Famed Actress BarBara Luna Remembers James Bond Icon Sean Connery: 4 Years After His Tragic Death

Photo byBarBara Luna

[Note: This article is edited material from the book, Connery, Sean Connery: Before, During and After His Most Famous Role. Unless otherwise indicated, all commentary and quotes in this article are from an interview the author conducted with those mentioned.]

In the Bond Beginning

Before, during, and after he became a superstar by way of Dr. No, the first James Bond feature film, Sean Connery, who died from respiratory failure in 2020, was adored behind the scenes by several female Hollywood icons, including acclaimed actress BarBara Luna.

Here’s How They Met

In the mid-1960s, Sean Connery attended a party for the movie King Rat, which was held at the renowned Whisky a Go-Go in Hollywood. That’s where he met the legendary BarBara Luna.

Luna to this day possesses the kind of prolific talent and dedication to her craft that was so appreciated by Connery, who shared a few common bonds with the actress. Even if they didn’t know it at the time.

Both appeared in stage productions of South Pacific though at different times and places, and like Luna remains today, Sean was athletic and enjoyed golf. But neither of those topics were discussed when they met that night at the Whiskey a Go-Go.

Their conversation began late that evening when Luna’s boyfriend drifted across the room to greet some friends. It was then she noticed Connery standing by himself in the corner of the crowded room. She wasn’t sure of his preference to be alone, “or perhaps he was just shy,” she thought. “Could that be possible?”

Nonetheless, she worked up the courage and approached Connery, who was at the height of Bond-mania. She introduced herself and asked him to dance. To which he replied, “Why, I’d be delighted.”

Luna “gulped,” took him by the hand, and led the actor to the floor, where they would dance, freeform, which by then was a fairly new style, growing in popularity.

As they began to dance, he told her, “I’m not very good at this. I’ll try not to embarrass you,”

Luna laughed and said, “Well, Mr. Connery, that isn’t true. But even if it were, it doesn’t matter.”

Connery then grinned and insisted, “Sean. Call me Sean.”

Luna's Conclusion About Connery

BarBara Luna said Sean Connery’s most profound asset was his charm. That made him “special,” she relayed. It was “a quality that 1940s actors had, such as Cary Grant, Gary Cooper, Lawrence Olivier…which I don’t see in many of our actors and actresses today. His charm mixed with intelligence, humor, and strength…plus he could be physical, and very handsome, and his great speaking voice made him so lovable. How could he not be the most appealing Bond?”

“Some actors appreciate being recognized for playing just one role,” Luna observed. “Others prefer not to be associated in that way. I suppose there are two kinds of actors. One that makes a physical statement and the other more complicated, such as John Wayne vs. Lawrence Olivier or Van Diesel vs. Christian Bale.”

For others, still, “acting is about being versatile, portraying different characters, exploring different parts of one’s self. A character can teach actors/actresses a lot about themselves,” said Luna, who refused “to give up the word actress.”

“Bottom line,” said Luna, “…I think actors/actresses just like to be remembered for something,” while she remembered Connery’s charisma on screen in this way:

“Aside from being elegant, tall, dark, handsome, sexy, charming, dignified, yet tough, dangerous and very charismatic, his characters were really always believable.”

“Need I say more?”