10 Movie Actors Who Can't Escape Their Most Iconic Role

4. Sean Connery - James Bond (Dr. No)

The first of six actors to bring Ian Fleming's silver-tongued secret service agent to the big screen, Sean Connery is widely regarded as the finest incarnation of the British institution that is James Bond, the touchstone for his predecessors. Prior to being cast in the first 007 movie - 1962's Dr. No - Connery enjoyed a steady and admirable career but it was his magnetic performance as the debonair, vodka martini-loving spy that made him a legend. Every woman wanted him, every man wanted to be him. Ironically, however, Connery loathed the part and fumed to The Guardian that he had "always hated that damned James Bond. I'd like to kill him," in a frank 2004 interview. His reluctance to sign up for more than one Bond movie at a time (he headlined seven in total) meant his continued presence behind the wheel of the famous Aston Martin was facilitated by the producers throwing increased sums of money at him and his charities despite Connery's evident disdain. He continued to find success after finally hanging up his tuxedo, most notably in Indiana Jones And The Last Crusade as the Fedora-wearing archeologist's eccentric father, but his quintessential portrayal of the suave British agent means he will forever be oppressed by an everlasting association with a character that he vehemently detests.