Picture $30M per film and 15% of The Lord of the Rings box-office haul. But guess what? Connery turned it down, and that missed chance cost him about $450M. That’s not chump change!
So what was Connery’s big reason for passing on playing Gandalf? Simply put, he didn’t get it. He famously said, “I read the book. I read the script. I saw the movie. I still don’t understand it.” Yep, the wizardry of Middle-earth was just too mystical for him. Instead of battling Sauron, he chose to be in The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (2003), which, let’s be honest, didn’t exactly break any box office records—more like shattered them in a bad way, losing $12 million.
Enter Ian McKellen, who took up the wizardly mantle and basically became Gandalf for a generation. His take on the character? Pure magic. The trilogy went on to make nearly $3 billion, and McKellen’s Gandalf became legendary. Meanwhile, Connery’s Gandalf-less path led him to other roles, including a cameo in Star Trek V: The Final Frontier—where the alien phrase “Sha Ka Ree” was a nod to him.
Connery’s career was a mix of hits and near-misses. He passed on other iconic roles too, like John Hammond in Jurassic Park and The Architect in The Matrix. It’s like he had this uncanny ability to sidestep massive franchises.
But here’s the kicker: Connery didn’t just miss out on a role; he passed on what could have been a golden ticket to a legendary payday. Despite the “what could have been” vibes, his legacy as Bond and beyond remains untarnished. McKellen’s Gandalf, meanwhile, proves that sometimes, the real magic happens when the stars align just right.
So, next time you hear about a jaw-dropping movie offer, think of Connery’s $450M miss and appreciate the quirky twists of Hollywood. Sometimes the coolest stories are the ones that never quite come to be.
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