Manchester University Press
2 Being Bond, 1962–72
Abstract
Chapter 2 focuses on Connery’s international stardom playing James Bond, from Dr. No (1962) to Diamonds Are Forever (1971). It examines why he was offered the role, the uncertainties about his choice and the series’ hopes of success. It emphasises that Bond was a considerable acting achievement, for which Connery’s early career had provided the skills and training, and the importance of the ironic humour with which he imbued the role, alongside his supple athleticism and sex appeal. It discusses how he developed the role and the increasing subtlety of his interpretation. The chapter foregrounds the Bond roles as a particular form of stardom, the ‘serial star’, the product of an industrial form of authorship in which the producers regarded Connery as a replaceable component in the franchise, claiming it was the character, not the actor, which generated the series’ extraordinary success. This produced an intensified form of typecasting, commodification and entrapment, the usual hazards of the successful star. The chapter explores in detail Connery’s struggles for increased remuneration and recognition and his frustrations at not being offered a partnership. It also discusses how the scale of the ‘Bond phenomenon’ threatened to engulf Connery’s whole identity, how his complete identification with a fictional figure did not allow him to develop a separate star persona, nor was his acting achievement in creating the screen Bond recognised. The chapter concludes with an analysis of Bond’s iconicity as a new form of cosmopolitan masculinity, a classless modernity that displaced previous forms of the British hero.
Abstract
Chapter 2 focuses on Connery’s international stardom playing James Bond, from Dr. No (1962) to Diamonds Are Forever (1971). It examines why he was offered the role, the uncertainties about his choice and the series’ hopes of success. It emphasises that Bond was a considerable acting achievement, for which Connery’s early career had provided the skills and training, and the importance of the ironic humour with which he imbued the role, alongside his supple athleticism and sex appeal. It discusses how he developed the role and the increasing subtlety of his interpretation. The chapter foregrounds the Bond roles as a particular form of stardom, the ‘serial star’, the product of an industrial form of authorship in which the producers regarded Connery as a replaceable component in the franchise, claiming it was the character, not the actor, which generated the series’ extraordinary success. This produced an intensified form of typecasting, commodification and entrapment, the usual hazards of the successful star. The chapter explores in detail Connery’s struggles for increased remuneration and recognition and his frustrations at not being offered a partnership. It also discusses how the scale of the ‘Bond phenomenon’ threatened to engulf Connery’s whole identity, how his complete identification with a fictional figure did not allow him to develop a separate star persona, nor was his acting achievement in creating the screen Bond recognised. The chapter concludes with an analysis of Bond’s iconicity as a new form of cosmopolitan masculinity, a classless modernity that displaced previous forms of the British hero.
Chapters in this book
- Front Matter i
- Dedication v
- Contents vii
- Figures viii
- Acknowledgements xi
- Introduction 1
- 1 Forging an actor, 1953–61 14
- 2 Being Bond, 1962–72 48
- 3 In Bondage, 1964–73 83
- 4 Freelance star, 1974–83 115
- 5 Ageing star, 1984–90 154
- 6 Star as producer 180
- 7 Iconic star 206
- 8 Scots actor/activist/icon 226
- Conclusion 245
- Film, television and theatre roles 254
- Notes 258
- Select bibliography 324
- Index 333
Chapters in this book
- Front Matter i
- Dedication v
- Contents vii
- Figures viii
- Acknowledgements xi
- Introduction 1
- 1 Forging an actor, 1953–61 14
- 2 Being Bond, 1962–72 48
- 3 In Bondage, 1964–73 83
- 4 Freelance star, 1974–83 115
- 5 Ageing star, 1984–90 154
- 6 Star as producer 180
- 7 Iconic star 206
- 8 Scots actor/activist/icon 226
- Conclusion 245
- Film, television and theatre roles 254
- Notes 258
- Select bibliography 324
- Index 333
