Ron Perlman says he spat in Sean Connery's face 16 times filming The Name of the Rose
In a Guardian interview, actor Ron Perlman recalled making the 1986 film The Name of the Rose, saying Sean Connery urged him to really spit in his face and he ended up doing so 16 times. The Independent picked up the anecdote the next day.
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The story, neutrally told
Left · 2Actor Ron Perlman said he spat in Sean Connery's face 16 times in one day while filming The Name of the Rose, in an interview published by The Guardian on 5 October 2026. The GuardianLC “I must have spat in Sean Connery’s face 16 times that day.” Read at The Guardian ↗ The IndependentLC “I must have spat in Sean Connery’s face 16 times that day.” Read at The Independent ↗ Left · 2Perlman played Salvatore, an "intellectually challenged" hunchbacked monk, in Jean-Jacques Annaud's 1986 adaptation of Umberto Eco's 1980 novel. Connery played the Franciscan friar William of Baskerville, who investigates deadly events at a medieval abbey. The IndependentLC “In 1986, the Scottish James Bond actor led historical thriller The Name of the Rose, Jean-Jacques Annaud’s adaptation of Umberto Eco’s 1980 novel” Read at The Independent ↗ The GuardianLC “I wanted an unknown to play William of Baskerville, the friar who investigates the deaths” Read at The Guardian ↗ Left · 2Perlman said he could not bring himself to spit in the eye of an actor he called his hero. He said Connery took him aside and told him that if he did not actually spit in his face, "we'll be here all day" (the Guardian prints an expletive in the phrase). The GuardianLC “Sean took me aside, and said: “Ron, if you don’t actually spit in my face, we’ll be here all fucking day.”” Read at The Guardian ↗ The IndependentLC “When it came to the scene where I had to spit in his eye, I just couldn’t do it.” Read at The Independent ↗
Left · 1Perlman said the number of takes came from the need to film the moment from several angles: profile, medium shot, close-up and over-the-shoulder. The GuardianLC “you have to recreate in profile, medium shot, closeup, over-the-shoulder” Read at The Guardian ↗ Left · 1The Guardian piece is a first-person account in which Perlman covers more of the production. He said he met Eco in France before filming and asked him practical questions about the period. He said he hired the medievalist Jacques Le Goff and seven colleagues to check costumes, architecture and liturgy. The GuardianLC “I ended up hiring medievalist Jacques Le Goff and seven of his colleagues to make sure we got all the details right” Read at The Guardian ↗ Left · 1Perlman said that, for the part of Salvatore, who speaks a jumble of seven languages, he marked each of Salvatore's lines in copies of the novel in those languages and assigned words to languages almost at random. He said he wore the prosthetic hump only once, after more than 13 hours in the makeup chair. The GuardianLC “I got copies in the seven that Umberto Eco has Salvatore referencing, and circled every time Salvatore spoke.”“I was in the makeup chair for more than 13 hours” Read at The Guardian ↗
Left · 1He also told of casting Christian Slater as the novice Adso, of Connery's cowl briefly catching fire during the library-tower fire scene, and of a falling timber that knocked down Feodor Chaliapin Jr. The GuardianLC “Sean’s cowl briefly caught fire, and a big piece of real timber fell on Feodor Chaliapin Jr” Read at The Guardian ↗ Left · 1The Independent's report, published on 6 October, retells the spitting anecdote, citing Perlman's interview with The Guardian. It adds background on Connery: he played James Bond in seven films from 1962 to 1983, won his only Oscar for The Untouchables, was knighted in 2000, and died in October 2020 aged 90. The IndependentLC “Connery, who played 007 in seven films from 1962 until 1983, died in October 2020, aged 90.”“Connery won his only Oscar for the role of Jimmy Malone in Brian De Palma’s 1987 gangster film The Untouchables.” Read at The Independent ↗ Left · 1The story rests on Perlman's own recollection, about four decades after the shoot. Neither article cites a second source for the spitting episode. The IndependentLC “Perlman told The Guardian that the straight-shooting Connery took him to one side” Read at The Independent ↗
Every sentence links to the reporting it rests on. The pill in front of each says where its sources sit: Left, Centre or Right when one side supplies at least half of them, Mixed when they are evenly split. The number is how many outlets it cites.
Left2 outlets
- Framing
- Both outlets treat the story as a light behind-the-scenes anecdote. The Guardian runs it as Perlman's first-person recollection. The Independent presents it as a celebrity news item and adds a Connery career recap.
- Emphasis
- The Guardian stresses Perlman's admiration for Connery and the film's production details. The Independent stresses the spitting scene and the extremes actors go to for a shot.
- Leaves out or plays down
- The Independent leaves out most of the production detail in the Guardian interview, such as Eco, the casting and the set fire. Neither outlet has a comment from Connery's family or from the film-makers on the anecdote.
- Charged language
- “Hollywood isn’t all glitz and glamour”“straight-shooting”
- For example
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“I spent every moment I could with Sean Connery, watching him act and listening to his stories. He was my hero, the real deal.” — The Guardian
“Hollywood isn’t all glitz and glamour, with actors routinely put through their paces to get the right shot” — The Independent
Centre0 outlets
No centre outlet in our sources has covered this story yet.
Right0 outlets
No right outlet in our sources has covered this story yet.
What every side reports
- Perlman played Salvatore opposite Sean Connery in the 1986 film The Name of the Rose.
- Perlman says Connery told him to really spit in his face.
- Perlman says he spat in Connery's face 16 times in one day because the scene was shot from several angles.
- Connery died in October 2020 aged 90.
Ron Perlman person
Perlman presents Connery as his hero and the spitting scene as a moment where Connery pushed him to commit, resulting in 16 takes.
“So I finally just let one fly.” — The Guardian
“he was my hero, the real deal” — The Independent
Sean Connery person
Connery is quoted only through Perlman's recollection, as a blunt professional who wanted the spitting done for real. He died in October 2020.
“the straight-shooting Connery took him to one side” — The Independent
Left2 articles
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The GuardianLC · · Opinion
‘I spat in Sean Connery’s face 16 times’: Ron Perlman on making The Name of the Rose
Sympathetic First-person interview in which Perlman affectionately recounts the production, with Connery as his hero and the spitting scene as the headline anecdote.
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Hollywood star says he spat in Sean Connery’s face 16 times to pull off film scene
Celebratory Light entertainment write-up of the Guardian anecdote, padded with a Connery career and obituary recap.
Centre0 articles
No coverage yet.
Right0 articles
No coverage yet.
- 5 Oct 14:53 First The GuardianLC ‘I spat in Sean Connery’s face 16 times’: Ron Perlman on making The Name of the Rose Opinion
- 6 Oct 13:36 +22h 43m The IndependentLC Hollywood star says he spat in Sean Connery’s face 16 times to pull off film scene
Times are when each article was published, or when we first saw it if the outlet gave no time.