How James Bond's Charisma Landed Sean Connery the Role of Henry Jones Sr. in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade

The Bond Charisma Injected into Henry Jones Sr.

Sean Connery plays Henry Jones Sr. in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, and Steven Spielberg revealed why Connery was chosen to play the archeologist's father. The third Indiana Jones movie was a return to form following Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, which was considered way too dark when it was originally released in 1984. The 1989 threequel returned to the fun tone of Raiders of the Lost Ark, was more of a globe-trotting adventure, and it saw the Nazis as the villains once again. However, while the movie repeated many Raiders of the Lost Ark's beats, the threequel introduced one of the franchise's best characters.

Harrison Ford and Sean Connery tied up together in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade

Henry Jones Sr. is Indiana's eccentric father in the Indiana Jones cast, and he becomes obsessed with the Holy Grail. In the movie, Henry is being kept in an Austrian castle and Indiana saves him. What follows is the pair clumsily getting trapped in the castle, fleeing on a zeppelin, enduring the collapse of the Holy Grail's temple, and even being involved in something of a love triangle with Dr. Elsa Schneider (Alison Doody). Connery plays Indy's father perfectly, as, like Indy, Henry is a lady's man, an adventurer, and totally clumsy. Connery nails the role, and Spielberg cast the actor because of his tenure in the James Bond franchise.

James Bond Helped Sean Connery Land The Role Of Henry Jones, Sr.

James Bond had been a successful franchise for over two decades by the time Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade was released, and Connery starred in the first five films and returned to the franchise in 1971 in Diamonds Are Forever. The actor made James Bond iconic, and Connery is still considered the best Bond actor, even after a number of other stars have played the character, including Pierce Brosnan and Daniel Craig. Connery was suave, charismatic, and exciting as James Bond in 1962's Dr. No, and the actor never lost that charisma in any of the follow-ups.

It was this performance that made Spielberg want to cast Connery as Indy's father (via Time), and the celebrated filmmaker believed that nobody else could play the role. The director turned out to be right, as Connery's standout performance steals the show from Ford. However, Connery doesn't exactly play the character like Bond. Instead, the actor leans into the goofy and clumsy nature of Indy's father, something that Connery's Bond wouldn't respect. Nevertheless, there are still hints of Bond in Connery's portrayal, but those idiosyncrasies improve the movie.

When revealing that Indy's love interest, Elsa, is a Nazi, Connery improvised the line 'She talks in her sleep,' which reveals that Henry is sleeping with her in the cleverest and funniest way possible. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade screenwriter Jeffrey Boam said that the Henry Jones character would never have slept with Elsa, but the writer also added, 'but Sean Connery would.' In a sense, Spielberg directed the James Bond movie he always wanted to make by casting Connery as Henry Jones Sr.

Why Connery Turned Down Returning For Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

Connery turned down 2008's Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull because he was no longer acting, as Connery retired after The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen in 2003. However, the actor later revealed that the real reason for turning down the fourth Indiana Jones movie was because the role wasn't big enough (via The Hollywood Reporter). Henry's appearance in the 2008 movie was originally planned to be a cameo, and Connery thought reprising his Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade role wasn't worth it. Nevertheless, Connery actually liked the 2008 film, calling it 'rather good,' but adding that it was 'rather long' (via MTV).

Harrison Ford and Shia LaBeouf look down at something in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.