Thunderball (novel) "Daily Express" strip was cut short on the order of its owner, Lord Beaverbrook, after Ian Fleming signed an agreement with "The Sunday Times" to publish a short story. On screen, "Thunderball" was released in 1965 as the fourth film in the Eon Productions series, with Sean Connery as James Bond. The second adaptation, "Never Say Never Again", was released as an independent production in 1983 also starring Connery as Bond and was produced by Kevin McClory. BBC Radio 4 aired an adaptation in December 2016, directed by Martin Jarvis. It starred Toby Stephens as Bond and Tom Conti as
Sean Connery Sean Connery Sir Thomas Sean Connery (born 25 August 1930) is a retired Scottish actor and producer, who has won an Academy Award, two BAFTA Awards, one of them being a BAFTA Academy Fellowship Award and three Golden Globes, including the Cecil B. DeMille Award and a Henrietta Award. Connery was the first actor to portray the character James Bond in film, starring in seven Bond films, between 1962 and 1983. In 1988, Connery won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in "The Untouchables". His film career also includes such films as "Marnie", "The Name of