C h ats w i t h 80-y ea r old Sea n C on n ery at t h e G olf H ot el S a a n en möser
The best Bond of all time
TEXT: HANS-UELI TSCHANZ – PHOTOS: RAPHAEL FAUX, PROVIDED
In the eyes of many a movie fan, Sean Connery is the best James Bond on the big screen. His interpretation of the most legendary role of the 20 th century to this day remains his representation of the famous secret agent 007. For the past few years, and unnoticed by the public and the media, Sean Connery – known during his youth as “Big Tam” – regularly visits Saanenland with his wife Micheline. Here, he finds peace, plays golf, appreciates the pleasant climate (“in the Bahamas, it is far too hot in summer ”), meets with Ursula Andress, and dines at Robert Speth’s. His hosts are the von Siebenthals from the Golfhotel in Saanenmöser. In the hotel lobby, a visibly relaxed Sir Thomas Sean Connery is seated; he has just turned 80. Having to forgo golf for the moment due to shoulder pain, he has made a lot of time available to chat. It is September 16, and it’s our second meeting and follow up to our longer conversation back in February. Sean Connery makes it clear in the beginning of the conversation: He does not want to be reduced to his roles in the seven James Bond films. With good reason. He has appeared in more than 200 films! After Never Say Never, Connery managed to build a second career as a mature character actor. In 1986, he took over the role of the crime solving Franciscan friar William Baskerville in the bestseller film The Name of the Rose. “But, the film flopped in the USA (only two million viewers), but was a big-office success in Europe with 34 million viewers,” Connery remembers. In his main role in The Name of the Rose, he could record his first major box office success after the Bond films.
Sean Conner y
11