Sir Sean Connery's greatest role may be yet to come - Scotsman comment

The name was Connery. Sir Thomas Sean Connery. Also known as Big Tam from Fountainbridge.

How will Sean Connery be remembered in Scotland?

This weekend has been full of glowing tributes to Scotland's greatest ever actor, the definitive James Bond, and a global ambassador worth his weight in gold.

His death at 90, while perhaps not unexpected following a period of ill health, still sent shockwaves through the nation and arts world.

Pretty much every Scottish Sunday newspaper led on his passing – this on a day that England was sent back into lockdown following Boris Johnson's extraordinary Hallowe'en address.

It is difficult to imagine another death or event which could knock such momentous news down to second billing across the country. But then Connery was always A-list, his name and talent lifting not only the dozens of classic films which make up his remarkable body of work, but the few turkeys in there too.

Of course, he also became known for expressing and then doubling down on outrageous opinions around violence towards women for which he was rightly condemned. But his work, and his value to brand Scotland is without question.

Thoughts are now turning to how Sir Sean will be immortalised in the country which he famously left to set up home in the Bahamas, but clearly still ran through his veins.

Suggestions so far have included giving his name to a national film studio, a move given he was involved in mothballed plans originally which would surely meet with his approval.

But his legacy as the Fountainbridge milkman and one time French polisher who became a world superstar also has to be in nurturing the next generation of Scottish talent.

Sir Sean showed that anything was possible, that talent shines through no matter where you start out. Somewhere in Scotland there is another young actor just waiting for that shot at glory.

What more fitting tribute could there be than a way to harness brand Connery to support the arts in Scotland at a time when it is facing perhaps its biggest ever challenge. Sir Sean has left us with an incredible legacy in films. His greatest role for the next generation may be still to come.

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