Sean Connery’s Worst Decision: He Turned Down a Role in Lord of the Rings and Lost 400 Million Dollars
There is a striking curiosity about ‘The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power’. It’s one that has to do with none other than one of the star characters, Gandalf, the wizard sent to Middle-earth to fight Sauron and played by Ian McKellen.
Now no fan would ever think that another actor could play this character, but he was not the first choice for the role, as reported by Marca.
Sean Connery, who died in 2020, was the first choice to play Gandalf in Peter Jackson’s adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s fantasy.
The Hollywood star featured in several films in the James Bond saga as well as titles that are part of the history of cinema.
However, Connery did not accept the role despite a lucrative offer. He was allegedly offered 30 million dollars per film, plus 15 percent of the box-office profits from the film saga. In other words, the decision cost him some 450m dollars.
Other Rejected Roles
Years later, the actor apologised that he turned it down because he didn’t understand it.
?”I read the book. I read the script. I saw the movie. I still don’t understand it,” Connery said then.
However, he also turned down other important roles in film history, such as playing John Hammond in Jurassic Park and The Architect in The Matrix.
The premiere of the long-awaited series will take place on Prime Video in the early hours of September 1 to September 2 with a double episode. However, it seems that Gandalf will not be appearing this time.
