October 20, 2025
Sean Connery called the pressures of becoming world's first James Bond role as living in a "goldfish bowl."
In a 1987 interview with Barbara Walters, the actor, who starred in five consecutive Bond films from 1962 to 1967 and later returned for 1971’s Diamonds Are Forever, recalled the intense scrutiny that came with the role.
“The last one… this kind of goldfish bowl pressure of being where one was at that time, it’s very difficult to understand my behaviour,” Connery said. He described the demands for publicity and constant exposure as “enormous” and sometimes overwhelming.
Connery also criticised the production process, noting, “The films were difficult! And got more and more difficult for me to make because they were never well planned… It became the tail wagging the dog, and I don’t like that.”
He compared the intense attention to the fame of the Beatles, but noted that unlike the band, there was only one him to absorb it all. “In places like Japan, the guy’s coming in with the cameras in the toilet. It really became preposterous,” he said.
Connery passed away on October 31, 2020, at his home in the Bahamas at age 90.