Pierce Brosnan

Pierce Brosnan

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Birth name: Pierce Brendan Brosnan
Date of birth: 16 May 1953
Place of birth: Drogheda, County Louth, Ireland
Nickname: Irish
Height: 6′ 1″ (1.85 m)
Spouse: Keely Shaye Smith, (4 August 2001 – present) 2 children, Cassandra Harris, (27 December 1980 – 28 December 1991) (her death) 1 child

Famous Quote: “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.”

Contact Address and Autograph: Addresses and fan mail information

Pierce Brosnan
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23852 Pacific Coast Hwy.
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Biography:  Pierce Brendan Brosnan honorary OBE (born May 16, 1953) is an Irish-American actor, film producer and environmentalist. After leaving school at 16, Brosnan desired to be an artist and began training in commercial illustration at Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design, but later attended drama school in London for three years. Following a stage acting career he rose to popularity in the television series Remington Steele.

Brosnan portrayed the fictional secret agent James Bond in GoldenEye, Tomorrow Never Dies, The World Is Not Enough and Die Another Day. He also provided his voice and likeness to James Bond in the 2004 video game James Bond 007: Everything or Nothing. Since leaving the role, he has starred in films such as Evelyn and Seraphim Falls. In 1996, he also formed, along with Beau St. Clair, a Los Angeles-based production company named Irish DreamTime. He was married to Cassandra Harris until her death, and is now married to Keely Shaye Smith. He became a naturalized United States citizen in 2004. In his later years, he has also been known for his charitable endeavours. His current projects are Mamma Mia!, The Thomas Crown Affair 2, Caitlin and The Big Biazarro.

Brosnan was born an only child to Thomas, a carpenter, and May (née Smith) in Drogheda, County Louth. He was educated in the local school run by the De La Salle Brothers. Brosnan’s mother moved to London, England, for work, after his father had abandoned the family, and in 1964, at the age of eleven, Brosnan joined his mother, leaving Ireland on August 12, 1964, the very day of Ian Fleming’s death.

Brosnan quickly embraced his mother’s new husband as a father figure. It was his stepfather, William Charmichael, who took Brosnan to see a James Bond film for the first time (Goldfinger). Brosnan was educated at Elliott School, a state secondary modern school in Putney, West London. Brosnan would have his first ‘crush’ on his geography teacher during his time at school. When he attended high school, his nickname was “Irish”. After leaving school at 16, Brosnan desired to be an artist and began training in commercial illustration at Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design. A circus agent, however, saw him busking as a fire eater and hired him. He later trained for three years as an actor at the Drama Centre in London.

Off-hand charm and self-deprecating comic timing were two of the qualities this dashing Irish-born leading man brought to his winning portrayal of the sophisticated, often inept, con man/private investigator Remington Steele on the long-running TV series (NBC, 1982-87) of the same name. Brosnan, a former commercial illustrator who has garnered frequent comparisons to Cary Grant, became so popular in this role that he was selected by readers polled by a national magazine as the favored actor to replace the departing Roger Moore in the highly profitable James Bond series. However, contractual obligations to “Remington Steele” made him unavailable and the baton was passed to Timothy Dalton.

Brosnan entered show business as a teen runaway, working with the circus as a fire eater. He gained somewhat more conventional experience as a member of an experimental London theater workshop before making his stage debut in a 1976 production of “Wait Until Dark”. Brosnan’s theatrical breakthrough came from playwright Tennessee Williams who chose the handsome young actor to create the role of McCabe in the British premiere of his “Red Devil Battery Sign”. Additional stage work followed before his film debut in a character turn in the well-received Brit gangster film, “The Long Good Friday” (1980).

America first discovered the slender, dark-haired performer on TV in the miniseries “The Manions of America” (ABC, 1981) as Rory O’Manion, an Irish immigrant who makes it big in 19th century America. This successful exposure lead to his being cast as Steele. Brosnan turned up on a number of specials during the series’ run and one failed feature, “Nomads” (1985), in which he played a bedeviled French anthropologist. The transition to film actor proved difficult, but TV offered regular work in telefilms and miniseries. Brosnan was well cast as urbane eccentric Phineas Fogg in a miniseries adaptation of Jules Verne’s novel “Around the World in 80 Days” (NBC, 1989). He became a familiar face in made-for-cable thrillers, notably playing special agent Mike Graham in “Alistair MacLean’s Death Train” (USA, 1993) and “Alistair MacLean’s Night Watch” (USA, 1995).

Brosnan initially found little success in features. He starred in the poorly received Ismail Merchant-produced adventure “The Deceivers” (1988) but received some positive notices for his portrayal of a Russian agent opposite Michael Caine in “The Fourth Protocol” (1987). He enjoyed a measure of popular success playing a scientist in the derivative special F/X fest, “The Lawnmower Man” (1992). Brosnan also played the supporting role of Stu, the other man, in the immensely successful if mild comedy “Mrs. Doubtfire” (1993).

After he was graduated from the Drama Centre in 1975, Brosnan got a job as an acting assistant stage manager at the York Theatre Royal, making his first stage appearance in Wait Until Dark. Within six months, he was selected by playwright Tennessee Williams to play the role of McCabe in the British première of The Red Devil Battery Sign. His performance caused a stir in London and Brosnan still has the telegram sent by Williams, stating only “Thank God for you, my dear boy”. 

He continued his career making brief appearances in films such as The Long Good Friday (1980) and The Mirror Crack’d (1980), as well as early television performances in The Professionals, Murphy’s Stroke, and Play for Today. He became a television star in the United States with his leading role in the popular miniseries Manions of America starring with Kate Mulgrew, David Soul and Linda Purl. He followed this with his 1982 portrayal of Robert Gould Shaw II in the Masterpiece Theatre documentary that chronicled the life of Virginia-born Lady Nancy Astor – the first woman to sit in British Parliament. His portrayal of the love-deprived Shaw garnered Brosnan a 1985 Golden Globe Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor.

In 1982, Brosnan rose to popularity in the United States playing the ruggedly-handsome title role in the NBC romantic detective series Remington Steele, starring opposite Stephanie Zimbalist as agency creator Laura Holt. The Washington Post noted that same year that “Pierce Brosnan could make it as a young James Bond.” In 1986, Brosnan was actually offered the role of James Bond before the Remington Steele series had come to an end (it was unexpectedly renewed for another year), and he was unable to break his contract with the show’s producers. After Steele finally ended, Brosnan went on to appear in several films, including The Fourth Protocol (1987), The Deceivers (1988) and The Lawnmower Man (1992). 

In 1992, he shot a pilot for NBC called Running Wilde, playing a reporter for Auto World magazine whose stories cover his own wild auto adventures. Jennifer Love Hewitt played his daughter, but the series wasn’t picked up and the pilot never aired. In 1993 he played a supporting role in the comedy film Mrs Doubtfire. He also appeared in several television films, including Death Train (1993) and Night Watch (1995), a Hong Kong-set spy thriller, in which he starred with actress Alexandra Paul.

It was until 1995 that Brosnan finally got his license to kill and landed the role that would be associated with him for the rest of his life, James Bond, in the film “Goldeneye.” The 007 franchise was rebounding from some underperforming years during which action-heavy film series like “Lethal Weapon,” “Die Hard” and “Batman” were out-Bonding the grandaddy of the genre, but Brosnan’s long-awaited casting created a renewed buzz and his solid performance as an elegant-but-hard-edge 007 (combining the best elements of Sean Connery and Roger Moore’s diverse appeals) revived the franchise. The actor returned for several more outings: “Tomorrow Never Dies” (1997) in which he displayed abundant charisma opposite Bond girl Michelle Yeoh; “The World is Not Enough” (2000) in which his command as an action hero and sparks with Sophie Marceau balanced his chemistry-impaired relationship with Bond girl Denise Richards; and the 20th Bond outing “Die Another Day,” in which he and Bond girl Halle Berry delivered the most attractive pairing since the early days of the franchise. Shortly before the release of “Die Another Day,” Brosnan announced his intention to star in a fifth outing as the suave secret agent; however, in 2004 the actor revealed that he believed he had subsequently been “fired” from the role, despite–or possibly due to–his efforts to modernize and upgrade the franchise by recruiting edgier, A-list talent; for example, Brosnan had hoped he could persuade the producers to hire Quentin Tarantino to adapt “Casino Royale” into a feature film. In 2005 he told Entertainment Weekly that his role was ended with one telephone call, and that he always felt Bond was an uneasy fit for him, particularly the character’s snarky one-liners. The franchize’s producers countered that Brosnan asked for $30 million and gross points to reprise 007, something never granted before to any Bond actor.

Brosnan’s first connection to the James Bond films occurred when he visited his first wife, Cassandra Harris, on the set of For Your Eyes Only. According to a 1986 report, Albert “Cubby” Broccoli, legendary producer of the Bond films, said, “if he [Brosnan] can act…he’s my guy” to replace then-Bond Roger Moore. It was reported at this time, by both Entertainment Tonight and the National Enquirer, that Brosnan was up for inheriting another role of Moore’s, that of The Saint, Simon Templar. Brosnan verified the rumours in a 1993 issue of Orange Coast magazine but added, “it’s still languishing there on someone’s desk in Hollywood.” The film was finally made in 1997 with Val Kilmer in the title role.

In 1986, after Roger Moore’s retirement from the Bond role, Timothy Dalton was approached once again, after previously having turned the part down in 1967, 1969, and 1980; his involvement with the 1986 film adaptation of Brenda Starr kept Dalton from being able to accept it. A number of actors were then screen-tested for the role – notably Sam Neill – but were ultimately passed over by producer Albert Broccoli. Brosnan, whose television series Remington Steele was about to end, was offered the role, but the publicity revived Remington Steele and Brosnan had to decline the role of James Bond, owing to his contract.

By then, Dalton had become available again, and he accepted the role for The Living Daylights (1987), which was a box-office success. His second turn as 007, License to Kill (1989) was a disappointment at the American box office, and legal squabbles about ownership of the film franchise resulted in the cancellation of a proposed third Dalton film in 1991 (rumoured title: The Property of a Lady) and put the series on a hiatus, which ultimately lasted six years. GoldenEye was originally written with Dalton as Bond, but he turned it down, which left the door open for Brosnan in 1994.

On June 7, 1994, Brosnan was officially announced as the fifth actor to play James Bond. Brosnan’s appointment as Bond brought things full circle for the actor, who stated in interviews that the very first movie he ever saw was Goldfinger and that Sean Connery’s performance as Bond had inspired him to enter show business.

Brosnan was signed for a three-film deal with the option of a fourth. He first appeared as agent 007 in 1995′s GoldenEye to much critical praise. James Berardinelli described Brosnan as “a decided improvement over his immediate predecessor” with a “flair for wit to go along with his natural charm”, but added that “fully one-quarter of Goldeneye is momentum-killing padding.” GoldenEye made over $26 million during its opening weekend in the USA and during its release made around $350 million worldwide. It had the fourth highest worldwide gross of any film in 1995. Taking inflation into account, it was the most successful Bond film since Moonraker. Brosnan returned in 1997′s Tomorrow Never Dies and 1999′s The World Is Not Enough, which were also highly successful. In 2002, Brosnan appeared for his fourth time as Bond in Die Another Day. During the promotion, he mentioned that he would like to continue his role as James Bond: “I’d like to do another, sure. Connery did six. Six would be a number, then never come back.”

Aware of the danger of being typecast as James Bond, Brosnan asked EON Productions when accepting the role, to be allowed to work on other projects between Bond films. The request was granted, and for every Bond film, Brosnan appeared in at least two other mainstream films, including several he produced. Brosnan, along with producing partner Beau St. Clair, also formed a film production company in 1996, entitled “Irish DreamTime”. For a time, rumour was that his Bond contract forbade him from wearing a dinner suit in any non-Bond film; that rumour was false. Brosnan played a wide range of roles in between his Bond film appearances, ranging from a nerdy scientist in Tim Burton’s Mars Attacks!, to a volcanologist in Dante’s Peak and the title role in Grey Owl, a biopic about Englishman Archibald Stansfeld Belaney who adopted the Ojibwa name Grey Owl and become one of Canada’s first conservationists.

But shortly after the release of Die Another Day, the media began questioning whether or not Brosnan would reprise the role for a fifth and final time, in the later titled Casino Royale. Brosnan kept in mind that both aficionados and critics were unhappy with Roger Moore playing the role until he was 58, but he was receiving popular support from both critics and the franchise fanbase for a fifth installment. For this reason, he remained enthusiastic about reprising his role after his initial contract expired, despite earlier reservations about doing so.

Throughout 2004, it was rumored that negotiations had broken down between Brosnan and the producers to make way for a new and younger actor. This was denied by MGM and EON Productions. In July 2004 Brosnan announced to Entertainment Weekly that he was quitting the role, stating “Bond is another lifetime, behind me”; this is thought by some to be a failed negotiating ploy. In October 2004, Brosnan had been quoted as saying he considered himself fired from the role. Although Brosnan had been rumoured frequently as still in the running to play 007, he had denied it several times, and in February 2005 he posted on his website that he was finished with the role. In spite of this, rumours continued to circulate that he was in negotiations with the producers right up until Daniel Craig was signed and announced on October 14, 2005. 

In an interview with The Globe and Mail, Brosnan was asked what he thought of Daniel Craig as the new James Bond. He replied, “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”. He reaffirmed this support in an interview to the International Herald Tribune, stating that “[Craig's] on his way to becoming a memorable Bond.”

During his tenure on the James Bond films, Brosnan also took part in James Bond video games. In 2002, Brosnan’s likeness was used as the face of Bond in the James Bond video game Nightfire (Bond was voiced by Maxwell Caulfield). In 2004, Brosnan starred in the James Bond video game Everything or Nothing, contracting for his likeness to be used as well as doing the voice-work for the character; it was his last performance as James Bond.

In July 2003, Queen Elizabeth II awarded Brosnan an honorary OBE for his “outstanding contribution to the British film industry”. As an Irish citizen, he is ineligible to receive the full OBE honour, which is awarded only to a citizen of Britain or of one of the Commonwealth of Nations member countries. In 2002, Brosnan was also awarded an Honorary degree from the Dublin Institute of Technology and, one year later, the University College Cork.

Brosnan’s first post-Bond role was that of Daniel Rafferty in 2004′s Laws of Attraction. Garreth Murphy, of entertainment.ie, described Brosnan’s performance as “surprisingly effective, gently riffing off his James Bond persona and supplementing it with a raffish energy”. In the same year, Brosnan starred in After the Sunset alongside Salma Hayek and Woody Harrelson. The film opened to generally negative reviews; it currently holds a 17% rating on the Rotten Tomatoes website. Brosnan’s next film was 2005′s The Matador. Shaking off the sophisticated secret agent image, Brosnan starred as Julian Noble, a jaded and paunchy assassin who meets a travelling salesman (Greg Kinnear) in a Mexican bar. The film was better received than After the Sunset and garnered more positive reviews. Roger Ebert for the Chicago Sun-Times called Brosnan’s performance the best of his career. Brosnan was nominated for a Golden Globe award for Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy for his work in the film but lost out to Joaquin Phoenix’s role as Johnny Cash in Walk the Line.

Brosnan’s first film of 2007 was Seraphim Falls, in which he starred alongside fellow Irishman Liam Neeson. The film was released for limited screenings on January 26, 2007 to average reviews. Kevin Crust of the Los Angeles Times noted that Brosnan and Neeson made “fine adversaries;” however, Michael Rechtshaffen of The Hollywood Reporter thought that they were “hard-pressed to inject some much-needed vitality into their sparse lines.”

Other strong roles followed, included a well-received turn in the John Le Carre spy thriller “The Tailor of Panama” (2001) from director John Boorman and a robust performance in Bruce Bereford’s “Evelyn” (2002), the true story of a working-class, pub-going, newly single Dublin dad who fights to regain custody of his children after his daughter and two sons are placed in Church-run orphanages by the Irish courts in the 1950s. Brosnan also produced the latter film under his Irish DreamTime production company. Next was a turn in the romantic comedy “Laws of Attraction” (2004) alongside Julianne Moore; the pair played opposing divorce lawyers who, despite their adversarial courtroom relationship, wake up to discover they’ve gotten married after a romantic, if alcohol-soaked, evening. Returning more to his classic form, Brosnan played a successful jewel theif struggling with retirement in the Bahamas and tempted by one more big score in “After the Sunset” (2004), a sort of “Thomas Crown Lite” venture in which benefitted from Brosnan’s chemistry with co-stars Salma Hayek and Woody Harrelson.

Brosnan’s upcoming projects include Butterfly on a Wheel and Married Life. Pre-production has started on The Thomas Crown Affair 2, the sequel to the 1999 film The Thomas Crown Affair. The sequel, directed by Dutch director Paul Verhoeven, will use Eric Ambler’s novel The Light of Day and the 1964 adaptation, Topkapi as a basis. In December 2005, Brosnan was reported to be attached to star in The November Man, an adaptation of Bill Grainger’s novel, There Are No Spies, but the project was cancelled in 2007. Brosnan will also be financially backing Caitlin, a film about Caitlin MacNamara, wife of poet Dylan Thomas.

The title role will be played by Miranda Richardson and Brosnan will have a small part as Thomas’s literary agent, John Brinnin. Brosnan’s co-star in Die Another Day, Rosamund Pike, will also appear. Also in 2008, Brosnan will join Meryl Streep in a film adaption of the ABBA musical Mamma Mia!. He will play Sam Carmichael, one of three men rumoured to be the father of lead Amanda Seyfried. Streep will play her mother. Judy Craymer, producer to the film, said “Pierce brings a certain smooch factor, and we think he’ll have great chemistry with Meryl in a romantic comedy.” He will also narrate the cartoon Thomas The Tank Engine.

In 2009, Brosnan will star in The Big Biazarro, directed by Vondie Curtis-Hall. The film is an adaptation of the Leonard Wise novel of the same name. He plays a card player who mentors a headstrong protégé. Brosnan has also spoke recently of making a Western film with fellow Irishmen Gabriel Byrne and Colm Meaney. Brosnan is also set to narrate seasons 12-14 of Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends, replacing Michael Brandon in North America and Michael Angelis in the British Isles and Australia. Actor and director Danny DeVito has stated that Brosnan will join Dakota Fanning and Morgan Freeman in his adaption of the 1990 novel The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle. He will play “Zachariah, the ship’s cook, surgeon, and carpenter.”

Brosnan married Australian actress Cassandra Harris in 1980 and adopted her two children, Charlotte (birth 27 November 1971) and Christopher (birth October 6, 1972) after their father died in 1986. Brosnan and Harris had one son together, Sean (birth 13 September 1983). Cassandra Harris died of ovarian cancer in 1991, after eleven years of marriage. In 2001, Brosnan married American journalist Keely Shaye Smith, and they have two sons together, Dylan Thomas Brosnan (birth 13 January 1997) and Paris Beckett Brosnan (birth 27 February 2001). In February 2007, Brosnan pulled out of attending the IFTA Awards ceremony in Dublin due to his stepfather William Carmicheal’s serious illness.

On September 23, 2004, Brosnan became a naturalized citizen of the United States, but he has retained his Irish citizenship. Brosnan has said that “my Irishness is in everything I do. It’s the spirit of who I am, as a man, an actor, a father. It’s where I come from.” Brosnan was asked by a fan if it annoyed him when people get his nationality confused. He said: “It amuses me in some respects that they should confuse me with an Englishman when I’m dyed-in-the-wool, born and bred Irishman…I don’t necessarily fly under any flag. But no, it doesn’t bother me.”

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