Sean Connery Turned This 1962 James Bond Movie Scene Down (A Stuntman Did It Instead)
Daredevil and hair-raising stunts are a staple of every James Bond movie, but Sean Connery turned one iconic scene in Dr. No down. Each actor who has played the world's most famous spy has brought something new to the role, but of all the James Bond actors, Sean Connery is often considered to be one of the best. Connery was the original James Bond, and played him from 1962 to 1983, appearing in seven out of the 25 official James Bond movies. Connery has influenced every subsequent Bond actor with his performance and physicality during fight scenes.
While some 007 actors, like Roger Moore and Pierce Brosnan, bring more of a suave personality to the role, Connery's fight scenes are a little more brutal. The fights and stunts in early Bond movies are slightly campier than in the more modern films, but it is easy to see the inspiration behind Daniel Craig's grittier interpretation. Bond movies are full of stunts, but the greatest James Bond stunts are either truly over the top or tap into a fear that many people have — and one scene in Dr. No was so scary that even Bond himself couldn't do it.
Sean Connery's Phobia Prevented Him From Doing The Spider Scene In Dr. No
This Terrifying Dr. No Scene Still Holds Up Today
One of the most iconic scenes in Dr. No is when James Bond wakes up to find that he has been sharing his bed with a tarantula. While the real creature is a harmless pink-toe tarantula, Bond is terrified, and so was Sean Connery, who has a phobia of spiders. Connery was so afraid that he refused to touch it, so the scene was filmed with the creature walking across a thin pane of glass covering his chest. However, it didn't work on camera, so a stuntman stepped in, and it is his chest that is seen in Dr. No (via Far Out).
While many moments in Connery's James Bond movies do not hold up today due to advances in special effects, the spider scene is extremely effective because it was done with a real spider and an uncomfortably close camera angle. The best and most popular James Bond movies often use practical effects whenever possible, to avoid becoming closer to science-fiction than action. Arachnophobia (fear of spiders) is still one of the most common phobias today, and so the scene still provokes a strong reaction from many audiences. A modern Bond movie could recreate this scene without changing anything.
Sean Connery Still Did Many Of His Own Stunts As James Bond
James Bond Sometimes Shows Fear But He Does Not (So Far) Have Any Phobias
It can be fun to spot when a stuntperson takes over from an actor, and Connery's stunt double is often poorly hidden in his earlier Bond movies. That said, Connery performed many of his own James Bond stunts himself, especially in From Russia with Love, when he even did the legendary boat scene, which was far more dangerous than Dr. No's spider scene. Still, after Dr. No, some of the best action scenes in Connery's James Bond movies are fistfights or vehicle chases, with less chance of Connery encountering more eight-legged creatures.
James Bond might be used to intense situations, with his reactions making some of the more terrifying scenes (like Casino Royale's brutal torture scene) iconic moments for the franchise. However, he is not immune to fear. Dr. No's spider scene shows Bond sweating and shaking at the sight of the tarantula, and he is visibly disturbed at the sight of Silva in Skyfall. While the 007 movies are unlikely to write a phobia into James Bond, everyone is afraid of something, and it is interesting to imagine what might scare the spy.
Source: Far Out
Dr. No
- Release Date
- October 7, 1962
- Runtime
- 110 minutes
- Director
- Terence Young
- Writers
- Ian Fleming, Berkely Mather, Johanna Harwood, Richard Maibaum
- Producers
- Harry Saltzman
Cast
James Bond
Ursula AndressHoney Ryder
Dr. No is the first film in the James Bond series starring Sean Connery as the iconic British spy. Released in 1962, the film follows Agent 007 as he travels to Jamaica to confront Dr. No, a villainous scientist with a plan to disrupt the U.S. space program.
- Studio(s)
- United Artists
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