Sir Sean Connery, already honoured with an Oscar and knighthood, can now count a bronze sculpture in the Estonian capital among his tributes.

The bust of Scotland's most famous actor was unveiled by British Ambassador Peter Carter outside Tallinn's Scottish Club, whose members include Estonians enamoured with Scotland and a handful of expatriate Scots.

"Sir Sean Connery is, without a doubt, an icon," Carter told dozens of invited guests. "He is variously known as James Bond or the sexiest man of the century. He's a great British actor, a great Scot actor and a great symbol for Scotland."

The Scottish Club, which started as a whisky sampling society in the early 1990s, got the idea of honouring "Scots who have made a difference" a few years back, said president Mart Haamer. It already has a bust of 18th-century Scottish poet Robert Burns.

Haamer read a brief statement from the 80-year-old actor, who won an Academy Award for a supporting role in The Untouchables.

"One cannot help but be flattered by the Scottish Club's gesture. My best wishes to the members of the club and to all the people who made this possible," the statement said.

A vocal supporter of the pro-independence Scottish National Party, Sir Sean lives in the Bahamas and has said he will not live in Scotland again until it gains independence from the United Kingdom.

However, Carter noted that "the fact that he has accepted a knighthood, suggests that he is also a great supporter of the queen."

The 14,000 US dollar bust by Estonian sculptor Tiiu Kirsipuu was financed through private donations and depicts a bearded Connery at a mature age.

"I think the older he gets, the more charming he becomes," Kirsipuu said.