stomach ulcers. He began to sculpt his imposing lean 6'2 body to compete for the Mr. Universe title representing Scotland. In 1951, he auditioned for a part in the male chorus in the London West End version of South Pacific. At the age of 20, he began his acting training. He went to the public library and taught himself the classics with the encouragement of a theater manager-actor friend. His first staring film role was in "Requiem for a Heavyweight" in 1957. Connery garnered bit parts until 1962 when he was chosen to play super agent 007 in the "James Bond" series. The movies triggered an immediate notoriety, fame, and high acclaim. Unhappy with the Bond franchise, he tried other roles but found his career limited by his Bond Adonis image. He continued to work in films but ran into little success in the late '70s and early '80s. After appearing in one more Bond film, "Never Say Never" in 1982, his career turned around. He won a British Best Actor Academy Award for his role in "The Name of the Rose" in 1986. He was honored by the American Academy when he won "Best Supporting Actor" Oscar for his role as an Irish beat cop in Brian DePalma's 1987 film, "The Untouchables." As a mature actor, he continues to work, often in roles where he is cast as a seasoned mentor teamed with another noted actor. In 1969, he made an attempt at directing but the film was never released. In November 1962, Connery married actress Diane Cilentro and they had a son Jason, born on 1/11/1963. While married to Cilentro, Connery met Micheline Roquebrune at a golf tournament in Morocco in 1970, a painter and a fierce golf competitor with a young son. He divorced in 1973 and married Micheline in March 1975. The couple own homes in Marbella, Spain, Monte Carlo, Los Angeles, and the Bahamas. They continue their passion for the game of golf with Connery's handicap between eight-twelve. He stays in shape by occasionally abstaining from his favorite drink, vodka and getting on the golf course. He likes to relax by writing poetry. He credits his years of studying movement under the dance therapist, Yat Malmgeren, for his ability in commanding his posture and movement when he walks. He prefers an unpretentious lifestyle without the trappings of celebrity status symbols and does not employ an agent. He makes his own travel arrangements and when in London, prefers to walk to his appointments by himself. When he drives, he prefers his fuel efficient Toyota Land Cruiser to his Mercedes. In a 1965 Playboy interview he quipped that slapping a woman was justified if she was a bitch. His reputation as a male chauvinist still haunts him as he rallies against the female encroachment into traditional all-male enclaves like clubs and bars. Women, however, have always been a part of his life, as evidenced by the loss of his virginity at age 14 to an older woman, who seduced him. He has no qualms about taking movie productions to litigation if he feels his financial earnings are hidden under clever accounting skills. As a philanthropist and cofounder, he has donated millions to the Scottish International Education Trust since 1970. He lends his rich voice to Scottish politics by doing voice-over advertisements for the Scottish Nationalist party for an independent Scotland. Link to Wikipedia biography