James Bond Actors' Highest Salaries, Ranked
The 007 saga has gone on to become one of the biggest franchises in history. Boy, has it been a moneymaker!
Countless installments, seven (so far) actors, and so many years of joy that this character has brought to the world. That is all well and good, but the real question is – which Bond had the most high-paying job?
#7 George Lazenby ($80,500 to $100,000)
This actor had the worst agent of all time – he convinced Lazenby that Bond as a character would be outdated by the '70s.
George played the iconic role only once, in 1969's On Her Majesty's Secret Service, and left the franchise even before the movie was released, reportedly earning between $80,500 and $100,000.
#6 David Niven (around $1 million)
Niven's only appearance as Agent 007 was in 1967's Casino Royale, which wasn't even an Eon Productions movie.
While we don't know exactly how much this spy parody earned him, the movie's budget was $12 million ($3 million for the cast), and the industry average for the leading role is 9% of the budget, meaning that David probably made a little over $1 million.
#5 Sean Connery (over $6 million)
The original Bond reportedly earned a whopping $6.2 million across seven films.
According to some resources, Connery got $154,000 for Dr. No, $300,000 for From Russia with Love, $500,000 for Goldfinger, $800,000 each for Thunderball and You Only Live Twice, $1.2 million for Diamonds Are Forever, and $3 million for Never Say Never Again.
#4 Timothy Dalton (around $8 million)
This two-time 007 also did pretty well for himself! Dalton's salary for 1987's The Living Daylights was $3 million, while his earnings for 1989's Licence to Kill amounted to $5 million.
Considering he only played James Bond twice and still made more than the original actor, the amount is pretty incredible!
#3 Roger Moore (over $17 million)
The fourth actor to play the most famous secret spy decided not to risk it and did only seven Bond movies just like Sean Connery himself, earning over $17 million and coming in third.
Moore made $180,000 for Live and Let Die, $240,000 for The Man with the Golden Gun, $300,000 for The Spy Who Loved Me, $4 million each for Moonraker, For Your Eyes Only, and Octopussy, and $5 million for A View to Kill.
#2 Pierce Brosnan ( over $41 million)
The second place goes out to fan-favorite Pierce Brosnan – the Bond saga earned him $41.1 million for four movies.
He received $4 million for GoldenEye, $8.2 million for Tomorrow Never Dies, $12.4 million for The World Is Not Enough, and $16.5 million for Die Another Day.
Fewer movies, more earnings?
#1 Daniel Craig ( over $93 million)
Surprise, surprise, here is our winner. The latest Bond did five movies, making $93.3 million for all of them.
Craig took home $3.4 million for Casino Royale, $8.9 million for Quantum of Solace, $17 million for Skyfall, $39 million for Spectre, and finally $25 million for No Time to Die.
That is truly a lot of money!
Will the next 007 manage to top the current highest-earning actor? Maybe, but it's going to take them years to come and movies to make!