Both John Wayne and Sean Connery starred in several World War 2 movies over their incredible Hollywood careers.
But did you know they once shared the screen in the 1962 D-Day classic, The Longest Day?
The war epic featured an incredible all-star cast, including Henry Fonda, Robert Mitchum, and Richard Burton, while former President Eisenhower almost played himself.
However, makeup artists couldn’t make him look as young as he did in 1944.
Nevertheless, a set decorator with no acting experience was the spitting image of the Supreme Allied Commander and was cast in his place.
Although Eisenhower was considered too old to play his younger self, that didn’t stop Wayne from being cast as 27-year-old Lt Col Benjamin Vandervoort, who was very disappointed to find out the overweight 54-year-old was portraying him. Originally Charlton Heston, who was only a decade older than the real-life paratrooper, had actively sought the part. Meanwhile, a young Connery played British infantryman Private Flanagan and would shoot to fame that same year in his first James Bond movie of seven, Dr No.
The Longest Day is available to rent for £3.49 or buy for £5.99 on Amazon and Apple TV+.
