Again, Connery's stature was so great in the industry that he was often a go-to actor for royalty roles even when he didn't sound anything like what the character he was playing should sound like. In The Wind and the Lion, a drama loosely based on a real-life kidnapping in 1904 that caused an international incident, Connery starred as Mulai Ahmed er Raisuni, a Muslim Sharif. Nobody would ever peg Connery as a Berber descendent of Mohammad, though he does a fair job of looking the part. As you might expect, he doesn't do as good of a job sounding the part as he has trouble maintaining his North African accent. He speaks a bit deeper and somewhat slower than his usual cadence, but there is just no hiding those pronounced letter Rs. Omar Sharif and Anthony Quinn were both considered for the role, and either would have made a better Raisuli than Connery in terms of voice. But Connery still brings his massive presence to the role, meaning that the end result isn't as disastrous as one might expect on paper.
Chris McKittrick is a published author of fiction and non-fiction and has spoken about film and comic books at conferences across the United States. In addition to his work at WhatCulture!, he is a regular contributor to CreativeScreenwriting.com, MovieBuzzers.com, and DailyActor.com, a website focused on acting in all media. For more information, visit his website at http://www.chrismckit.com.
