Pierce Brosnan’s stardom skyrocketed after joining the James Bond franchise as 007 in 1995 following Timothy Dalton’s exit.

He starred as the secret agent for seven years before being unexpectedly replaced. Brosnan’s departure devastated fans and as he recently admitted it also took him by surprise.

The actor was forced to hang up his tuxedo after Die Another Day, which failed to impress critics and was labelled as a "critical disappointment."

While many outlets claimed it relied too much on CGI and had a lacklustre overarching plot, it was reported that disagreements behind the scenes contributed to his firing.

While Brosnan waited to hear about his next James Bond adventure, it all came crashing down.

According to Far Out, the actor recalled being in the Bahamas working on another movie when he received the worrying phone call from his agents.

“That was it," he said. “I was utterly shocked and just kicked to the curb with the way it went down.”

However, it was said that his exit was sparked after pay negotiations between Brosnan and the Bond creators.

According to the book, Some Kind of Hero: The Remarkable Story of the James Bond Films, by Matthew Field and Ajay Chowdhury, negotiations broke down because Brosnan wanted too much money to return for another James Bond film.

The producers eventually decided to reboot the character with Daniel Craig as Bond for Casino Royale.

The re-cast proved to be a success as his five films have grossed over a combined total of $3.96billion at the box office.

On his departure from the franchise, Brosnan said: “It's very hard to find the truth in that town [Hollywood] or in this business at times. But it was their prerogative to change their minds. They can do it.”

“It was disappointing. It was surprising. And I accepted the knowledge after 24 hours of being in shock,” he added to The Toronto Sun.