Connery Stirred by AFI Award
There was plenty of bonding Thursday in an evening that could have been subtitled From Hollywood with Love.
Original 007 Sean Connery was feted with the American Film Institute's annual Life Achievement Award in a star-studded ceremony at Hollywood's Kodak Theater.
On hand were fellow AFI honorees and George Lucas, Steven Spielberg and Harrison Ford, with whom he teamed up in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade; Andy Garcia, Connery's costar in 1987's The Untouchables for which he won a Golden Globe and Oscar; and Mike Myers, who lovingly spoofed Connery's martini-swilling alter ego in the Austin Powers movies.
"Men want to be him, women want him, and in my case I both want to be him and want him," quipped Myers, who donned a tuxedo jacket and kilt in a nod to Connery's Scottish heritage.
Connery, 75, became the 34th recipient of the award, which honors icons of the cinema and is AFI's most prestigious honor. Other past winners include Clint Eastwood, Elizabeth Taylor, Tom Hanks, Meryl Streep, Alfred Hitchcock and Orson Welles.
Not quite shaken but very much stirred, Connery thanked his celebrity peers for "one hell of an evening."
"I got my big break when I was five years old, and it's taken more than 70 years to realize it," the thesp said. "At five, I learned to read, and I would not be standing here without the books, plays and scripts."
Before the shindig began, Lucas paid tribute to Connery on the red carpet, calling him "extremely professional" and "very talented," according to the BBC.
Aside from playing James Bond for seven films, Indy's father in Last Crusade and Eliot Ness' mentor in The Untouchables, Sir Sean's r?sum? also features such memorable films as The Man Who Would Be King, Highlander, The Name of the Rose, The Hunt for Red October and The Rock.
Connery, however, hasn't been seen in theaters since starring in 2003's box-office bomb The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. Having had such a horrendous experience making that movie, he all but declared his retirement from the screen and began working on his memoirs.
Connery did go back one more time to Her Majesty's Secret Service, lending his voice and likeness to Electronic Arts' videogame From Russia with Love, which hit stores last November. He also has given his seal of approval to new Bond Daniel Craig.
In March, Connery underwent successful surgery to remove a benign tumor in his kidney and was given a clean bill of health.
The AFI's salute to Sean Connery will air on USA Network June 21.
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