Stories of big missed opportunities in Hollywood are legendary. For example, did you know the Wachowski sisters They offered Will Smith the role of Neo in the first installment of ‘The Matrix’, and when he refused, it was offered to Keanu Reeves? The worst of all is that the charismatic actor of ‘The Fresh Prince of BelAir’, rejected the role to film la infame ‘Wild Wild West’.
Sean Connery, who will forever remain in our memories as the quintessential Agent 007, was not left out of one of those great missed opportunities that, in hindsight, make you put your hands on your head.
Gandalf, licensed to screw up
One of Hollywood’s most epic missed opportunities has Sean Connery and his decision to reject the role of Gandalf in The Lord of the Rings, directed by Peter Jackson.
Ian McKellen, who eventually brought the heroic wizard to life, stressed the fortunate mistake: “I certainly wasn’t the first choice for Gandalf. Anthony Hopkins turned him down. Sean Connery certainly did. Now they’re all coming out of nowhere, and I hope they feel stupid,” said the veteran actor. in statements collected by VidaExtra.
Before the Ring franchise became a worldwide hit, Connery received a very tempting offer to play the wizard in Peter Jackson’s trilogy. The producers, in their attempt to secure a big-name star for such a risky project directed by a director who was almost unknown at the time, offered Connery a very interesting offer.
The actor would not only receive a Fixed salary of 10 million dollars for each film, but would also pocket 15% of the box office profits from the Ring trilogy. However, Connery declined the offer, admitting that he simply did not understand the script.
How much is that in cash?
With a budget of $281 million, the films were the most expensive of all time up to that point. To the surprise of the producers themselves, the trilogy became a box office success from the first installment, which grossed more than $1 billion. The combined total box office earnings of the three films exceeded $2.9 billion.
The producers promised Connery 15% of the total takings, which would amount to a total of 435 million, to which must be added the 10 million dollars fixed that the actor was to receive for filming each of the movies. In total, 465 million dollars that the veteran actor saw pass by while he was going through the ordeal with a Dry Martini “mixed, not shaken.”
That salary would have made Sean Connery the actor highest paid of all time, ahead of names like Tom Cruise, Will Smith, Keanu Reeves and Robert Downey JR, who have starred in some of the biggest box office hits in history.
A decisive blow for his withdrawal
Despite the huge sum of money the Scottish actor let slip away, upon his death in 2020, His assets were estimated at around 350 million dollars.. A huge fortune, the result of a successful career. However, if he had accepted the role of Gandalf, the veteran actor would have more than doubled his fortune.
After rejecting The Lord of the RingsConnery chose to participate in ‘The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen‘ in 2003, a project that he hoped would become a successful franchise. However, the film was a flop, grossing just $66 million on a $78 million budget.
This setback in his career, along with the burden of the lost opportunity of The Lord of the Ringsprobably influenced his decision to retire from acting permanently in 2005 at the age of 85.
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Image | Flickr (Max Crawford)
