Sir Sean Connery has died at the age of 90, BBC reports. The Scottish actor best known for originating the role of James Bond on film “died peacefully in his sleep” overnight in the Bahamas, and “had many of his family who could be in the Bahamas around him,” according to his son, Jason Connery. His son added, “We are all working at understanding this huge event as it only happened so recently, even though my dad has been unwell for some time.” Connery’s path to becoming one of film’s most iconic characters was an interesting one. Born in Edinburgh in 1930, Connery served in the Royal Navy, modeled for art students, was a footballer and a bodybuilder before beginning his acting career in a London stage production of South Pacific in 1953. He had roles in BBC television productions and minor films before landing the role of superspy James Bond in the first film adaptation of Ian Fleming’s novels, 1962’s Dr. No.
Connery’s magnetism as 007 launched a franchise, and he would proceed to play Bond in a total of seven films. Beyond Bond, Connery won an Academy Award for his role as a cop in Brian De Palma’s The Untouchables in 1988, and went on to star in films like The Hunt for Red October, The Rock, and to memorably play Indiana Jones’s father in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. Over the course of Connery’s career he won two BAFTA Awards and three Golden Globes, and was knighted by the queen in 2000. He is survived by his wife, artist Micheline Roquebrune, and his son.
