SEAN CONNERY was the first actor to portray James Bond, a role which would launch his acting career and garner him hundreds of millions of pounds along the way.

Sean Connery would have turned 92  on August 25, but unfortunately succumbed to pneumonia in late 2020, leaving behind an incredible legacy and nine-figure fortune.

Although he died a multimillionaire, the Scotsman was not always so fortunate, having started his working life at just 13 when he left school.

The celebrated actor tragically passed away in 2020 when he was worth an estimated $350million (£296million) according to Celebrity Net Worth.

He garnered this incredible fortune through acting roles as well as a few wise investments, but the star had not originally planned to go into the entertainment industry at all.

In fact, the Edinburgh-born celebrity didn’t get his first paying role until he was 23, with a weekly income of £12.

Connery’s first job was as an Edinburgh milkman after he left school at the age of 13 without any qualifications.

In a 2009 interview, Connery boasted that he could still name every street in the area thanks to his first job.

Sean Connery went through a peculiar list of jobs before finding his passion for acting (Image: GETTY)

Connery was the first actor to portray James Bond (Image: EXPRESS)

The actor also spent three years as a teenager in the Royal Navy before being discharged at 19 on medical grounds.

Following his discharge the actor bounced around jobs, which included being a lorry driver, lifeguard, labourer and artist’s model.

Connery had also started nurturing his interest in football and bodybuilding, even competing in the Mr Universe contest at one point.

Matt Busby reportedly offered him a contract at Manchester United, but he declined as at the age of 23 he realised his career in football would likely be over in less than a decade.

By this time he had also discovered his passion for acting and was performing as part of the chorus in the musical South Pacific.

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Connery found himself in a James Bond-like dilemma when acting alongside Lana Turner (Image: GETTY)

Connery’s resume began to collect small stage and screen roles, and by 1957 he was cast in his first lead in the TV film Blood Money.

Alongside gaining recognition for his acting, Connery was making waves off-camera as his personal life earned him the reputation of being a tough guy.

In 1958 he appeared alongside established Hollywood sex symbol Lana Turner in Another Time, Another Place.

In the film, Turner’s character was an American journalist having an affair with her much younger colleague, played by Connery, and their chemistry on set led to rumours suggesting their relationship was also romantic off-screen.

This did not settle well with Turner’s boyfriend at the time, Johnny Stompanato, who was a known mob member and enforcer for notorious gangster Mickey Cohen.

Stompanato threatened to kill Turner and flew to London where the film was being shot to confront Connery himself.

The mobster had marched onto set with a pistol aimed at Connery, but the actor reportedly disarmed him in one swift move and floored Stompanato with a single punch.

Just four years later Connery stepped into the global spotlight as British secret agent James Bond.

When he was first offered the role he was reluctant to agree to such a large film series but eventually agreed.

He was reportedly paid $16,000 (£13,000) for the first James Bond film, Dr No, but his fame and fortune soon exploded with the success of the film series.

Connery passed away in 2020 at the age of 90 (Image: GETTY)

Nearing the end of his stint as the spy, Connery told the Guardian he “always hated that damned James Bond”.

Regardless of his relationship with the character the series had bore him international recognition, and a far higher paycheque in his subsequent work.

In 1983 the Scotsman’s last appearance as Bond earned him an incredible $3million (£2.5million) for Never Say Never Again.

By 1991, Connery was reportedly paid $250,000 (£211,000) for one day of work as an uncredited cameo in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves.

The legendary actor still often graces television screens over a decade after his retirement from the craft and two years after his passing.