Sir Sean Connery was the big screen’s original 007 British-naval-intelligence-officer in the James Bond movie franchise, eventually going beyond the Bond roles to winning an Academy Award for The Untouchables, three Golden Globes and Kennedy Center Honors in an acting career of more than 50 years.
He was obviously right at home making movies and actually shot some of his movies scenes in a home he owned in the south of France, which you can now own.
His villa featured views overlooking the city of Nice and the Mediterranean Sea from a hill on the Cap de Nice and was used in several scenes of the Bond-movie Never Say Never Again that was filmed in Nice and nearby Monaco.
By the time Connery moved into the French home, he had already achieved wealth in the hundreds of millions and was turning down roles that would have paid him as much as US$450 million for one film.
In 1971, Connery insisted he was through with acting and would never return to it because retirement, as he said “was so much fun.”
But when he was asked in 1983 to play yet another James Bond film based on Ian Flemming’s novel Thunderball, he couldn’t resist the script and agreed to do the film. It was his wife, Micheline Roquebrune, who named the film Never Say Never Again, based on his previous claims that he would never do a seventh James Bond movie.
The home is now for sale. It is on more than one acre, with landscaped terraces flanking a winding path to the sea, green strips of lawn and a saltwater pool, along with two complete two-bedroom guest houses and a staff apartment above the two-car, attached garage.
Built on five levels with an elevator and rooftop terrace, its five bedrooms and baths are distributed between all the floors. The entrance opens into the grand hall with floor-to-ceiling windows capturing more views of Nice, mountain and sea.
Wrap-around and garden terraces invite lounging, sunset cocktails and dining under the stars. Period details such as wide-planked parquet floors run throughout the building. The main level also houses a family room and another room and kitchenette currently being used as an office.
The dining room and kitchen are located on the lower floor and open to a garden terrace.
The upper-level master suite has his-and-her baths, a dressing room and private balcony.
The bottom level has a fitness complex with gym, hammam and large indoor swimming pool that opens to the gardens, shower and dressing areas.
Priced at $33.87 million, it is listed with Edward de Mallet Morgan, Knight-Frank, Nice, France ( www.knightfrank.com ).
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