HELLO! January 4, 2005

SEAN CONNERY AND WIFE MICHELINE PICTURED FOR THE FIRST TIME AT HOME IN MANHATTAN

‘However good life is to me, I never forget where I came from.  I started out so low that I could only go up’

            While the secrecy surrounding who will be the next James Bond continues to keep Hollywood on its toes, Sean Connery, the coolest 007 yet, is almost content to sit back, with that wry smile, and put his feet up.

            Almost. But not quite. The seasoned Scots actor is not planning any more action in front of the cameras just now, but he is far from kicking his heels. In fact Sean, 74, is working on his autobiography, which is expected to hit bookshops by autumn 2006.

            It's reported that the book will earn him upwards of £1 million, although for Sean, who divides his time between a luxurious home in the Bahamas and this spacious Manhattan apartment, money can hardly be the object.

            In fact, having spent years vowing never to write about his life, he's doing so now because he wants to put right the wrongs he feels certain unauthorised biographies have done him. And he has no qualms about spending months in front of a keyboard instead of a camera. "It's rather scary, but utterly exhilarating and I'm looking forward to it," he reveals.

            The book, he promises, will take us from his poverty-stricken childhood in Edinburgh to his legendary success. It will tell us a great deal about the actor himself, but, when it comes to the women in his life, Sean is determined to be completely the gentleman. "I know everyone's expecting me to list all the women in my life and make torrid revelations about them. But I never will. I'll take those secrets to the grave," he explains.

            Of course, there's one woman who's bound to play quite a part in the book, and that's Sean's French wife, Micheline Roquebrune, the talented artist to whom he's been married for almost 30 years.

            Here, as the two allow the cameras into their home for the first time, it's clear at once how important Micheline is to Sean. Surrounded by her pictures, he tells how proud he is of her. And one senses, as he continues, that she has played a big part in encouraging him to open up not just about his undoubted achievements, but also about the more painful parts of his past…

In 2000 you were knighted by the Queen, and just this month, Morocco’s king bestowed on you his country’s highest honour. Aren't you collapsing under the weight of all these gongs?

"Well, I'm very touched...and I do have a great sentimental attachment to Morocco. Not only is it where I shot The Man Who Would Be King, it's also where I met Micheline, in Marrakech, coming up for 35 years ago now.

"But those who know me well know that I've never gone looking for honours, and that I really don't give a damn what's left to remember me by when I'm gone."

You're known as an actor without an ego. Fame doesn't seem to have affected you one jot. Is that really so?

"The first time I met Robert Mitchum, he said to me, 'Sean, I beg you, please don't ever take all this nonsense seriously, it's just so much hot air!' I have honestly never really understood all the fuss people make about me. I've often noticed that they are intimidated by me, without knowing why. It makes me ill at ease. I swear Micheline's got an ego a lot bigger than mine! Maybe it's because she's French, because you know you can't argue with them!

"What I do know is that I've had an extraordinary life. What's more, I started out with no qualifications. And however good life is to me, I never forget that, I never forget where I came from, and that's my strength."

Are you still surprised at how far you've come?

"I'm really not that interested in myself. I know that there are websites devoted to me, but it would never cross my mind to log on to one."

Do you believe in fate?

"I've never believed in it. I got my education in the great school of life. And my experiences have made me the man I am today.

"You know, I started out so low that I could only go up. My life's been a mixture of luck and chance. I was nine when World War II broke out. We were living in Edinburgh in real poverty. We didn't have the luxury of worrying about our inner selves. I started work at 12 and at 13 left school. I educated myself, which may be why I still sometimes feel just like a little boy when I meet intellectuals."

You're in the process of writing your memoirs, something you said you'd never do, for fear of hurting people who are still alive. What made you change your mind?

"I recently discovered that ten books have been written about me. I started reading one of them out of curiosity and threw it down, because it was just pack of lies. I was furious and called my lawyer, telling him to sue at once. And he said no, the best way to put the record straight would be to write a book myself."

One would certainly not call you a big fan of soul-searching. But you'll have to do a fair bit of it for the book...

"If it weren't for my films, I could disappear tomorrow and no one would hear any more about me. I've never made notes, or kept a diary. I've never even kept photos of myself, or press cuttings. Fortunately I have a very good memory.

"That said, although I can remember, long afterwards, the tiniest details of an incident, I can be a dozen years out on timings because I'm incapable of memorising dates. I can't remember when I got married, or my wife's birthday, barely even my own!"

What will people discover when they read your book?

"Perhaps it will be me who discovers most about myself. For example, I had never realised that the simple fact my mother never hugged me or held me in her arms when I was little has had a big effect on my relationships. [He points out two paintings by Micheline that hang in his bedroom. One shows his mother and the other hers.] You see how my mother looks severe, and hers a lot nicer? That explains a lot, doesn't it!

"I know everyone's expecting me to list all the women in my life and make torrid revelations about them. But I never will. I'll take those secrets to the grave."

Like all couples, you and Micheline have weathered a few storms, yet soon you will celebrate 30 years of marriage. What holds you together?

"Micheline and I have pasts - and cultures -which couldn't be more different. But beneath it all we are alike.

"I have a huge admiration for my wife because she's a lot more intelligent than I am, and because she's wildly talented as a painter. I'm always telling her she should sell her work. But she just isn't bothered. She's as stubborn as a mule and does things her own way. Though that annoys me sometimes, I must admit it's also what I like about her. She's overflowing with life and laughter, and where I see problems, she sees solutions. "

You recently quit a movie for which you'd have earnt $18 million.

"Thanks to my work, I now have enough money to do exactly what I want. When I like a project, I throw myself into it heart and soul, which was the case with that film. Then one day, you discover that what you say counts for nothing. Without going into details, let's say I was fed up with being pulled from pillar to post."

Is it true you've decided to give up movie-making altogether?

"Who told you that? It's true I wake up sometimes and decide to put a stop to it all, but that's not yet on the agenda."

Could you really live without acting?

"Perfectly well. I love the way I spend my time in the Bahamas. Everyone leaves me in peace. I read, play golf, swim lengths in my pool and watch the sun go down. What more could I want?

"When my father died, I took a break from films for two years. The same when I had a course of radiotherapy for throat problems.

"I wouldn't like to lose what I've earnt, but if tomorrow I found myself living in a little studio flat, it wouldn't faze me. I don't have expensive tastes. On the subject of which, can you explain something to me? Why are women obsessed with buying shoes the whole time? Years ago I was given ten pairs when I was making a film. I still wear them."

Why don't you go into politics? It's been rumoured that you will, and you've certainly got the charisma.

“I'm too honest to be a politician. I find it hard enough in the world of cinema, where you can't trust anyone's word. So as for politics...”

What's the best advice you've ever been given?

"I've never been given any. I'm fascinated when I hear young people talking with their parents. When I left the Navy, I had nowhere to go and no one to turn to. All the same, I haven't managed too badly."

What's your motto?

"To treat people as I would like to be treated myself."

You are 74. What do you know that you didn't know at 30?

"I already knew all about life at 13."

INTERVIEW: DANY JUCAUD/SCOOP/KATZ
PHOTOS: JEAN-LOUIS ATLAN,SCOOP/KATZ