Jump directly to the Content
Jump directly to the Content

Sermon Illustrations

Home > Sermon Illustrations

James Bond Meets Gandalf

While Sean Connery may have had many memorable roles, the actor also rejected more than a handful of now-iconic parts. Perhaps most famously, Connery turned down the part of Gandalf in Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings trilogy.

Connery was the director's first choice for the role, which would have seen the actor travel to New Zealand to portray the wizard. The producers of the fantasy series were so desperate to get Connery on board that they offered him upwards of $30 million, plus 15 percent of the box-office take (which would have been an additional $447 million for the actor). Yet, the former James Bond didn't budge, and Ian McKellen went on to become Gandalf.

Years later, Connery discussed the Lord of the Rings, revealing that he simply didn't understand the series. He said, “I read the book. I read the script. I saw the movie. I still don't understand it.”

Possible Preaching Angle:

We don’t need to completely understand the “script” to be part of God’s story. Suffice to know the Author can be trusted. Sometimes you are in the middle of your life story and it seems to be leading to disaster. At that point you trust the Author. We know it ends well!

Related Sermon Illustrations

Ship Misguided by Faulty Maps

In the Kingdom of Ice is journalist Hampton Sides' compelling account of the failed nineteenth-century polar expedition of the USS Jeannette, captained by Lieutenant George De Long. ...

[Read More]

How a Beatle's Album Answers Objections to the Bible

In an interview about his recent book (2020), apologist Timothy Paul Jones was asked:

In your final chapter, you talk about how one barrier to the faith is the way Christians, both ...
[Read More]