Ian Fleming, author of the James Bond series, hated the casting of one star in the film series.
The adaptations of Fleming’s British spy novels have proved wildly successful since the 1960s – even if the author disliked the initial casting for James Bond.
Sean Connery was likened to an “overgrown stuntman” by Fleming, who had no interest in seeing his fictional spy brought to life by the star. But it seems Fleming eventually caved in on the casting choice, which became absolutely iconic.
In fact, he was so impressed by the role he began writing the character to fit the actions of the on-screen adaptation, rather than the original characteristics found in early Bond books.
A post to the r/TodayILearned Reddit page reads: “Ian Fleming, author of the original 007 novels, was against the casting of Sean Connery as James Bond, calling him an ‘overgrown stuntman’, and criticising his appearance. However, he ended up liking Connery’s performance so much that he characterised Bond based on him in future novels.”
Fans have since shared Fleming’s preference for the role was David Niven. The Pink Panther and Guns of Navarone star would portray Bond in a doomed adaptation of Casino Royale in 1967.
The parody film is far from the quality Connery brought to the series, with many suggesting Fleming was influenced to write Bond’s backstory, as seen in Skyfall, at Connery’s request.
One fan theorised: “I think Connery then inspired Fleming to write a backstory for Bond by having him from Scotland in the books, which then comes back around in Skyfall when it’s revealed his family is from Scotland (and his mother is French).”
Another fan disputed this, though. They added: “Bond was basically a wish fulfillment character for Fleming, who was also part Scottish through his WWI hero father Valentine Fleming, a full-blooded Scotsman. Fleming making Bond part Scottish was just his way of solidifying his imprint on the character.”
Others have praised Connery for his dedication to the part and defining a legendary on-screen character. One fan wrote: “From ‘overgrown stuntman’ to ultimate Bond, talk about a plot twist.”
Another added: “Connery was the best Bond. Without a doubt. Daniel Craig was a close second.” A third shared: “Goldfinger was the sweet spot of the Bond movies.
“Bond’s character had been developed, Connery looked amazing, the spy gadgets were cool and yet still somewhat believable, Honor Blackman was an amazing femme fatale, and Goldfinger’s plot was, again, somewhat believable (unlike the world killer villains that became the norm in many of the later movies).”
Connery’s charm in the role perhaps goes against Fleming’s intention for the Bond character.
He said a year before his death: “When I wrote the first one in 1953, I wanted Bond to be an extremely dull, uninteresting man to whom things happened; I wanted him to be a blunt instrument… when I was casting around for a name for my protagonist I thought by God, [James Bond] is the dullest name I ever heard.