Take a moment, won't you, to appreciate the suaveness of that magnificent fellow pictured above. That glorious specimen of cool personified is Sean Connery. Let's not fool around here; if you don't know who Sean Connery is, you're really putting in a poor effort at this whole life thing. He was THE James Bond. He was Indiana Jones' dad. He was apparently named the "Sexiest Man Alive" at the age of 59. He is a knight of the realm. Connery is known for his long career in film, his distinctive roles (not to mention some high profile ones he turned down...Gandalf, anyone?), but most of all, he is recognised for his truly unique and endlessly entertaining accent. We've all tried it before, and most of us are terrible at it. Yes, only Sean Connery is a true master of the Sean Connery accent. And the man's a highly successful actor, so he must also be a master of other accents, yes? Well...not in the slightest. The one real black mark you can pin on Connery's career is that he seems either incapable of changing his accent for a role, or that he simply doesn't care enough to change his own, because HE'S SEAN CONNERY, DAMMIT. So here's a collection of my favourite of Sir Connery's most brilliant attempts, or lack thereof at cracking those pesky accents.
5. The League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen
Before we even start, I am well aware that The League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen was an utterly abysmal movie which legitimately drove Connery to retirement...I'm not going to pretend it's anything otherwise, though it was based on a pretty cool, albeit ridiculous idea. Connery's role as Allan Quartermain makes it into this list as it truly represents the tail end of his career. Not only is he playing an ageing hero making one last quest, but he's doing so the way he's always done it, and nothing's going to change his style. However, that translated to playing an Englishman who has lived most of his life in South Africa with literally no attempt at an accent. Connery is essentially playing himself, dressed in an alternate Indiana Jones costume. To me, this merely sums up the fantastic "take it or leave it, I'm Sean Connery" attitude of the man. He cares not a jot that he's made no effort to change his voice in the slightest, and that's how it'll be. Just a shame the film was so horrendous it meant we'd probably never hear it in a new release ever again.
