It’s the brogue that gets you.

Whether he’s looking dapper swilling his martini glass in a three-piece suit or resplendently regal in his royal robes, it’s Sir Sean Connery’s voice that draws you in to whatever movie you might see him in. And even though he hasn’t made many movies in the last decade, his celebrated heyday — including a seven-film, 21-year run as 007 himself, James Bond — produced more than enough films to ensure we see him regularly popping upon our television screen.

That, and the fact that he’s one of only two Bonds whose birthday we haven’t written about, made it an easy choice to celebrate his 86th birthday on the iHomeschool Network’s celebration of August birthdays.

All about Sean Connery

Sir Thomas Sean Connery was born Aug. 25, 1930, in Edinburgh, Scotland, to a cleaning woman and a factory driver/truck worker. He claims he’s been known as “Sean” throughout most of his life, though when he was younger he was usually referred to as “Tommy.”

Throughout his life, he’s spent time as a milkman, a truck driver, a lifeguard, an artist’s model, a coffin polisher and joined the Royal Navy, where he got two tattoos: One that says “Mum and Dad,” and the other a “Scotland Forever.”

Similar to our last birthday boy, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Connery started bodybuilding at age 18. He placed third in the 1950 Mr. Universe contests, according to his official website (which appears to have been last updated roughly around the same time), though most official sources have him in the 1953 version of the competition, where he placed either third in the junior class or failed to place in the Tall Man classification.

It was around this time, in 1951, that Connery started helping out backstage at a local theater to make some money, which piqued his interest. During a London bodybuilding competition in 1953, one of competitors offhandedly mentioned that auditions were taking place for the musical South Pacific, and Connery managed to earn a spot in the chorus. By the time the production had reached Edinburgh, he had been promoted to a featured player, and the next year found himself as the male lead.

For the next several years, Connery bounced around various roles in TV shows, theater plays and even a babysitter. He managed a few leading roles in television movies and even a Disney film, Darby O’Gill and the Little People, as he made his way into the 1960s.

In 1962, he got his big hit. Though reluctant to commit to a series of films, he signed on as James Bond for five films, from Dr. No  to You Only Live Twice, between 1962-67. He then reprised the role for 1971’s Diamond’s Are Forever, and 1983’s Never Say Never Again. James Bond creator Ian Fleming originally had his doubts about Connery, thinking him unrefined and too muscular, but changed his mind after Dr. No’s success. He was so impressed, in fact, that in later novels Fleming even created a half-Scottish, half-Swiss heritage for Bond.

Connery had a few worries as Bond. In one sequence for Thunderball, Connery had a scene with sharks. Wary, he had requested a Plexiglas partition be built in the pool; it was, but one shark still managed to get through and Connery bailed out. He also had to wear a wig for every Bond movie as he started going bald at age 21.

Connery starred in other films while he was Bond, including Alfred Hitchcock’s Marnie and the much-acclaimed Murder on the Orient Express. He started to get tired of the role of James Bond, feeling he was being typecast and a better actor than “just” James Bond. After his career as Bond, Connery went on to make many popular movies, including Highlander and an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor for The Untouchables. Even in the late 80s/early 90s, when he was 60 years old, his fame grew with Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade and The Hunt for Red October. He retired from acting in 2006.

Read more about Sean Connery

• Sean Connery’s official website: A little bit out-of-date, but still the official source.
• James Bond Wiki page on Sean Connery: Very in-depth on his Bond exploits.
• Sean Connery on IMDB

Books and movies about/featuring Sean Connery

• Sean Connery James Bond Collection, vol. 1 (Blu-Ray): For the 50th anniversary of James Bond, they re-released the Bond movies in collections by who played them. Here’s the DVD link.
• Goldfinger: This is Ashar’s favorite Sean Connery James Bond movie, and also the first James Bond movie she ever saw.
• Sean Connery: A Biography: Bucking the usual trend of actor/actress biographies, this book is more about Sean Connery than his movies.
• The Hunt for Red October: Arguably the one of the more famous movies of Connery’s later career.
• Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade: Easily the best of the three Indiana Jones movies. And, before you ask, no, we’ve never heard of a crystal skull, what on earth are you talking about?

Ideas for discussion

• The perils of success. Landing the role of James Bond undoubtedly served as Sean Connery’s big break into show business, and allowed him to become a big enough star to do other movies (both commercially successful ones as well as those films he made for love of the craft). But it turned out to be a little bit of a double-edged sword, as he grew to resent the fame and pigeonholing that came along with it. Is there such a thing as too much success? Is it the same as too much of a good thing?
• Finding your voice.Sean Connery held a dizzying array of jobs before finding his calling as an actor (and, actually, for some time as he was still trying to get his foot in the door). He didn’t even know about the acting world until after he had already done a stint in the Royal Navy and tried his hand at his father’s occupation, truck driver. Sometimes, we don’t find the perfect job (or hobby, or sport, or anything) until later in life. How do you know when you’ve found something for you that really sings?

More Bond birthdays

In case you missed them, we’ve already written posts celebrating Daniel Craig and Timothy Dalton, both of whom have March birthdays, and Roger Moore, who has an October birthday! Poor Pierce Brosnan came up in an already-busy May, but we promise we’ll get to him next year.

Join the birthday party

If you’re interested, there are many more cool “August birthday” lessons from my fellow iHomeschool Network bloggers. Click the image below to check them out!

And thanks for stopping by to help me wish Sean Connery a happy birthday!

You can check out more posts in our Learning Party series here!

Get to the choppa!

Come with me if you want to live!

I’ll be back!

These are quotes we hear almost daily in our house, because Ashar is an absolute devotee of bodybuilder-turned-actor-turned-governor-turned-activist Arnold Schwarzenegger, and that’s why we’re talking about Ah-nold as part of the iHomeschool Network’s celebration of July birthdays.

All about Arnold Schwarzenegger

Arnold Schwarzenegger was born July 30, 1947, in Thal, Austria.

He served mandatory military service in Austria after he finished school, following in the footsteps of his father, who was a local chief of police and who had served in World War II. In the Austrian army, Schwarzenegger drove a tank, and in fact he today owns the exact model of the tank he drove in the Army.

Most interestingly in his early life, Arnold first played soccer and then started weight-training in his early teens, which would later lead to a career in bodybuilding that would net him 7 Mr. Olympia titles and 4 Mr. Universe titles. It was bodybuilding that allowed Schwarzenegger to fulfill his dream of coming to America. “The Mr. Universe title was my ticket to America – the land of opportunity, where I could become a star and get rich,” he is quoted as saying.

Schwarzenegger did move to America in 1968, when he was 21, despite speaking little English at the time. He started training at Gold’s Gym, the chain where he still trains today. Eventually, in 1983, he became a naturalized American citizen.

While training and competing, Arnold had a goal to move into acting. His first movie, Hercules in New York, was pretty much a bomb, and his lines had to be dubbed later because his accent was so thick. He was credited as Arnold Strong because no one thought “Schwarzenegger” was a pronouncable name in America. “It was very difficult for me in the beginning – I was told by agents and casting people that my body was ‘too weird’, that I had a funny accent, and that my name was too long. You name it, and they told me I had to change it. Basically, everywhere I turned, I was told that I had no chance,” he said.

Obviously, Arnold proved those people wrong. He got his big break starring in Conan The Barbarian in 1982, and in 1984 began what would be a 30-year run as a cyborg from the future, from 1984’s The Terminator to 2015’s Terminator: Genesys, made after he came out of retirement from acting.

Interestingly, Schwarzenegger was a millionaire even before his movie career took off, thanks to several entrepreneurial ventures like a brick-laying company, a mail-order bodybuilding equipment business and other projects.

In 2003, after working in politics in positions such as chairman of the President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports under President George H.W. Bush, Schwarzenegger announced that he was running for governor of California as a Republican, and was re-elected in 2006. Many people have even asked him about whether he’d ever consider pursuing the presidency, a role he cannot currently hold as a non-U.S.-born citizen.

Personally, Schwarzenegger is known for marrying Maria Shriver, the niece of John F. Kennedy and daughter of Eunice Kennedy Shriver, in 1986, then later separating from her in 2011 after news of his having an affair and a child outside their marriage became known. Schwarzenegger and Shriver have four children together, in addition to his other son.

Since leaving the governorship, Arnold has been busy with activism in a variety of environmental and health causes. He’s sold Come With Me If You Want to Lift T-shirts and other items to support the After School All Stars program, he’s volunteered extensively with the Special Olympics, and he’s continued a trend of environmentalism that he began during his terms as governor.

In addition to all his other awards, Arnold has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and is in the WWE Hall of Fame.

Arnold and our family

As we worked together on this post, Ashar wanted me to particularly note that it is Arnold’s influence that has motivated her to start her own workout program.

She was already doing dumbbell weight lifting, situps and pushups on her own, and a couple of months ago we all joined the gym together to build on that.

“He always makes time to work out no matter how busy he is, or where he is,” Ashar said, “and I think that’s kind of what motivated me. It’s that point of mind that he has… I kind of wanted to get that point of mind.”

Read more about Arnold Schwarzenegger

• Arnold Schwarzenegger on IMDB
• Arnold Schwarzenegger on Twitter
• Arnold Schwarzenegger on Facebook
• Arnold Schwarzenegger on Wikipedia
• Official Arnold Schwarzenegger website
• Arnold Schwarzenegger’s autobiography, “Total Recall” – Just a plug for this: This is a HUGE book. Ashar read it from cover to cover. Ashar slept with it. Ashar carried it around with her even though her hardcover edition weighs, like, a third of her body weight or something. It basically WAS Arnold weight-lifting training. (Also, Ashar basically memorized it.) Maybe your family isn’t into Arnold, and that’s cool. But if you find the person your kids ARE into, you cannot understate the value of learning from biographies!

Movies starring Arnold Schwarzenegger

As we talk about Arnold Schwarzenegger’s movies, it’s probably a good time for me to remind new readers that our daughter, Ashar, is in her later teen years, and we’re very open about watching movies together and talking about them as a family. These are not recommendations for all ages, nor are the ones for older teens even something I’d suggest sending your 17-year-old off to watch alone. But there are also some fun picks for everyone!

• Kindergarten Cop: This is Arnold’s favorite of his own movies and one of our favorites too! It’s funny – but there are some stressful parts, so I would not suggest this for any small children.
• Jingle All the Way: Arnold. And Christmas. And comedy. How much better could it get? This one is pretty unobjectionable to all ages.
• Last Action Hero: Another that’s appropriate for most ages.
• Twins: This is another comedy, but it’s more appropriate for adults.
• The Terminator series: Definitely less appropriate for younger viewers, but a TON of great stuff to talk about in this series.
• End of Days: This is one of Ashar’s favorite Arnold movies, but definitely targeted toward an older audience. It’s a bit of a horror mystery.
• Eraser: Ashar likes the plot twist in this; it’s also definitely for older audiences.
• Total Recall: This sci-fi/fantasy movie has a lot of violence with what Ashar says “is really a pretty interesting story.”
• True Lies: A super-funny Arnold movie that involves him doing the tango. How could you pass that up?
• The Running Man: This is definitely a dark one, and we are not recommending it to kids of any age. It’s an adaptation of a Stephen King short story. If you have older teens who can appreciate the comparison, there is a lot to talk about here, but it’s DEFINITELY not for everyone.
• Hercules in New York: Ashar says, “Don’t watch this one. It’s really terrible. Really funny, but really terrible.”

Ideas for discussion

• How do you feel about environmental issues? Arnold Schwarzenegger is noted for taking a stand on issues such as not eating meat and climate change. What are your thoughts on environmental issues? Do your everyday choices match up to your personal values or your family’s values in this area?
• Don’t have a Plan B: One of the biggest pieces of advice Ashar gleaned from reading Arnold’s autobiography was his controversial admonition to “Never have a Plan B.” Having a Plan B, he says, implies that you think your Plan A won’t work, so you don’t go out of your way to make it work. If you know it’s your only option, you make it happen. That definitely flies in the face of conventional wisdom. What do you think of it?
• Making time for fitness: Another thing that has really impressed Ashar about Arnold is his commitment to fitness. No matter where he is, he makes time to ride a bike, take a hike, go to the gym, or do some other activity. Ashar’s trying to live out that same commitment, but it’s definitely a lifestyle adjustment. What do you think about being “too busy” to work out or eat right?

Join the birthday party

If you’re interested, there are many more cool “July birthday” lessons from my fellow iHomeschool Network bloggers. Click the image below to check them out!

And thanks for stopping by to help us celebrate Arnold Schwarzenegger!

You can check out more posts in our Learning Party series here!