The late actor Sean Connery has been fondly remembered for his work in James Bond movies. However, one movie name that shines apart from his Bond character is The Rock, released in 1996. Film producer Jerry Bruckheimer revealed that roping Connery in the role of the action mystery was the most complicated thing to do.
The 77-year-old producer compared getting him cast in the movie with planning to escape from San Francisco Bay's Alcatraz. Connery's character John Mason in the movie is the only person who could ever get away from the prison, but before signing the film, Connery went on to ask many questions.
Moreover, the legendary actor also had many suggestions to begin with. Connery, who died at the age of 90 while he was in sleep, had an eye for details. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Bruckheimer opened up about the first meetings with the actor and how he learned a lot from his experience.
Bruckheimer disclosed that even before the shooting begins, the script went through many rewrites as he and Connery went through almost every single line, every plot, every character, rewrote many things, and changed many things until they finally reached a point that made the late actor say yes for the film.
The producer noted that it turned out to be a longer process than he expected. However, he admitted learning a lot from Connery's storytelling, character development, and film making knowledge. Michael Bay helmed the movie, who directed Bad Boys but couldn't gain enough fame to get saved from the Disney executives.
During a recent interview, Bay opened up about how the movie was produced by Disney and that meeting the executives was a nightmare. The 55-year-old director revealed that he was running behind schedule, and Connery walked in their lunch meeting.
Bay couldn't explain to the executives much about the reason for running behind schedule, but the legend, on the other hand, asked the executives to pay more money to complete the film. The director recalled how Connery shut the executives down and said that the director is doing "phenomenal" work.
Furthermore, he asked the executives if they want a great film and they should appreciate the director for making it possible. Actor Naseeruddin Shah who worked with the legend on The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, said that the actor was down to earth. “All us co-actors were certainly in awe of Sean, but he never displayed any sign of entitled behaviour," Shah added.