Sean Connery Had a Good Reason to Turn Down Steven Spielberg After Suggesting His Character Should Have Been Killed
- Sean Connery played some of the best iconic roles throughout his career as an actor.
- He claimed that he turned down Steven Spielberg's offer because the role was too small.
- He had previously stated that he was enjoying retirement a little too much to return to acting.
Academy Award-winning actor Sean Connery is one of those actors who are too legendary to be considered gone. He was one of the best actors of his generation. The proof of his brilliance is not just the accolades he won but also his collaborations with directors like Alfred Hitchcock, Sidney Lumet, and John Huston.
Connery had a great run as an actor and was also part of some big franchises. One of these franchises was Steven Spielberg’s Indiana Jones. However, he only appeared in only one film and turned down the next. His decision to bow out of the project seems quite understandable.
Why Did Sean Connery Turn Down Steven Spielberg’s Offer to Star in the Fourth Indiana Jones Film?
Sean Connery began his acting career in the 1950s and landed his first film role in 1957 with the help of an agent he had hired. His breakthrough role was as the fictional British spy James Bond in the 1962 film Dr. No. He reprised that role in six more movies, the last of which was released in 1983.
Connery had a thriving career and his last major on-screen role happened to be as Allan Quatermain in The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, released in 2003. The movie was critically panned but managed to be commercially successful. A couple of years later, he announced his retirement from acting.
Despite retiring in 2007, when Steven Spielberg offered him to return as Professor Henry Jones, Sr. in 2008’s Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, he considered getting in front of the camera again. However, that decision quickly changed when he learned that the role was too small (via The Hollywood Reporter).
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.
The Schindler’s List director took that advice and Connery’s character was mentioned in that film as having passed away. What is ironic is that the Murder on the Orient Express actor did get out of retirement to do the 2012 Scottish animated film, Sir Billi.
Sean Connery’s Initial Reasons for Not Doing Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull Were Different
Before claiming that the role was way too small for him to interrupt his retirement, Connery claimed that if there was any movie that could get him out of his retirement, it was an Indiana Jones film. However, when the time came, he turned down the offer.
The Untouchables star issued a statement in which he gave a detailed explanation regarding his decision not to star as Professor Henry again (via Slash Film).
I thought long and hard about it and if anything could have pulled me out of retirement it would have been an Indiana Jones film. I love working with Steven [Spielberg] and George [Lucas], and it goes without saying that it is an honor to have Harrison [Ford] as my son. But in the end, retirement is just too damned much fun.
Further, he gave a little bit of advice to Ford who played the titular role in the film. He also wished the production the best.
