By 1990 Sean Connery had hung up his James Bond martini and tuxedo and was working on some new projects. He took on a leading role in The Hunt for Red October, a film adaptation of Tom Clancy’s novel of the same name. Originally, Connery’s role was to be played by Austrian star Klaus Maria Brandauer, but he quit two weeks into filming, prompting Connery to take his place as Captain Marko Ramius.
But the actor made things difficult as soon as he joined the project.
Connery was allowed to take on his hair and makeup preparation separately from the rest of the cast. But when he arrived on set, the director of the picture, John McTiernan, was not happy at all with his decision.
Connery arrived on set with a short ponytail hairstyle that did not look right – especially because the actor is bald in real life.
On top of McTiernan being furious about this choice, Connery was reportedly mocked by the rest of the cast and crew as well.
The director of photography, Jan De Bont, allegedly told Connery the ponytail resembled a “limp swinging d**k”.
Eventually, something had to change. Connery decided that he had made a mistake and went to the hair and makeup department once again to fix his barnet.
McTiernan remembered the ordeal: “Sean had made a thing of going bald nearly 10 years before to prove himself as an actor and that he wasn’t going to do anything phoney in front of the camera. I convinced him to go ahead and come up with a specific look, and he said: ‘I want to be Samuel Beckett,’ [who had] very skinny and long, spiky, straight-up hair. So we just went for it.”
Armed with a brand new hair-do, the real work was then about to begin.
READ MORE: James Bond: ‘Terrified’ Sean Connery was ‘drunk’ for iconic scene
The Hunt for Red October was nominated for Best Sound Mixing, Best Film Editing, and won an Academy Award for Best Sound Editing.
Connery was even awarded a personal honour during preparation for the film.
He spent some time aboard the real-life ship the USS Puffer to prepare for the role. During this time he was given Commander status, allowing him to give commands to the crew (with the Captain’s approval). Although, he didn’t seem to fondly remember the filming of The Hunt for Red October.
Connery later explained that shooting the movie was not a very comfortable experience, despite the fact it was not shot in a real submarine, but a very well-created set. He said: “It was very claustrophobic. There were 62 people in a very confined space, 45 feet (14 m) above the stage floor. It got very hot on the sets, and I’m also prone to seasickness. The set would tilt to 45 degrees. Very disturbing.”
The Hunt for Red October is available to watch on Netflix now.
