The legendary actor and screen icon Sean Connery turned down a role which could have bagged him a Best Actor Oscar as it was “disgusting”.
Connery, who passed away in 2020 aged 90, had plenty of films under his belt to be proud of, including a spell as James Bond and a performance in The Untouchables which saw him win the only Academy Award of his career.
But the star was offered a slate of roles which are now considered some of the all-time greatest, including one which won its actor, and the rest of the crew, five awards at the Oscars.
Though Connery turned down the role for its “disgusting” origins, fans believe it was the right call from the Goldfinger star.
Fans worried that the Bond icon would have changed the role so much as to make it fit his own personality, rather than try for the tone of a thriller.
A post to the r/TodayILearned Reddit page reads: “Of the various roles Sean Connery turned down, they included Hannibal Lecter in Silence of the Lambs, John Hammond in Jurassic Park, Morpheus in The Matrix, Dumbledore in Harry Potter, and Gandalf in Lord of the Rings. Of the Hannibal part in particular, Connery felt it was too ‘disgusting’.”
Silence of the Lambs director Jonathan Demme confirmed the production had fought hard to try and bring Connery on board, who flat out refused.
Demme recalled: “Sean Connery was the only other person I thought could be amazing for this. Connery has that fierce intelligence and also that serious physicality. I love Tony Hopkins, but Sean Connery could be amazing.
“Word came back shortly that he thought it was disgusting and wouldn’t dream of playing the part. So, great, now we can go to Tony Hopkins.”
Fans were delighted Connery turned down the film though, as they worried what he would have brought to the role of villainous cannibal, Hannibal Lecter. Anthony Hopkins, who went on to portray Lecter in three films, won a Best Actor Oscar for his role in Silence of the Lambs in 1994.
One user wrote: “What’s funny is that while may have passed on them, the actors who took them made them into iconic performances.”
Another added: “There are two types of actors: those who transform into their characters, and those who transform the characters into themselves.
“Connery is the latter. He didn’t transform into James Bond, Ramierz from Highlander, or the submarine commander from The Hunt for Red October; he was just Sean Connery in each of those roles. All those roles he turned down would’ve just been Sean Connery.”
A third user agreed, replying: “That’s my takeaway every time this comes up. He passed on some iconic roles, but they probably wouldn’t have become iconic in the first place had he NOT passed on them.
“I try and imagine him in those roles and it just doesn’t fit. Sean Connery had star power but he’s not the kind of actor who can do anything and become anyone, and that’s fine.”