 |
| |
As "Diamonds Are Forever" celebrates its 40th
anniversary today, MI6 uncovers a rare interview
with Sean Connery upon his return...
|
|
This Is The Only One
17th December 2011
"Sean Connery Renews James Bond
Series" - April 27th, 1971 (The Day)
Sean Connery is working again at his most famous occupation,
playing James Bond. It was the money that brought him back, says
Connery, but the money is not for him.
Connery said his salary for making "Diamonds
Are Forever" will go to an educational trust fund
he has set up in his native Scotland. "The people
of Scotland don't believe that great things can be done
there," he said in an interview between scenes being
shot here [in Las Vegas]. "One of the problems has
been a lack of money for people with ideas to do anything."
The Scottish International Educational Trust Fund will
probably get more than $1 million from Connery's performance
in "Diamonds". He said he hopes to persuade others
who have been successful after leaving Scotland to contribute
to the fund.
"We want students and other people to come to us
with their ideas," he said. "We want them to
do things in Scotland, not leave and go elsewhere." The
fund, as Connery described it, would contribute anything
from the endowment for a university chair to the financing
of a bag pipe contest. |
|
 |
Connery played Ian Fleming's Agent 007 in the
first James Bond film in 1962. "I just felt I had enough of them," he
said. Now he's back, but only to do one film. "This is the
only one. It is in the agreement."
Also in the agreement with United Artists is a clause that Connery
can write, direct and act in two more films of his own choosing.
That clause was a major reason for doing another Bond film, Connery
said. "I have always felt I would not stay an actor. I would
prefer to direct," he said.
Connery is 40, still lean and tan with only
a whisper of grey in his hair. Playing James Bond is still enjoyable,
he said. "It
really is quite fun, you know."
What made James Bond so immensely popular and
Sean Connery a very wealthy man? "There is the old escapism," said
Connery. "They are set in exotic places. There are attractive
birds (women). There is a humor. And they don't make any great
demands on anyone."
