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The 'Overgrown Stuntman' Who Won Over James Bond's Creator
Ian Fleming, James Bond's creator, initially dismissed Sean Connery as an 'overgrown stuntman,' lacking the refinement he envisioned for 007. Yet, Connery's commanding performance so captivated Fleming that he rewrote Bond's history, giving him a Scottish heritage in tribute to the actor.
A Creator's Disdain
When casting began for 1962's Dr. No, author Ian Fleming had a very specific vision for his hero, James Bond. He imagined a debonair, upper-class Englishman, someone with the effortless polish of actors like Cary Grant or David Niven. What he got instead was Sean Connery—a working-class bodybuilder from Edinburgh, a former milkman and coffin polisher with a thick Scottish accent. Fleming was, to put it mildly, appalled. He famously dismissed the choice, confiding to his friends that Connery was little more than an "overgrown stuntman."
"I was looking for Commander Bond and not an overgrown stuntman," Fleming lamented, adding Connery was, "un-briefed about the part and obviously lacking the grace of a Cary Grant."
To Fleming, Connery was the antithesis of the sophisticated secret agent he had created on the page. He lacked the high-class background, the patrician air, and the refined accent. The author saw his literary creation, a man of taste and pedigree, being handed over to what he considered an uncultured brute. The producers, however, saw something else entirely: a raw, magnetic masculinity that could make the character's violent profession believable.
The Making of a Gentleman Spy
While producers Albert R. Broccoli and Harry Saltzman were sold on Connery's charisma, they understood he needed some polish to fit the role. They entrusted this task to the film's director, Terence Young. Young, who had a background not unlike Fleming's Bond, took Connery under his wing. He acted as a real-life mentor, introducing the actor to the high life. He took Connery to his own tailor on Savile Row, taught him how to order fine wine, how to walk with confidence, and how to speak with a more measured cadence. In essence, Young molded the raw material of Sean Connery into the sophisticated persona of James Bond, blending the actor's inherent toughness with a newly acquired layer of charm.
A Change of Heart Written in Ink
The true test came when Fleming saw the finished film. On screen, Connery was a revelation. He moved with a feline grace, a coiled physicality that radiated danger and confidence. He was charming, ruthless, and utterly captivating. All of Fleming's reservations vanished. He saw that Connery hadn't just played the part; he had embodied it, bringing a depth and an edge to Bond that even the author hadn't fully realized was there.
Fleming was so completely won over that he paid Connery the ultimate tribute. In his 1964 novel, You Only Live Twice, Fleming revised his character's backstory to match the actor who portrayed him. He gave James Bond a Scottish heritage, revealing his father, Andrew Bond, was from Glencoe in the Scottish Highlands. The character on the page was forever changed to reflect the man on the screen. The 'overgrown stuntman' hadn't just won over his harshest critic; he had become so intertwined with the character's identity that he permanently altered the literary canon. It was a remarkable case of life imitating art, and then art imitating life back again.