Pierce Brosnan

Pierce Brendan Brosnan, OBE (Order of the British Empire), (born 16 May 1953) is an Irish actor. Brosnan lived in Navan, County Meath, until he moved to England, UK, at an early age. In 1994, Brosnan became the fifth actor to portray secret agent James Bond in the Eon Productions film series, starring in four films from 1995 to 2002 (GoldenEye in 1995, Tomorrow Never Dies in 1997, The World Is Not Enough  in 1999 and Die Another Day  in 2002). He lent his likeness for Bond in the video games James Bond 007: Nightfire and James Bond 007: Everything or Nothing, providing his voice for the latter.

After Timothy Dalton’s retirement, Pierce Brosnan (who had been previously considered to play A View to a Kill) assumed the role, and with it, brought some of the humor and with back to the screen. Beginning with GoldenEye in 1995, Pierce Brosnan’s Bond also reflected several of the social changes of the time. Brosnan was the first Bond not to smoke, and he was far less overtly sexual and domineering over women—even being called a “sexist, misogynist dinosaur, a relic of the Cold War” from the first female M, Judi Dench.

Since leaving the role of Bond, Brosnan has starred in such films as the musical/romantic comedy Mamma Mia! in 2008, the Roman Polanski-directed political thriller The Ghost Writer in 2010 and the action spy thriller The November Man in 2014

Brosnan has been an Ambassador for UNICEF (The United Nations Children's Fund) Ireland since 2001 and recorded a special announcement to mark the launch of UNICEF's "Unite for Children, Unite against AIDS" Campaign with Liam Neeson. He also supported John Kerry in the 2004 presidential election and is a vocal supporter of same-sex marriage.

Personal Quotes 

• [on why he thinks he would have regretted winning the James Bond role in 1986] It's a role better suited to someone who is in his 40s, old enough to have the confidence and the sophistication and strength to be able to stand there and just let the moment sit. Bond is a man with the greatest of confidence. And playing that takes practice. In 1986 I think I was 33 or something like that, and I still looked like a baby. Finally, I'm growing into this face of mine. That takes time.
• I think that all the films I've ever made are personal, even James Bond, because it's so much of myself, so much of who I am as a man and as an actor. You have to invest yourself in every character that you portray.
• And certainly in those dark days, in the '50s in Ireland, if you were a single parent living in that society, you were somewhat shamed and stigmatized. I can certainly relate it to my parents, especially my mother. The old man took to the hills and my mother never saw him again, and suddenly you are spoken about in the Sunday service in church, never directly but they would bring up the issue of being a single parent and of marriage falling apart.
• . . . there's that lovely line from that wonderful epic picture that I made called Grey Owl (1999) where they say to Archie Belaney, "A man becomes what he dreams. You have dreamed well." Part of the dreams go back to my childhood and when I left Ireland in 1964, I discovered the cinema. One of the first films I saw was Goldfinger (1964) - I didn't want to be James Bond but the seed of cinema and pictures was sown there in Putney High Street. And then I discovered Clint Eastwood and Steve McQueen and the movies.
• There was only one Bond for me, and it was Sean Connery. That made the role daunting.
• I know most actors say otherwise, but I like sex scenes. Bond was supposed to be this great lover, but I always found the love scenes in those movies a little dull. It's lovely to work out the fantasy of it all in celluloid and then go home to my wife.
• Bond is an enigma. He's smooth and bigger than life, but he's vague as a personality. It's a little like doing a period piece. Look, I'm thankful, the role made me an international star. I've been in the backwaters of Papua New Guinea and heard, "Hey, Bond."
• [March 2004] They're too scared. They feel they have to top themselves in a genre which is just spectacle and a huge bang for your buck. But I think you can have your cake and eat it. You can have real character work, a character storyline and a thriller aspect and all kinds of quips, asides, the explosions and the women. We're just saturated with too many overblown action films with no plot. That's ludicrous. It's so damn crazy! That's absolutely sheer lunacy because "Casino Royale" is the blueprint of the Bond character. You find out more about James Bond in that book than in any of the other books. I would love to do a fifth Bond and then bow out, but if this last one is to be my last, then so be it. My contract is up. They can do it or not.
• [on former James Bond George Lazenby] George is just an angry, old, pissed-off guy. He was never an actor, but some pissed-off Aussie who doesn't know how to show his feminine side. I met him, and he's got that kind of brittle edge to him.
• When you look at Ian Fleming's work, it's there on the page. The martinis, the drugs, the cigarettes, the casino, the blood on the hands. But they never went there. Hopefully, they will go there with Daniel [Daniel Craig]. They have the product, they have the man, and I'm sure they will.
• [on George Lazenby] George seems to be an unhappy camper about Bond. He gets pissy and spits the dummy out. Tim was fantastic. He really had the balls to go out there and play it on the nose - Ian Fleming undiluted. But where were the laughs? Sean was brilliant, he played it dead on the money. And Roger really made it his own and went for the laughs. I think those two were the best.
• I think Daniel is a very fine actor. These are rocky waters, but I think he will have the last laugh. You get twisted some way or another if you throw yourself into it. There's going to be mishaps.
• [on Casino Royale (2006)] I'm looking forward to it like we're all looking forward to it. Daniel Craig is a great actor and he's going to do a fantastic job.
• [on Casino Royale (2006)] I always wanted to go back, because it's the blueprint of Bond's character. It's the one where Fleming really painted in the details of what Bond was about, so I was disappointed that it didn't happen, but you can't go around with that in your heart. It's all such a game really, and you win some, you lose some, you're there, you're not there. Getting the part of Bond and playing the part of Bond was a blessing and a curse, which I think [Sean Connery] has spoken about, and I'm sure Daniel is just getting the full taste of right now. So, you know, one can really only look at the blessings in life.
• I've been identified with James Bond or Thomas Crown for so long - suave, elegant, sophisticated men in suits. It's like you've been giving the same performance for 20 years.
• [on Tomorrow Never Dies (1997)] I remember starting the first day on that film in an aircraft, flying a jet and it was 102 degrees, and I'm wearing a helmet and sweater, and then I'm being strangled over and over again, and I thought, 'Oh my God, this bloody character is going to kill me.' The press tour for that film was 22 countries. When I did it I knew the movie wasn't up to speed; it wasn't as good as GoldenEye (1995) and you have to bang the drum loudly to get the attention.
• [on why his tenure as James Bond ended] I think I was caught up between the egos of the producers and the studios, really. They (the producers) didn't know whether to go younger, they didn't know what to do, period.
• [on Daniel Craig in Spectre (2015)] He's a mighty warrior, and I think he found a great sense of himself in this one with the one-liners and a nice playfulness there. Just get a tighter story and he'll have another classic.
• Dear Sir Roger Moore, It is indeed with a heavy heart that I hear the news of your passing this morning. You were a big part of my life, from The Saint in 1962 to James Bond...you were a magnificent James Bond and one that lead the way for me, the world will miss you and your unique sense of humor for years to come. My sincerest condolences to your family and children. RIP.

The 4 Bond films he did complete and his salary:

GoldenEye (1995) - $4,000,000
Tomorrow Never Dies (1997) - $8,200,000
The World Is Not Enough (1999) - $12,400,000
Die Another Day (2002) - $16,500,000