Daniel Craig the sixth and latest actor to play the secret agent 007 is also the highest paid James Bond of all time and is on track to be one of the highest-paid actors in the world.
For the three James Bond films he has appeared in, Casino Royale, Quantum of Solace and Skyfall he’s received over $27 million (£18 million).
But that’s not all, it is also signed up to do the next two James Bond films for a massive $47 million (£31 million).
Now you would expect man who is earning that sort of money to be living the high life, buying mansions around the world driving the latest and most expensive sports cars. Maybe for some but not for Daniel Craig, he prefers to keep a low profile. He’s been living in a low key apartment block in New York’s East Village next to tattooed parlour.
Daniel Craig – How much is he worth
Maybe you’d expect the James Bond actor to be driving an Aston Martin but this 007 prefers an Audi A6 saloon. That’s the sort of car you would see a sales executive driving up and down the motorway in rather than a Hollywood A lister but again it doesn’t attract attention.
But this is the norm for the working class boy from the Wirral who grew up in a pub. He much prefers a pint in the local pub to a vodka martini – shaken, not stirred with the swanky celebrity set.
Up till 2006, Daniel Craig had been making a nice living in TV roles such as “Our friends in the North” and films like Lara Croft : Tomb Raider, Road to Perdition, Layer Cake and Sylvia.
But once he’d landed the Bond contract in 2006 with Casino Royale things changed dramatically. Now he was playing one of the most famous characters in film history and needed to up his game accordingly.
According to records from his now dissolved company Ella productions he claimed £930 ($1395) for cosmetic dentistry, a must if you’re going to make it in America. There is also £2751 ($4126) for a professional wardrobe and £3890 ($5950) for the services of a personal trainer, obviously to get in into shape for the stunts he was to do in Casino Royale.
With the success of Casino Royale, the most successful Bond film up to Skyfall, Daniel became the centre of attention for the world’s press. To this end he has increasingly tried to keep his private life low profile to such an extent that no one knows what the tattoo’s look like that he has, they are covered with make up before filming commences.
He also dislikes being photos and videoed on camera phones by fans and paparazzi like and has said that “They are the f***ing bane of my life”. Friends that have known him for a long time say that he misses the simple life he had before 007. He can no longer go out and get drunk and enjoy himself because of the constant threat from camera phones and the pictures ending up all over the press and internet.
This level of secrecy even went as far as his recent marriage to the British actress Rachel Weisz. They were married on 22 June 2011 in a private New York ceremony with just four guests and two of them were Daniel’s 18-year-old daughter Ella and Rachel’s four-year-old son Henry.
With the marriage to Rachel, the couple have been staying in her £3.25 million ($4.87M) London townhouse. This is however believed to be a temporary solution as it is thought they will be moving into a house in Regent’s Park which will become their London base. They have also been spotted in Dorset and reportedly briefed estate agents to look out for a house with at least 6 acres of land that will afford them a high level privacy.
Meanwhile in the States, there are many rumours abound that Daniel Craig is looking to spend a not inconsiderable amount of money for a property in New York. The couple spend most of their time, and he was recently outbid on a £8 million ($12M) penthouse in the Soho area.
But it’s not all spend, spend, spend, being one of the most high-profile stars in the world has many advantages too. One of them is that you get given a lot of items by companies eager to associate their products with a leading actor.
Daniel Craig admits he was given his Tom Ford suits free of charge, prices for those normally start at £2000 ($3K) and the also was given watches by the luxury brand Omega who pay top price to be the official James Bond timekeeper.
One of Daniel Craig’s freebies as James Bond 007
Unlike many of the very wealthy, he is not afraid to pay his dues. In the latest accounts filed for his companies he paid over £1 million ($1.5M) in corporation tax in a two-year period. He also supports a number of charities with his time and money.
The 007 franchise has made him many millions and will continue to making him many millions more but for all the money one things for sure, he will continue to try and be that ordinary working class bloke from the Wirral when ever he can.
