Steven Seagal Broke Sean Connery's Wrist. Here's What Happened

Sir Sean Connery, who passed away on October 31, 2020, made his fame when he became the first, and arguably the most well-liked, James Bond to hit the big screen. He played the character for several more movies in the franchise, and Connery's charm and demeanor outlined James Bond for all of those who would follow in his footsteps and take up the mantle of 007 in the future. The Scottish actor certainly had a diverse portfolio, but it was the James Bond character that secured Sean Connery's rise to fame, a fame that eventually led to him being knighted in 2000. (As fate would have it, Connery grew somewhat tired of playing James Bond, even regretting the role in his later years.) 

The character and the actor had some similarities that made the role perfect for Connery. Firstly, both were suave in their heyday. Secondly, both were pretty useful when it came to a round of fisticuffs. Granted, James Bond was a government trained superspy and Connery's only government connection was his time in the Royal Navy, but Sir Sean Connery was once a bodybuilder and even had a martial arts background. And, it was that martial arts background that ended up playing a key factor in the story of Sean Connery's broken wrist. The tall and imposing Steven Seagal was the one who did the breaking, and Connery didn't even realize it until a good deal later. Here's the story of how Steven Seagal broke Sean Connery's wrist.

Sir Sean Connery, who held a black belt in karate, according to the Independent, wasn't exactly known for taking it easy when it came to fight choreography. Apparently, neither was aikido expert Steven Seagal, who, according to Connery on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno in 1996, broke Connery's wrist while he was training for yet another James Bond movie. It ended up being Sean Connery's final movie as James Bond, 1983's Never Say Never Again.

While working on the film, Connery thought he'd be doing some aikido during James Bond's fight scenes, so he enlisted Steven Seagal's help to brush him up the specific martial art style. Steven Seagal was, after all, an expert. That's when Connery's previous martial arts background came around to bite him in his charmingly Scottish behind.

"I got ahold of Steven and we had this training in the building where I had an apartment and he was really very, very good and everything. And I got a little cocky because I thought I knew what I was doing because the principle is it's defense, so it's a pyramid and I got a bit flash," Connery told Leno. Raising his arm so his hand was near his face, he continued, "I did that and he broke my wrist."

Sean Connery, being the tough guy he was, didn't notice that his wrist was broken. You think he would've because of the searing pain that usually accompanies a broken wrist, but he says he only discovered the severity of the damage done at a doctor's visit in 1995, a year before the Jay Leno interview. As for any healing, Connery claimed in the interview that up to that point, the wrist was still broken, so it must have been a relatively mild break.