At his peak, Sir Sean Connery was able to command a reported £5m per movie as one of the biggest names in Hollywood. But the ageing actor has revealed that the reason he was given his big break playing 007 in the first James Bond film, Dr No, was because he was so cheap.

The fictional spy's creator, Ian Fleming, had wanted a bigger name to play Bond, the 70-year-old actor said this week, but the film's small budget forced him to cast a former bodybuilder from Edinburgh in the leading role.

"I got it because they could afford me," Connery told the Daily Record. "Ian Fleming - a terrible snob, but a very interesting guy - wanted Cary Grant or Trevor Howard. They couldn't afford either of them.

"The movie's budget was $1m. Then the Americans devalued, so it was $960,000. I think I got $5,000."

Connery made little attempt to disguise his Scottish burr while playing the English spy, but he said the role was more difficult than it looked.