Who is Sean Connery's son Jason? Truth behind rumors that he was cut out of father’s $450 million empire
Hollywood icon Sir Sean Connery passed away at the age of 90 in his sleep in the Bahamas after suffering from a long illness. The legendary Scottish actor first tasted success with 1962’s ‘Dr. No’, where he portrayed the role of a fictional British spy James Bond and then went on to conquer Hollywood with six more Bond movies till 1983 namely, ‘From Russia With Love’, ‘Goldfinger,’ ‘Thunderball,’ ‘You Only Live Twice,’ ‘Diamonds Are Forever,’ and ‘Never Say Never Again.’
Sean Connery was married to actress Diane Cilento from 1962-73. The couple divorced in 1973 and Cilento died in 2011. The late actor is now survived by his second wife, painter Micheline Roquebrune, whom he married in 1975, his son from Cilento, actor Jason Connery and a grandson from Jason’s marriage to actress Mia Sara. As reported by BBC, it was Jason Connery who broke the news about his actor father’s death.
Who is Jason Connery?
Jason Connery, who is now 57-years-old, was born to Sean Connery and his first wife Diane Cilento and is the only adult son of the late actor. He is a British actor, voice actor and director and is best known for his role in the third season of the ITV drama series ‘Robin of Sherwood’ in 1986. Jason has only one son, Dashiell Connery with his ex-wife, Mia Sara, whom he was married to from 1996 to 2002.
Early life
Jason first started showing an interest in acting when he was a teenager, as reported by the website Closer Weekly. After finishing his studies at drama school at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School in the UK, he went on to act in 1976’s ‘Robin and Marian’ and 1983’s ‘The Lords of Discipline.’ These roles then led to his casting in the hit drama series ‘Robin of Sherwood’ from 1984 to 1986.
Interestingly, when Jason wanted to follow his father Sean Connery’s footsteps he was frightened to express his dream. Jason spilled the beans in a 2017 interview with the Los Angeles Times that he was “frightened” to tell his parents that he too wanted to become an actor. He added that he began acting while a student at the Scottish boarding school Gordonstoun, the alma-mater of Prince Charles. His father then advised him saying, “Look, the thing about acting is, it’s a tough profession. If you really don’t want to do it, you’ll find out soon.” While shedding the light on the same, Jason also asserted earlier that he felt very much like [he] had to defend himself and had to say, “I’m not just his son. I can act. I am not just riding his coattails.”
Jason Connery’s bond with Sean Connery
Jason was 10-years-old when Sean Connery and Diane Cilento split and Sean later married Micheline Roquebrune in 1975. Jason opened about his relationship with Sean Connery in an interview with the Telegraph in 2008 at a time when rumors were rife that he wouldn’t be receiving any of his father’s money in his will after he died. He had said, “I honor, respect and love my father and for good reason. I am truly sick of reading about my father and our relationship and of his being portrayed as some sort of monster or tyrant who rules my life by ‘cutting me off from his wealth. This all could not be farther from the truth.”
Jason, who had then insisted that he and his father never had a discussion about the future of the actor’s fortune (which currently stands near $450million), said in the same interview, “[He has] earned this money through nothing but his own tireless hard work and what he does with it and who he gives it to is completely up to him.”
On a more personal level, Jason inherited the love of golf from his father. In an interview with Golf Magazine in 2017 he revealed how his father got him interested in the game: “He gave me a 7-iron with the shaft cut down when I was quite young, and I used to smack that around”. According to a 2008 Daily Telegraph feature, Sean Connery fell in love with golf while filming the James Bond movie ‘Goldfinger’ in 1964.
Jason Connery’s career
Apart from his early acting credits in 1976’s ‘Robin and Marian’, Jason worked in 1984’s ‘Nemo,’ 1985’s ‘The Boy Who Had Everything’ and a few others. He also showed his acting skills in 1997’s ‘Macbeth’ and 2005’s ‘Private Moments.’ Jason is also known for portraying James Bond creator Ian Fleming in the 1990 television drama ‘Spymaker: The Secret Life of Ian Fleming.’ Apart from this Jason also had starring roles in several horror films, including 2006’s ‘Lightspeed’ 2007’s ‘Night Skies’ and ‘Brotherhood of Blood’ in the same year. He also participated in BBC One's ‘Celebrity MasterChef’ in 2014.
The talented artist then also made his foray into direction with the 2008 film ‘Pandemic’ and in 2009 he directed ‘The Devil's Tomb.’ Jason also directed the 2011’s ‘After Dark Originals’ and ‘The Philly Kid’ in 2012. In 2016, he helmed ‘Tommy's Honour which opened the 2016 Edinburgh International Film Festival on 15 June 2016. The film won Best Feature Film at the 2016 British Academy Scotland Awards.