Sean Connery was associated with James Bond more than any other character, but he starred in several classics away from the franchise. Connery first played Ian Fleming’s British super-spy in 1962’s Dr. No, and he immediately embodied the character’s suave style. Every subsequent 007 has been compared to Connery’s portrayal – and whoever is cast as the next James Bond should expect the same treatment – but Connery’s career was so much more than just one franchise.
After shooting to stardom as Bond, Connery capitalized on his success by choosing interesting roles in a variety of genres. Throughout his illustrious career, Connery appeared in murder mysteries, crime dramas and pulse-raising adventures. Connery had a sense of gravitas that made him a magnetic on-screen presence, but he also had the charm and the sense of humor to connect with audiences.
10
Murder On The Orient Express (1974)
Colonel John Arbuthnott
Sidney Lumet’s Murder on the Orient Express is one of the best Agatha Christie adaptations ever made, scoring six Oscar nominations. Sean Connery is just one member of a glittering all-star cast, which features icons of Old Hollywood such as Lauren Bacall and Ingrid Bergman. The famous Belgian detective Hercule Poirot is played by Albert Finney. His moustache is less theatrical than other on-screen Poirots, but he is otherwise fantastic.
Sean Connery is just one member of a glittering all-star cast, which features icons of Old Hollywood such as Lauren Bacall and Ingrid Bergman.
Murder on the Orient Express is a classic whodunnit, but since it was published in 1934, the solution to the mystery has been spoiled many times over. More modern adaptations are just as much about how the mystery unfolds and how the director brings their own ideas as they are about the big reveal. Thanks to a great cast and Lumet’s talent for injecting the most ordinary dialogue scenes with life, this version of Murder on the Orient Express is the gold-standard.
9
Time Bandits (1981)
Agamemnon/ Firefighter
Time Bandits is one of Terry Gilliam’s fantastical creations, and in Michael Palin and John Cleese, it boasts two more members of Monty Python. Time Bandits follows a group of time-traveling thieves searching for treasure, and a young boy who gets sucked into their madcap adventure. It maintains Monty Python’s playful, zany humor, but it’s specifically tailored toward younger audiences.
Time Bandits maintains Monty Python’s playful, zany humor, but it’s specifically tailored toward younger audiences.
Sean Conner plays Agamemnon, one of the many historical figures and strange beings who the bandits encounter, along with the likes of Napoleon and Robin Hood. Time Bandits is a breathless white-knuckle ride through the annals of history, sure to delight any child with an interest in the past. Apple TV’s Time Bandits show recently reintroduced the movie to a new generation, although Agamemnon is absent from the first season.
As well as playing Agamemnon, Connery has a brief role as a firefighter.
8
Marnie (1964)
Mark Rutland
In the same year that Sean Connery starred in Goldfinger, arguably the best James Bond movie of all, he also appeared in Marnie. Connery plays a business owner who marries an alluring woman despite knowing that she is a habitual thief with perplexing psychological problems. Like any good Alfred Hitchcock movie, Marnie presents an intriguing mystery that lures the audience into the dark side of the human soul.
Like any good Alfred Hitchcock movie, Marnie presents an intriguing mystery that lures the audience into the dark side of the human soul.
Marnie marked Connery’s first and only collaboration with Hitchcock. It may not be held in the same regard as some other Hitchcock classics, but Marnie bears plenty of the hallmarks of the great director. Tippi Hedren, star of The Birds, creates a fascinating character. Connery acts as the audience’s conduit at times, trying to solve the riddle of her tortured psyche. Marnie is a little too far removed from reality to count as vintage Hitchcock, but the director’s flair for psychological dramas makes it an effective thriller.
7
The Name Of The Rose (1986)
William Of Baskerville
Sean Connery may have won Best Supporting Actor for The Untouchables, but he was never nominated for Best Actor. The Name of the Rose arguably represented his most realistic shot, as he delivered a captivating performance that won him a BAFTA. Connery plays a medieval friar who must put his detective skills to the test when a murder is discovered in his monastery.
Jean-Jacques Annaud’s direction visualizes the book’s themes in interesting ways, without neglecting the central hook of the murder mystery.
Based on Italian author Umberto Eco’s best-selling novel, The Name of the Rose is rich in intrigue and densely layered with meaning. The novel is partly a meditation on the nature of language and semiotics. Jean-Jacques Annaud’s canny direction visualizes these themes in interesting ways, without neglecting the central hook of the murder mystery. The script ignores some angles of Eco’s story, but this gives it a strong focus.
6
The Man Who Would Be King (1975)
Daniel Dravot
Sean Connery and Michael Caine make a great pair in The Man Who Would Be King, a rip-roaring adventure that harks back to the time when the world was beginning to open up. Connery and Caine play two rogue British soldiers who set off from colonial India to seek their own fame and fortune. Connery’s character is mistaken for a deity in a region of modern-day Afghanistan, and the two men seek to capitalize.
Through a bit of humor and a lot of great action, The Man Who Would Be King shows that empires built in the name of false prophets will always tumble like a house of cards.
The Man Who Would Be King is a gorgeously shot adventure, with enough grandeur to transport the audience to a faraway land that seems almost mythical. The dialogue is laced with wit and humanity, but the joke ultimately lands on the two colonialists who think they can swindle their way into untold riches. Through a bit of humor and a lot of great action, The Man Who Would Be King shows that empires built in the name of false prophets will always tumble like a house of cards.
5
The Rock (1996)
John Patrick Mason
In Michael Bay’s The Rock, Sean Connery plays a cool-headed British special agent. This has sparked a popular fan theory that The Rock is actually Connery’s last hurrah as James Bond. This idea has been debated back-and-forth for years, but it has no real bearing on the movie. Whether John Patrick Mason is secretly James Bond or not, The Rock is still a thrilling action movie with Connery on top form.
The Rock is explosively entertaining, with the perfect amount of crowdpleasing humor spliced in between the explosions and gunfights.
The Rock showcases the very best of Michael Bay. As with any of his other movies, there are a few things which make no sense if the audience starts thinking too hard, but this ignores the appeal of Bayhem. The Rock is explosively entertaining, with the perfect amount of crowdpleasing humor spliced in between the explosions and gunfights. Connery and Nicolas Cage make a surprisingly effective double act, both as jokesters who can riff off one another and as badass action heroes.
4
The Hill (1965)
Joe Roberts
At the height of his James Bond-era fame, Sean Connery starred in The Hill, a war drama set in a British prison camp. This represented an abrupt change of pace for Connery, shedding the lightness and adventure of 007 for a character-driven drama confined to one location. He rises to the challenge, delivering a compelling performance as the leader of a rebellious cell in a prison camp being run by abusive, power-hungry officers.
It’s a brilliantly choreographed drama, with the historical context lending extra weight to the personal conflict.
The heat of the North African sun serves as a pressure cooker in The Hill, driving the men on both sides of the prison camp conflict to desperation. The script shows a side to the Second World War that often goes unnoticed. Rather than fighting the enemy, the British soldiers in The Hill are embroiled in psychological warfare with each other. It’s a brilliantly choreographed drama, with the historical context lending extra weight to the personal conflict.
3
The Hunt For Red October (1990)
Captain Marko Ramius
Die Hard director John McTiernan created a classic military thriller with The Hunt for Red October, based on Tom Clancy’s novel. Alec Baldwin became the first actor to play Jack Ryan in a movie, but Sean Connery steals the show as a rogue Soviet naval captain. He is intense and intimidating throughout, playing his part as an enigmatic navy leader to perfection. The drama hinges on Jack Ryan’s ability to figure out whether Captain Ramius is friend or foe.
The Hunt for Red October is a tense Cold War thriller that keeps the audience in suspense.
The Hunt for Red October is a tense Cold War thriller that keeps the audience in suspense. The brilliance of the script is the way that it uses clever characterization to play a game of lethal stakes. While various military leaders argue over the best course of action, trying desperately to avoid a nuclear strike on the United States, the outcome boils down to the relationship between Jack Ryan and Captain Ramius.
2
Indiana Jones & The Last Crusade (1989)
Henry Jones Sr.
Fans of the Indiana Jones franchise tend to be split between Raiders of the Lost Ark and The Last Crusade on the question of which movie is the best. The Temple of Doom is a prequel to the first Indiana Jones movie, so The Last Crusade is the franchise’s first true sequel. Just like Raiders, it sends Indy on a dangerous quest to recover a powerful artifact while battling Nazis along the way.
The Last Crusade may or may not be the best Indiana Jones movie, but it’s certainly the funniest.
The Last Crusade may or may not be the best Indiana Jones movie, but it’s certainly the funniest. Sean Connery plays Indy’s father, Henry Sr. His dynamic with Harrison Ford brings the best out of both actors, revealing their surprising comedic skills. Connery plays the out-of-touch father figure to perfection, and he also has a few opportunities to roll up his sleeves and get involved with Steven Spielberg’s scintillating action sequences.
1
The Untouchables (1987)
Jim Malone
Brian De Palma’s classic crime drama The Untouchables tells the true story of Elliot Ness’ crusade against Al Capone during the Prohibition era. Ness, played by Kevin Costner, leads a small group of police officers who he believes are beyond the reach of Capone’s corruption. Sean Connery’s character, Jim Malone, is his first recruit. The gruff, no-nonsense cop may report to Ness, but he also guides him and teaches him.
De Palma strings together plenty of shocking action scenes in The Untouchables, including the iconic sequence on the steps of Union Station.
While the entire cast of The Untouchables is superb, it’s mainly remembered as one of Robert De Niro’s best movies. His Al Capone is charming with the press, but his posturing barely conceals his brutish violence. De Palma strings together plenty of shocking action scenes in The Untouchables, including the iconic sequence on the steps of Union Station. Connery’s wily old cop provides some wry comic relief, but his fatherly relationship with Ness is deeply emotional too.
