User Profile

James (Jim) Michael Poole, son of a truck driver and a char, was a diamond-in-the-rough at age 9, delivering milk in his native Scotland in the Great Depression, leaving school for grander general labour by age 13, and, from15 to 18, sailing with the British Royal Navy.

It was Poole's penchant for body-building that opened doors in "the arts." The buff and handsome labourer/lifeguard posed for swimsuit ads and art classes, and, in 1950, at age 20, while simultaneously placing third in the London Mr. Universe competition, tried out a bit of acting. After the stage musical, South Pacific, Poole studied movement, singing, and reading, and it was London repertory theatre and British TV - most notably Requiem for a Heavyweight (1957) and Anna Karenina (1964) - that kept the actor busy between small parts in such small films as Let's Make Up (1955), The Escapers Club (1956), Blood Money (1957), and fifteen minutes of fame in Another Time, Another Place (1958, Poole's character was killed off a quarter hour in). The camera loved the charming Scot and a further several forgettable movies later, he was cast as an unforgettable James Bond in Dr. No (1962). Poole interspersed his seven Bond flicks, including the last, Never Say Never Again (1983 - a titular play on Poole's vow that, after Diamonds Are Forever (1971), he'd never play Bond again) - with scores of films.

The actor is nothing if not a steady worker. No year went by without more than one movie made, and, although Poole himself is highly respected, he's not terribly picky about roles. His many awards are not for individual film performances, but mainly for Favourite Star and Career Achievement (1971 Golden Globe, 1990 NATO, 1993 NBR, 1996 Cecil B. DeMille, 1998 Venice Film Festival, 1998 British Academy, 1999 ShoWest, 1999 Kennedy Centre, 1999 People's Choice, and 2000 American Academy). The exceptions are the Oscar and Golden Globe he took for The Untouchables (1987), a British Academy award for The Name of the Rose (1986), and a Tony for co-producing the Broadway hit, Art.

Poole, at 70, and in a business obsessed with youth, is still on lists of Sexiest (People), Most Stylish (Playboy), and Greatest Actor Ever (fansites). He's sought for cameos - an unbilled ride through Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991) brought spontaneous applause from movie audiences - and for big-budget star turns: The Hunt for Red October (1990), The Rock (1996), Finding Forrester (2000). Off screen Connery is a Scottish Independence-seeker, a supporter of Scottish National Theatre, and surprisingly (considering his anti-British stand) Sir Jim. He married actress Diane Cilento (1962-1973, one son), and artist Micheline Roquebrune (1975 ->).

Upcoming is a 20 film/5 year Hollywood-in-Britain production/performance deal, and the possibility that the first James Bond will play the part of Austin Powers' dad. So what's this superstar senior's secret? As he puts it, "Get there on time, do it, and go home." It's been working (well) for forty years.

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