James Bond bosses wish Sean Connery a happy 90th birthday

Sean Connery has been wished a happy 90th birthday by the team behind the James Bond franchise as other celebrities also paid tribute to the star.

The film star, who was the original actor to portray James Bond, appeared in seven 007 films and is considered by many to be the best Bond ever.

Connery, whose final Bond film was Never Say Never Again in 1983, was sent well wishes by franchise producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson. 

The James Bond Twitter account wrote: ‘Happy Birthday to our original 007, Sean Connery, who turns 90 today. With love from Michael, Barbara, everyone at EON and all your fans.’

Piers Morgan also paid tribute to the iconic Scottish actor, hailing him to be the best 007 in history.

Sharing a photo of the actor in character, he wrote: ‘Happy 90th Birthday to Sean Connery. The first Bond, the best Bond.’

Judy Murray also sent her well wishes and shared a snap of the actor watching her son Andy playing tennis.

She wrote: ‘When James Bond comes to watch your son playing tennis…..and you get a bit shaken and stirred. Happy 90th birthday Sean Connery.’

The Golden Globe Awards twitter account shared a quote from the actor, writing: ‘”May God grand us the wisdom to discover right, the will to choose it, and the strength to make it endure” – Sean Connery. Happy 90th birthday, Sir!’ 

Connery had a fraught relationship with the franchise over the years, having pay disputes with film bosses as well as concerns over his privacy.

According to reports, the actor was outraged when he was photographed on the toilet during filming of You Only Live Twice, his fifth film, and asked for more pay from producer Albert ‘Cubby’ Broccoli.

When Broccoli refused, the actor was said to have walked, with the feud between the pair lasting until just before the producer’s death in 1996.  

Broccoli had convinced James Bond author Ian Fleming to agree to Connery in the role after the writer had been eyeing posher actors such as Carey Grant.

This led Connery to brand Fleming a snob, saying: ‘I never got introduced to Fleming until I was well into the movie but I know he was not happy with me as the choice.

‘What was it he called me, or told somebody? That I was an over-developed stunt man. He never said it to me. When I did eventually meet him he was very interesting, erudite and a snob – a real snob.’

Earlier this month, Sean was voted as the greatest James Bond ever in a survey by RadioTimes.com, with 44 per cent of the vote, ahead of Timothy Dalton in second, with 32 per cent, and Pierce Brosnan in third with 23 per cent. 

More than 14,000 people voted for their favourite, with actors pitted against each other in different rounds of the survey. 

Round one saw Connery knock out Craig, with 56 per cent of the vote compared with Craig’s 43 per cent.

Brosnan won round two with 76 per cent against 24 per cent for George Lazenby, whose sole appearance was in 1969’s On Her Majesty’s Secret Service.

Round three had perhaps the most surprising result, with Moore knocked out of the competition with 41 per cent of the vote by his immediate successor Dalton, who scored 49 per cent.

But the final round, pitting the three winners against each other, saw Connery voted the greatest Bond of all time ahead of Dalton and Brosnan.

Moore starred in seven films, Dalton in two and Brosnan in four. Craig’s fifth and final film, No Time To Die, will be released in November.