Kevin Costner Remembers ‘Untouchables’ Co-Star Sean Connery: ‘I Will Be Forever Grateful’

Kevin Costner, who acted alongside Sean Connery in the 1987 crime epic The Untouchables, remembered his co-star as the “biggest star that I ever worked with” and will be “forever grateful” to be connected to him. Connery, who also appeared uncredited in Costner’s Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, won his only Oscar for The Untouchables, which also starred Robert De Niro and Andy Garcia. Connery died Friday at age 90.

“I, like the rest of the world, was deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Sean Connery this morning,” Costner wrote on Twitter, alongside an old photo of himself with Connery. “Sean was a crafted actor who was enormously proud of his body of work, particularly his work on stage. And although he was a very no-nonsense person. He was incredibly inclusive with me professionally and personally. He was the biggest star that I ever worked with and I will be forever grateful to be linked with him on film. Sean Connery was a man’s man who had an amazing career.”

De Niro also sent a statement to Deadline on Connery’s death. “I’m very sorry to hear about Sean’s passing,” De Niro wrote. “He seemed much younger than 90; I expected – and hoped– he’d be with us much longer. See you up there, Sean.”

The Untouchables was based on the 1957 book by Eliot Ness and Oscar Fraley and centered on a group of special agents tracking down Al Capone, played by De Niro. Costner played Ness, who put together the team and Connery starred as Jimmy Malone, a role that earned Connery the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor. It was the only Oscar Connery won and was nominated for in his long career. The movie was written by David Mamet and directed by Brian De Palma.

Connery died Friday night in Nassau, the Bahamas. His son, Jason, said Connery died in his sleep with members of his family beside him. He was “unwell for some time,” Jason said. Jason, 57, is Connery’s only child. His mother is Connery’s first wife, the late actress Diane Cilento. Connery is also survived by his second wife, Micheline Roquebrune, whom he married in 1975, and his younger brother, Neil Connery, 82.

Connery’s career spanned seven decades, and he was best known as the first actor to play James Bond on the big screen. He retired after appearing in 2003’s The League of Extraordinary Gentleman. “We are devastated by the news of the passing of Sir Sean Connery,” James Bond producers Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli said in a statement Saturday. “He was and shall always be remembered as the original James Bond whose indelible entrance into cinema history began when he announced those unforgettable words ‘The name’s Bond… James Bond’ — he revolutionized the world with his gritty and witty portrayal of the sexy and charismatic secret agent. He is undoubtedly largely responsible for the success of the film series and we shall be forever grateful to him.”