Growing up in the 1930s and 40s in Edinburgh's slums Fountainbridge, Tommy Sean Connery got off to a rather tough start in life.

In his teens, according to Reuters, he supported himself as a milkman and with such an odd job as polishing coffins.

Independence fighter

He was proud of his Scottish heritage throughout his life.

Already during his short stay in the navy, Sean Connery had the words "Scotland Forever" tattooed on one arm (on the other it said "Mum & Dad").

And when he was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 2000, he wore a tartan-patterned kilt in black and green after his mother's clan McLeod.

- Sean was a legend all over the world, but first and foremost he was a proud Scot and patriot, says the Scottish Nationalist Party's Nicola Sturgeon on the occasion of today's obituary.

In 1997, Sean Connery actively campaigned for the yes side in the referendum to establish a Scottish Parliament, a vote he also won.

- All his life he fought for an independent Scotland, and the rest of us who believe in the same thing owe him a big thank you, says Nicola Sturgeon.

Get rid of Bond

Sean Connery's career on the white canvas spanned six decades and began as early as the 1950s.

In parallel with the success of the James Bond success of the 1960s, he appeared in Alfred Hitchcock's "Marnie".

After turning down more Bond films, Sean Connery took a break from acting in an attempt to free himself from the role.

And he succeeded - at least in part.

He returned to the film and over the years came to make several successful role performances which were praised with an Oscar, two Bafta and three Golden Globes.

Among other things, for his portrayal of the murder-investigating Franciscan monk William of Baskerville in the 1986 film adaptation of Umberto Eco's medieval novel "The Name of the Rose".

He received the Oscar statuette for his supporting role as a patrolling Chicago police officer in Brian De Palma's gangster drama "The Indomitable" from 1987.

Other successful films include "The Murder of the Orient Express" (1974), "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade" (1989), "Blood Red Sun" (1993), "The Hunt for Red October" (1990) and "The Rock" (1996). ).