Mr Oldbanger.. he’s the man, the man with a dodgy clutch
Writer reveals how Bond legend picked her up in clapped-out Toyota
He was the world’s most famous spy with the latest gadgetry always at his fingertips.
But writer Tessa Hartmann has revealed how James Bond legend Sean Connery gave her a guided tour of the Bahamas in an old banger. Tessa tempted Connery out of retirement to take on the role of the reluctant hero in children’s adventure Sir Billi.
She and her film director husband Sascha spent several days with Connery, who died last month aged 90, as he recorded a voice role for the 2012 animated film.
The mum of four, from Glasgow, told how they were left gobsmacked when the actor picked them up at the airport in a clapped- out Toyota.
Sir Billi was Connery’s la st f i lm af ter he quit Hol lywood following his role in The League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen in 2003. He agreed to be the voice of the lead character, a skateboarding grandad who drove the same Aston Martin DB5 he did in 007 classic Goldfinger.
Tessa, 51, said: “We f lew out to record him several times in the Bahamas. His friend owned a little bed and breakfast down the road from his house where he organised for us to stay.
“When we arrived at the airport in the Bahamas, my husband and I were planning to just jump in a taxi to take us to the B&B.
“But then we heard ‘ beep, beep’ and there was Sean Connery. He was driving an old Toyota.
“We were used to seeing him as Bond but this car was so modest.
“He then jumped out of this old car and shouted, ‘Right, come on kids, get in the back.’ We were left standing there dumbstruck.
“He was so nice. He asked if we had been to the Bahamas before and when we said no he was like, ‘ Well, let me just give you a quick wee tour,’ and he drove us about the island showing us all the best spots.
“We were due to start recording the next day and he said, ‘ I’ll pick you up at half- past eight. That’s not five minutes before and not five minutes after.’ He had no ego. He just didn’t have that side to him. He was a proud man and incredibly successful but humble and very down to earth.
“I think that’s why he probably l ived on an island like that. I think he shunned anything too glamorous. He wasn’t into that.”
Sir Billi was Scotland’s first fully animated feature film and took seven years to make. It tells the story of Highland vet William Sedgewick who embarks on a mission to save an illegal fugitive.
The cast included Alan Cumming, Greg Hemphi l l, Ford Kiernan, Miriam Margolyes and Alex Norton.
Tessa, who also runs a PR firm and founded the Scottish Fashion Awards, approached Connery to ask if he would appear in the film through mutual friend, ex-Rangers owner David Murray, in 2004.
She said: “He just fell in love with the project. We were very much the underdog. Animation is controlled by the Americans and I think he liked how we were punching above our weight. Sean and that production put us on the map and for that we will be eternally grateful.
“It was such an honour and privilege to spend as much time with him and his wife Micheline. “For me, he is one of the true legends of our time.”
REVVED UP DB5 in Sir Billi