7 Roles Taken By Actors For Ridiculously Awesome Reasons

7. Sean Connery Took A Role In Time Bandits Because They Couldn't Afford Him

Connery2 Sean Connery is about as awesome as they come, possibly more so. He€™s a good actor, James bloody Bond and he won€™t give up his accent for love nor money. And make no mistake, Connery loves himself some money. So much so, in fact, that it could be quite difficult to afford him. Such was the problem facing Terry Gilliam and crew in the Time Bandits pre-production. They had written the character Agamemnon, but were coming up with blanks during the casting process. Now, Gilliam€™s films are hardly financial juggernauts, so they knew who they wanted €“ Connery €“ but they knew they had to be realistic as well. So it was rumoured they decided to put in the script notes that they wanted a Sean Connery lookalike the film€™s budget could actually afford. Well, they got the actual Sean Connery. It€™s rumoured that he read the script and found their hope of getting a cheaper version of himself quite amusing so he did the film at a reduced rate. As we all know, he killed in the part, cementing his legacy as a legend of the screen and modern manliness as he took to the set in outfits so flamboyant a jewel-encrusted pimp might consider them €˜a bit much.€™ It was awesome, and apparently the only reason we got to see this role was because Connery was tickled pink by the casting team€™s comments. Again, this is something of a Hollywood legend, and I damn well hope it€™s true.
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Durham University graduate and qualified sports journalist. Very good at sitting down and watching things. Can multi-task this with playing computer games. Football Manager addict who has taken Shrewsbury Town to the summit of the Premier League. You can follow me at @Ed_OwenUK, if you like ramblings about Newcastle United and A Place in the Sun. If you don't, I don't know what I can do for you.