Later today, at 4:15pm, Sean Connery stars in one of his last James Bond movies, You Only Live Twice, on ITV.
The movie, which was released in 1967, was Connery’s fifth 007 movie of the decade – but he was getting extremely fed up with the character.
He apparently made it known to EON Productions that he was upset with the lack of character development across the past four movies, meaning he essentially played the same person every year.
Naturally, Connery had falling outs with the Bond bosses Cubby Broccoli and Harry Saltzman. Eventually, things got too much for them all.
It got to the point where, if the Bond bosses were on set, Connery would refuse to leave his trailer or act at all. (Via IDMB, The Telegraph)
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To make matters even worse, Connery was unhappy about how much money he was being paid.
After becoming one of the biggest stars on the planet, he had some trouble with members of the public. He was stalked on one occasion, leaving him furious.
As a result, he demanded a bigger salary – even though he was earning a reported $750k plus 25 percent of merchandising profits.
Eon wanted Connery to return for a sixth movie, but if he was going to continue working with the producers, the Scottish actor made a stark demand.
He reportedly asked for a $1 million salary, plus a percentage of the film’s gross.
Eon didn’t agree, and Connery walked away from the franchise. As a result, the hunt began for the next James Bond star.
Australian star George Lazenby was eventually brought onto the series – but Eon had different problems with him.
He starred in 1969’s On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, but later bowed out of the franchise.
Connery then returned in 1971 for Diamonds Are Forever while Eon found a permanent replacement: Roger Moore.
