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Daniel Craig named highest paid Bond

Nov 19, 2012, 11:01 GMT

Daniel Craig

Daniel Craig is the highest-paid James Bond star ever.

The 44-year-old actor - who reprised his role as the iconic British spy for the third time in 'Skyfall' - will earn £31 million to portray the suave secret agent in two more movies, dwarfing the pay cheques received by his predecessors.

Sir Sean Connery was the first actor to play Bond in 1962, earning £10,000 to star in 'Dr. No'. His salary steadily rose, with the average pay for his work on six films in the franchise averaging at £218,000 - around £3 million in today's prices.

George Lazenby earned £340,000 - the equivelent of £460,000 - for his one outing as 007 in 'On Her Majesty's Secret Service', while Sir Roger Moore brought home an average of £1.4 million, or £6.3 million today, from his seven films.

Timothy Dalton also averaged £1.4 million for his two films, while Pierce Brosnan's average amounted to £6.1 million, or £8.7 million in today's prices.

Daniel's new deal brings his pay average to £9.6 million per film.

The huge contract surpasses the £10.7 million he earned for 'Skyfall', which at the time overtook the £10.3 million Pierce Brosnan took home for starring in 2002 Bond movie 'Die Another Day'.

Daniel - who is married to Rachel Weisz - has seen his salary in the role take a huge jump, having earned £1.9 million for his 2006 debut 'Casino Royale' and £4.4 million for 2008's 'Quantum of Solace'.