Sean Connery may’ve been James Bond, but even 007 couldn’t dodge this Hollywood misfire. When Peter Jackson approached Connery to play Gandalf in The Lord of the Rings trilogy, the legendary actor turned it down, reportedly because he “didn’t understand the script.” That decision ended up costing him more than just a chance at cinematic immortality.
With the trilogy going on to become a global phenomenon, Connery walked away from a deal that could’ve earned him about $400+ million. Here’s a closer look at how one of cinema’s coolest icons passed on one of its biggest paydays.
Sean Connery turned down The Lord of the Rings and missed $447 million
Sean Connery once passed on a role that could’ve landed him nearly half a billion dollars. Yep, that’s how much he potentially lost by rejecting The Lord of the Rings.
Peter Jackson wanted Connery as Gandalf. The producers were SO keen, they dangled $30 million upfront plus 15% of the box office. But Connery wasn’t sold. “I read the book. I read the script. I saw the movie. I still don’t understand it,” he later admitted, per the New Zealand Herald. And with that, he let Ian McKellen cast the spell instead.
Fast forward, the trilogy rakes in $2.981 billion. That 15% was a cool $447 million. Connery, however, moved on and made The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, which also became his final film.
This wasn’t the only time he turned down iconic roles. He also said no to John Hammond in Jurassic Park, The Architect in The Matrix, and Sybok in Star Trek V. Apparently, scripts that didn’t click just didn’t cut it for him.
Still, Connery’s legacy didn’t need Middle-earth. He was Bond. He won an Oscar for The Untouchables. Starred in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, The Rock, and Finding Forrester, and worked with directors like Hitchcock, Lumet, and Huston.
The man was knighted, honored, and forever admired. But somewhere in an alternate universe… Gandalf has a Scottish brogue and a license to kill.
Why Sean Connery walked away from many iconic films and stuck to his instincts…
Sean Connery turning down The Lord of the Rings will always baffle me. Not because of the money (though, yes, that was huge) but because of how simply he dismissed it. For someone who brought larger-than-life characters to the screen, it’s wild that Middle-earth didn’t speak to him.
He didn’t get the story, the script, or the world. That alone was enough for him to walk away, despite the buzz, the passion behind the project, and a legendary director at the helm.
And this wasn’t a one-off. Connery had a pattern. If a script felt too out-there, it didn’t make the cut. The Matrix? Nope. Harry Potter? Pass. It wasn’t about genre or budget; it was about whether the world made sense to him. A bold stance in an industry that thrives on risk.
Honestly, it’s part of what made him Connery. Unmoved by hype. Driven by instinct.
Watch The Lord of the Rings on Prime Video & Apple TV.
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