It's going take more than a cyst to take down Sean Connery.
Facing off against a dastardly foe of a different kind, the original 007 has undergone successful surgery to remove a kidney cyst. The operation took place several weeks ago in New York, and Connery has since recovered, the actor's rep confirmed.
"He had orthoscopic surgery to remove a cyst on his kidney," spokeswoman Nancy Seltzer told Reuters. She said Connery had spent a short time in hospital in New York a few weeks ago and was now back at his home in the Bahamas.
"He's perfectly fine and healthy," she said. "He's had a completely clean bill of health and he's in great form."
News of the operation first surfaced over the weekend in Britain's Sunday Times newspaper, when Connery, 75, revealed in an interview that he had been "opened in five places," including--a torture even Bond never endured--"a tube up my d--k."
From doctors, uh, with love?
His brother, Neil, offered some happier news, telling the paper "as far as I'm led to believe, the tumor was benign. He seems to be quite upbeat about it."
Connery, who won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar in 1988 for The Untouchables, hasn't been seen on the big screen since playing Allan Quartermain in 2003's comic book bomb, The League of Extraordinary Gentleman, an experience he described as horrendous (although we're not sure if it competes with tube inserts).
"It was a nightmare," Connery told the Times regarding League's filming. "The director [Stephen Norrington] should never have been given $185 million. On the first day I realized he was insane."
"I get fed up dealing with idiots," said the Scottish thesp. "There is a widening gap between those who know about movies and those who green-light movies. Then the s--t hits the fan."
While not officially retired, Connery has all but said it would have to take an extraordinary project--like say reprising his role as Indy's dad in a fourth Indiana Jones movie--to get him back on a film set.
Aside from relaxing at his pad in the Bahamas--which is not too far from where the latest Bond adventure, Casino Royale, was filming recently--Sir Sean is feeling well enough to sic his lawyers on a country club for using his name and famous mug to build its reputation.
According to TMZ.com, Connery has filed a lawsuit against the Sherwood Country Club in Thousand Oaks, California, alleging that after he paid $35,000 to join in 1990, the club capitalized on his "worldwide celebrity" in marketing materials. Connery says while Sherwood dropped his name to would-be members, the club failed to compensate him. He quit the club in 2004.
The complaint seeks more than $500,000 for breach of contract and more than $500,000 for unjust enrichment.
In the meantime, Connery has been busy using his good name to get involved in Scottish politics.
Connery recently recorded a voice over for a political program for the pro-independence Scottish National Party and has been lobbying ministers to build a Hollywood-style back lot between Glasgow and Edinburgh to make movies in his native country. He's also planning to attend Tartan Day festivities in the Big Apple in April.
As for Bond, never say never again.
Returning one last time to His Majesty's Secret Service, Connery recently lent his voice and likeness to Electronic Arts' From Russia with Love videogame, which hit stores last November. And despite some fan outcry over the choice of Daniel Craig as the new Bond, Connery gave a ringing endorsement of his replacement, telling the BBC in December that Craig a "terrific choice...a completely new departure."