From the Department of “No Frickin’ Way, How Could That Possibly Be?” comes the news that Wednesday was Sean Connery’s 80th birthday. Eighty. Eight-oh.
I’m having just a little bit of trouble wrapping my head around this concept. Granted, Sir Sean has never seemed exactly young to me — he’s always been either fully mature (James Bond) or on-the-far-side-of-middle-aged-but-still-vital (Ramirez; Henry Jones, Sr.; Captain Ramius) — but to think of him as downright old… well, that’s a tough nut to swallow. I’ve hero-worshipped this guy for a long time, you see, and a major part of his appeal for me personally has always been his physical presence, the intense aura of masculinity and confidence that he seems to radiate like body heat. He still has plenty of presence in that photo up there at the top of this entry, which is the most verifiably recent one I could find. It’s a Louis Vuitton ad photographed by the legendary Annie Leibovitz; as usual, click on it to see it larger. But that photo is also two years old, and a lot can change in only two years when people advance into this age range. I’ve read in a couple places that Sean experienced some unspecified health problems this summer, and that he now believes his acting days are finally, completely behind him. (He recently lent his distinctive voice to a Scottish-made animated feature called Sir Billi, so at least his filmography won’t end with that miserable turd The League of Extraordinary Gentleman. I had been hoping, however, that he would eventually step in front of the cameras again and turn in one final home-run performance that would be a fitting end to such a long, storied career. Ah, well…)
I guess none of us like to see our heroes diminishing, as old age inevitably causes them to do. Maybe seeing them fade reminds us that we, too, aren’t all we used to be. So while I honestly wish Sir Sean a happy birthday with many more to come, I do so with something of a heavy heart.
I think he should make one last cameo in the next James Bond film! How cool would that be? Even if he just steps off an elevator as Daniel Craig is stepping in . . . it would be totally freaking awesome.
This assumes that another James Bond movie ever gets made!
That would be really cool indeed, Robert. Instead of an elevator, though, I picture something more like Connery walking out of M’s office as Craig enters. Perhaps they bump into one another or do the awkward dance of who’s going to zig and who’s going to zag. Connery says, “Pardon me,” and Craig replies, “No, no, you were here first.”
Sadly, though, I don’t think we’re going to get another Bond movie for a long time. I’m sure one will happen eventually — the franchise is too consistently successful and popular to just die out; somebody will pick it up — but by that time, Craig will probably have moved on or some genius will declare him too old or something, and we’ll have another reboot. That was a contributing factor to why Timothy Dalton only made two of them, you know, the long delay between The Living Daylights and Goldeneye caused by legal wrangling and writers’ strikes. He eventually got tired of waiting around.
Jason, I think you’ve nailed the spirit and the tone of the James Bond films! That’s exactly how such a scene would go.
Jason, you forgot Connery’s most brilliant role: Darby O’Gill and the Little People – Disney, circa 1756 or something along those lines. A young Connery, and he sings.
I don’t know, Bob… Can singing Connery really compete with… red-diaper-and-thigh-boots Connery?!
Sir, I surrender.
I accept your sword, good sir.
No dishonor upon yourself, though. It’s pretty tough to fight red-diaper-and-thigh-boots Connery.
OK, I’m very late to this party (I’m *SO* behind on blog reading), but here’s my question about that picture: why in the world would Sean Connery be photographed with his right foot in a Louis Vitton bag?
Quite the amateur mistake for someone as accomplished as Annie Leibovitz, no?
Well, if you’re going to put your foot into a piece of luggage, you ought to make it a classy, high-end piece, I suppose…