Lord of the Rings is one of the most important film trilogies of all time. The films were not only successful with critics and fans, but also at the box office. Sean Connery could have been involved, but he turned it down.
Who is Sean Connery?
He could have also added Lord of the Rings to his filmography, but he turned down the role even though he read the script and would have had an incredible deal.
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Epic trailer for The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
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Sean Connery as Gandalf
According to The Independent, Sean Connery turned down the role of Gandalf. Mark Ordesky, the executive producer, described that they made Connery an offer, but he turned it down.
We made an offer to Connery, but he turned it down. We didn’t hear back until years later, but apparently he read the material and just wasn’t feeling it.
Mark Ordesky on the Gandalf casting (Source: The Independent)
Sean Connery read the script, but the role didn’t seem to suit him. He later commented on this, as The New Zealand Herald reports. He had seen the books and the films, but he still didn’t feel it. In the end, Ian McKellen was chosen, although another actor was also considered.
How much would he have gotten for the role? In addition to the fee of 30 million dollars, the equivalent of around 28 million euros, he would have received a 15% share of the box office revenue. That would have been worth it, because the films grossed 2.9 billion dollars, the equivalent of around 2.7 billion euros. So Connery would have earned 450 million dollars, the equivalent of around 420 million dollars, from that alone.
Which film did Connery star in instead? Instead of Lord of the Rings, Connery starred in the comic book adaptation The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. The film was a failure with critics and fans. If you look at the rating on Metacritic, the film has a critics’ score of 30 and a user score of 5.8.
There was never a sequel to the film and it was also the last role for Connery, who retired after the film. The role paid off for Ian McKallen, who also played Gandalf in the Hobbit films. Sometimes one man’s bad luck is another man’s good luck. That’s what happened to Bruce Willis: Arnold Schwarzenegger was offered the lead role in Die Hard, but he and 6 other action stars found McClane too lame and turned it down.