Connery leaves his mark at London premiere

Hollywood superstar Sir Sean Connery joined hands with an elite group of actors when he attended his first West End premiere for a decade.

The movie legend made plaster casts of his hands which will be set in bronze and placed as a permanent fixture in London's Leicester Square.

They will sit alongside those of stars such as Tom Cruise, Charlton Heston, Bruce Willis and Pierce Brosnan.

The former Bond actor was attending the premiere of his latest film The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.

In the film he plays Allan Quatermain, who along with a number of other literary heroes such as Dorian Gray, Dr Jekyll, Captain Nemo and Tom Sawyer take on foes in the action movie.

Connery, 73, was surprised by the size of the 2,000-strong crowd which cheered him outside the Odeon Cinema as he arrived.

The actor, wearing a grey double-breasted suit said: "I was fantastic out there, but I wasn't prepared for such an onslaught.

"They were just so enthusiastic."

ITN 30th September 2003