HOW TO ACT 007—SEAN CONNERY

“My name is Bond—James Bond,” Sean Connery informed the world’s movie-goers in 1962. In seven Bond films over a span of 21 years, the tall, dark Scot come to embody¹ the suave² secret agent whose code name was known around the globe: 007.

But it didn’t go very smooth to be a successful star. The exception was Robert Henderson, a 47-year-old Yank who was directing South Pacific. One day, Henderson had a long talk with the muscle man whose determination seemed irrepressible. Connery told Henderson he hoped to become a professional soccer player.

“Well look,” said Henderson. “ With soccer, at 28 or 30. it’s all over. Then what do you do? Wouldn’t you rather be an actor?” “How?” asked Connery, “ I left school at 13.”

Henderson nodded. “You’ve practically no education. But you have an imagination and a mind. I will give you a list of ten books that you should read.”

The “ten” books that Henderson had mentioned were more like 200. including the complete works of Shakespeare, Thomas Wolfe and Oscar Wilde. But Connery tackled them—every day, applying all the energy and tenacity³ he got from his parents. He would go to the library in the morning and stay till curtain time.

Late at night, he would sit up with his tape recorder, hearing a voice that certainly wasn’t Polish and was sounding a little less Scottish. Acting⁴, he decided⁵ after a year of this, was going to be his career. And for his new life, Connery had chosen a new first name.

In 1957, the BBC produced Rod Serling’s play Requiem⁶ for a heavyweight. The down-and-out prize-fighter, Mountain McClintock, was played by a young actor who had boxed in the Royal Navy. His name—Sean Connery.

The same year, Connery was cast in a production of Anna Christie. The title role was played by ash blond Diane Celento. She was to become Connery’s wife a few years later.

By then Connery had appeared in five forgettable films—but in one of them, he caught the eye of Walt Disney, who brought him to the United States in 1958. Disney cast him as Michael McBride, the love interest in a story about leprechauns called Darby O’Gil and the Little People. In the film’s climax⁷, McBride has a rousing fistfight with the village bully⁸.

Among those who took note of Connery’s screen presence in Darby was producer Harry⁹ Saltzman who, with co-producer Albert R. “Cubby” Rroccoli, was casting a film of their own based on Dr .No, the 1985 novel by Lan Fleming.

Connery was called to the producers’ London office for an interview. “We watched him bound across the street  like Superman,” said Saltzman later. “We knew we had our Bond.”

But lan Fleming, author of the James Bond novels. Had casting approval and was harder to persuade. “He’d have loved to have had Cary Grant in the role, but there wasn’t enough money for that.” Says Connery. “So he was obliged to agree that I would do it.”

Play it Connery did, and splendidly—five times in all in the 60s. from Dr, No, From Russia with Love, Goldfinger and Thunderball to You Only Live Twice. His debonair¹⁰ charm and magnetic good looks on screen captivated audiences around the globe. Small boys from Chicago to Rome could tell you exactly what 007 said when Goldfinger threatened him with a laser:

“Do you expect me to talk?”

“No, Mr. Bond. I expect you to die.”

But 007 did not die. The Bond pictures’ success permitted Connery to move his wife, their son, Jason, and his stepdaughter into a town house overlooking London’s Acton Park. He was also able to buy his parents a more comfortable home and persuade his father to retire. He also set up Scottish International Educational Trust with $1 million. To help underprivileged Scots go to college.  

1962年肖恩·康纳利向全球的影迷宣布：“我叫邦德—詹姆斯·邦德。”在21年间的七部邦德影片中，这位高大，黝黑的苏格兰人表现出的温文尔雅的特工形象，使全世界对他的代号都耳熟能详：007。

然而要成为成功的明星并非易事。多亏了罗伯特·亨德森，一位正执导《南太平洋》的47岁的美国人。一天亨德森与健壮的康纳利进行了促膝长谈，康似乎已打定注意。他告诉亨德森他想当职业足球运动员。

“那么想一想，”亨德森说：“踢完球，到28岁或30岁，就完了。然后你怎么办？你愿不愿意当演员吗？” “怎么当？”康纳利问道，“我13岁就辍学了。”

亨德森点点头。“你是几乎没受过教育。可你有想象力，有头脑。我可以列给你十本书的名单，你读一读。

与其说亨德森提及的是“十”本书，不如说是二百本，其中包括莎士比亚，托马斯·乌尔夫和奥斯卡·王尔德的全集。但康纳利啃下了它们——秉承着父母坚忍不拔的精神，他每天埋头读书。一大早就去图书馆一直呆到夜晚。

深夜，他通宵达旦地聆听录音机，播放的声音当然不会是波兰语可也不像苏格兰话。一年后他决意选择表演来作为他的职业。对于新的生活，康纳利选了一个新名字。

1957年，英国广播公司制作了罗德·赛林的剧目《重量级拳击手的弥撒》。片中那位一败涂地的职业拳击手蒙顿·麦克林托克，由一名曾在皇家海军打过拳的年轻演员饰演。他叫——肖恩·康纳利。

同年，康纳利在影片《安娜·克丽丝蒂》中饰演角色。片中角色由有着淡褐色头发的黛安·赛琳顿扮演。几年后她成了康纳利的妻子。

 那时候，康纳利已出演过五部不起眼儿的影片——但在其中一部中，他引起了沃尔特·迪其尼的注意，1958年迪斯尼把他带到了美国。迪斯尼叫他扮演麦克尔·麦布赖德，一个在名为《达比·奥吉尔与小人国》的深受欢迎的矮妖精故事中的角色。影片的高潮中，麦布赖德与村里的暴徒展开了惊心动魄的拳斗。

康纳利在《达比》一片中的表现受到包括制片人亨利·索斯曼的注意，当时他正与合作制作人阿尔伯特拍一部由1958年伊恩·福莱明著的小说改编的影片《否博士》。

康纳利被招到制片人的伦敦办事处去接受面试。“我们看到他如同超人一般跃过街道，”索斯曼后来说。“我们晓得他就是我们要的邦德。”

而詹姆斯·邦德小说的作者，伊恩·福莱明已有了人选而且很难回心转意。康纳利说“他本来选取定卡里·格兰特扮演该角色，但因为钱不够，所以他只得同意由我来演。”

 康纳利不仅演了，而且异常精彩——六十年代有五部片子，从《否博士》到《爱在俄罗斯》，从《金手指》，《霹雳弹》到《你只有两次生命》。他在银幕上温文尔雅以及极具吸引力的形象征服了全世界的观众。从芝加哥到罗马小孩子都能确切地说出当金手指用激光枪威胁007时的对白：

“你想让我讲话吗？”

“不，邦德先生。我想让你死。”