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Pierce Brendan Brosnan (Honorary) OBE (born May 16, 1953) is an Irish actor and producer, who also has United States citizenship. He is best known for portraying James Bond in four films: GoldenEye, Tomorrow Never Dies, The World Is Not Enough, and Die Another Day. His fans credit him with reviving the James Bond film series after a six year hiatus caused by the major legal and financial issues of MGM, the distributor of the series.

Biography

Early life

Born an only child in Ireland in Drogheda, County Louth, Brosnan lived in nearby Navan, County Meath. He was educated by the Irish Christian Brothers. Brosnan's mother moved to London for work after his father abandoned the family; in 1964, at the age of eleven, he joined her. His mother subsequently divorced his father and married a Scottish World War II veteran who was quickly embraced as a father figure by his young stepson. After school, Brosnan desired to be an artist and started training in commercial illustration. When he was 16 a circus agent saw him busking as a fire eater and hired him. He trained as an actor at the Drama Centre, London.

Early career

In the early-1980s, 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 in the Masterpiece Theatre documentary that chronicled the life of Virginia-born Lady Nancy Astor - the first woman to sit in British Parliament. His stunning portrayal of the love deprived Shaw garnered Brosnan a 1985 Golden Globe nomination for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role. In 1982, Pierce shot to popularity in the United States playing the ruggedly handsome title role in the popular NBC romantic detective series Remington Steele, starring opposite Stephanie Zimbalist as agency creator Laura Holt. In 1986 Brosnan was actually offered the job as James Bond before the Remington Steele series could be completed, but he was unable to break the contract with the producers. 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.

James Bond

In 1986, with Roger Moore's retirement from the role, Timothy Dalton was approached once again, after previously having turned it down when Sean Connery quit in 1971; however, the 1986 film adaptation of Brenda Starr kept Dalton from being able immediately to accept it. A number of actors were then screen-tested for the role - notably Sam Neill - but ultimately passed over by Cubby Broccoli. Brosnan, whose television series Remington Steele had just ended, was offered the role, but publicity revived Remington Steele and forced Brosnan to back out of the role of James Bond, due to his contract with the show. Dalton then became available and accepted the role for The Living Daylights (1987), which was a box-office success; his second turn as 007, Licence 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 would put the series in a six-year hiatus. During that time, Dalton acted upon a clause in his contract and resigned, which left the door open for Brosnan in 1994.

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.

Aware of the danger of being typecast as James Bond, Brosnan asked EON Productions, when accepting the role, to be allowed to work in 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 had produced. 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!, a vulcanologist in Dante's Peak and the title role in Grey Owl, a biopic about the eponymous Canadian conservationist.

Brosnan was signed for a four-film deal, and first appeared as agent 007 in 1995's GoldenEye, to much critical praise. GoldenEye more than doubled the gross of Dalton's previous film in worldwide ticket box office sales, and Brosnan returned in 1997's Tomorrow Never Dies and 1999's The World Is Not Enough, to virtually the same success. In 2002, Brosnan appeared for his fourth and final time as Bond in Die Another Day.

In early 2004, Brosnan starred in the James Bond video game Everything or Nothing, allowing his likeness to be used as well as doing the voice-work for the character; it was his last performance as James Bond.

Shortly after, the media began questioning whether or not Brosnan would reprise the role for a fifth and final time, (in Casino Royale). Brosnan kept in mind that both aficionados and critics were unhappy with Roger Moore playing the role well into his fifties, but here he received 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, Brosnan was rumoured numerous times to have been 'fired' from the role to make way for a new and younger actor. This was denied by MGM and EON Productions. In October 2004, however, Brosnan had been quoted as saying 'it's absolutely over' and that he considered himself fired from the role. Although Brosnan had been rumoured frequently as still being in the running to play 007, he had denied it several times, and in February 2005 he posted on his website The Official Pierce Brosnan site: September 13, 2006 that he was finished with the role. In spite of this, rumours continued to circulate that he was in negotiations with the producers, up until Daniel Craig was signed and announced on October 14, 2005.

Personal life

When Brosnan was in high school, his nickname was 'Irish'.

Brosnan married the Australian actress Cassandra Harris in 1980 and adopted her two children, Charlotte (b. 1971) and Christopher (b. 1972), after their father died in 1986. Brosnan and Harris had one son together, Sean (b. 1984). Harris died of ovarian cancer in 1991, after eleven years of marriage; Brosnan was said to have been devastated by her death. In 2001, Brosnan married American journalist Keely Shaye Smith, and they have two sons, Dylan Thomas (b. 1997) and Paris Beckett (b. 2001).

During his first wife's illness, he took to painting again in his spare time, producing colorful landscapes and family portraits. Profits from sales of giclée prints of his works are given to a trust to benefit some of his favourite charitable causes.

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.

On September 23, 2004, Brosnan became a naturalized citizen of the United States, but he has retained his Irish citizenship. He is the father of three American sons, and has lived in the United States for more than twenty years. He currently resides in Malibu, California and has a home in Hawaii. He also has a house in North Dublin.

Brosnan supported John Kerry in the 2004 Presidential election, and is a vocal supporter of gun control and same-sex marriage. An outspoken environmentalist, Brosnan was named 'Best-dressed Environmentalist' in 2004 by the Sustainable Style Foundation.

In 2006, Brosnan was nominated for a Golden Globe award for Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy, for his work in The Matador.

Brosnan, along with producing partner Beau St. Clair, formed a film production company in 1996, entitled Irish DreamTime.

Breast cancer advocate

Brosnan has been announced as the 2006 spokesperson for Lee National Denim Day, a breast cancer fundraiser which raises millions of dollars and raises more money in a single day than any other breast cancer fundraiser. There are only one or two spokespersons per year. Brosnan's first wife, Australian actress Cassandra Harris, died due to cancer, and he has been an advocate ever since.The Business Journal of the Greater Triad Area: Pierce Brosnan to promote Lee breast cancer fund raiser

Selected filmography

• The Long Good Friday (1980)
• Nomads (1986)
• The Fourth Protocol (1987)
• Noble House (1988) - miniseries
• Around the World in Eighty Days (1989)
• Mister Johnson (1990)
• The Lawnmower Man (1992)
• Live Wire (1992)
• Mrs. Doubtfire (1993)
• Love Affair (1994)
• GoldenEye (1995)
• Mars Attacks! (1996)
• The Mirror Has Two Faces (1996)
• Robinson Crusoe (1997)
• Tomorrow Never Dies (1997)
• Dante's Peak (1997)
• Quest for Camelot (1998)
• Grey Owl (1999)
• The World Is Not Enough (1999)
• The Thomas Crown Affair (1999)
• The Tailor of Panama (2001)
• Die Another Day (2002)
• Evelyn (2002)
• After the Sunset (2004)
• Laws of Attraction (2004)
• The Matador (2005)
• Seraphim Falls (2006)
• The Topkapi Affair (2007)
• Butterfly on a Wheel (2007)
• Marriage (2007)

References

• "Ex-Bond takes on darker roles". (Nov. 6, 2005). New Sunday Times, p. 29.

External links

• Pierce Brosnan's official website

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