Cameos are a resource that Hollywood has been using for countless years, to the point that there are times when certain titles seem to exist only to justify the parade of a multitude of special appearances. However, in other cases it became a very powerful weapon when it came to catching the viewer by surprise, which is precisely what happened in ‘Robin Hood, Prince of Thieves’, the legendary adventure film starring Kevin Costner in 1991.
Directed by Kevin Reynoldswith whom Costner would collaborate again a few years later in ‘Waterworld’, this version of the legendary story of Robin Hood was a huge commercial success, since it grossed more than 390 million dollars when its budget had been around 50. And the film had reserved one of its biggest surprises for a final scene that remains etched in the memory of any lover of the seventh art who has seen it thanks to Sean Connery’s unexpected appearance.
He was not the one initially chosen
At first the name of John Cleeseone of the members of Monty Python, but there were some doubts about the suitability of the sudden appearance of an actor with a marked comic approach. For this reason, Costner and the producer and co-writer Pen Densham insisted that it was Connery who had to play King Richard the Lionheart.
The actor, who had won his only Oscar a few years earlier when he starred alongside Costner in ‘The Untouchables’, accepted the offer so willingly that decided to reduce its initial cache of 1 million dollars to 250,000 dollarsdonating all of the money to a hospital in Scotland. This also ensured that the film’s budget, which had already grown beyond expectations, did not spiral out of control even further.
Connery’s surprising appearance It occurs during the final moments of the filmjust before the wedding between the characters played by Costner and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio takes place. He enters the scene saying that “I will not allow this wedding to take place unless I am allowed to be the bride’s godfather.“, something motivated in the park because Marian is his cousin.
The actor barely says a few more words, which is logical if we take into account that he only participated in the filming for one day. It is also worth remembering that It was not the only time he participated in a film about this story.since in 1976 he had already given life to an aging Robin Hood accompanied by Audrey Hepburn in the remarkable ‘Robin and Marian’.
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