Sean Conneryalmost reprised the role of Henry Jones Sr. inIndiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, but turned down the role for being“not that generous a part.”The legendary Scottish actor would have celebrated his 94th birthday on August 25, and spent many of his last years enjoying retirement after a long and prolific film career. Whilehis iconic role of James Bondbecame a focal point for many fans, there was one role that he almost came out of retirement for in 2007: Henry Jones Sr. in the Indiana Jones franchise.
Connery was a belated addition to the popular Harrison Ford saga, making his first appearance inIndiana Jones and the Last Crusadein 1989. The addition of the actor elevated the movie, especially following the divided reactions toIndiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, with the on-screen chemistry between the pair of Hollywood icons becoming one of the greatest pieces of casting in cinema history.
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
While Connery announced his retirement in 2006, claiming that he was no longer enthused by the world of cinema due to the“idiots now making films in Hollywood,”the actor was almost coaxed back by the only two people who could actually make him care about movies again: Steven Spielberg and George Lucas. The movie that almost made him reconsider his retirement was Harrison Ford’s return as his fedora-wearing alter-ego inIndiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, but it turned out to be one of those what-if moments of movies.
In a 2007 interview from Heat Vision (viaTHR), Connery revealed why his talks with Spielberg didn’t amount to anything. According to the actor himself, the small cameo role on offer was just not worth “getting back into the harness” for. He said:
“I spoke with Spielberg, but it didn’t work out. It was not that generous a part, worth getting back into the harness and go for. And they had taken the story in a different line anyway, so the father of Indy was kind of really not that important. I had suggested they kill him in the movie, it would have taken care of it better.”
Sean Connery Retired After the Stress of His Last Movie
Connery starred in many movies over almost 50 years following his film debut as an uncredited extra in 1954’sLilacs in the Spring. While he will always be remembered as the man who brought James Bond to cinemas for the first time in 1962, he portrayed numerous characters from King Agamemnon inTime Bandits, to Juan Sanchez Villa-Lobos Ramirez in theHighlanderfranchise. However, his final on-screen role inthe comic book movieThe League of Extra-Ordinary Gentlemenbecame the one that really made him rethink his position in the film industry.
The movie, based on the Alan Moore and Kevin O’Neill comic book of the same name, had a troubled production, mainly down to its under-budgeting, which led to Connery having to pull double-time as part of the production team to verify the movie wasn’t a complete disaster. In the same interview, Connery said:
“The last one I did, [Gentlemen director Stephen Norrington] was given $85 million to make a movie in Prague, but unfortunately, he wasn’t certified before he started because he would have been arrested for insanity. So, we worked as well as we could, and [I] ended up being heavily involved in the editing and trying to salvage.”
The Sean Connery Movie That Inspired Spielberg’s Raiders of the Lost Ark
The thrilling 1975 adventure film The Man Who Would Be King heralded the creation of Raiders of the Lost Ark.
While Connery did subsequently provide voice over and narration work on a few movies and TV shows, he stood by his decision to enjoy his retirement and did not make another on-screen movie appearance.
