Pierce Brosnan

Biography for Pierce Brosnan

Pierce Brosnan was born in Drogheda, County Louth, Ireland on May 16, 1953 and lived in Navan, County Meath until he moved to England, UK at an early age (thus explaining his ability to play men from both backgrounds convincingly). His father left the household when Pierce was a child and although reunited later in life, the two have never had a close relationship. His most popular role is that of British secret agent James Bond. The death, in 1991, of Cassandra, his wife of ten years, left him with three children - Christopher and Charlotte from Cassandra's first marriage and Sean from their marriage. Since her death he has had two children with his second wife, Keely Shaye Smith.

Moving to London with his family in 1963 where after 3 years of lessons at the Drama Center, he tried himself at the theater first as a manager and then as an actor. His actors' performances are noticed, he went to the cinema by playing a small role in a first feature film Racket (The Long Good Friday). He then agreed to play in the Remington Steele series and in several TV movies. He begins at the cinema as a headliner in thrillers such as nomads or the fourth protocol (The Fourth Protocol).

Still under contract for TV, he declines the offer of the producer of the films of James Bond Albert R. Broccoli offering to take up the role of the secret agent. In 1990, he found in the film Mister Johnson his first role all in nuances in the cinema, but continues the roles without really finding thanks to the public: scientist in the guinea pig (The Lawnmower Man), seducer of Sally Field in Madame Doubtfire (Mrs. Doubtfire) or Annette Bening in Love Affair. In 1994, the role of 007 was again free and Albert R. Broccoli gave a second chance to the actor who did not expect it.

It extends the series with Goldeneye to be the biggest success in the series, allowing to show all the capabilities of the actor. This leaves him more freedoms and he allows himself to parody in Mars Attacks! The roles of scholars that are usually offered to him (as in Dante's peak (Dante's Peak)). In 1996, he stack in tomorrow never died and with the money harvested, he set up his production company Irish Dream Time Inc with which he produced the nephew and Thomas Crown (The Thomas Crown Affair).

He again put on the costume of James Bond in 1999 in the world is not enough (The World is not Enough) and dyers another day (Die Another Day) (2002).

Pierce Brosnan is an Irish actor born May 16, 1953 in Drogheda, Ireland. He is known to have played the role of secret agent James Bond in films "Goldeneye" (1995), "Tomorrow Never Dies" (1997), "The World is not Enough" (1999) and "Die Another Day" (2002).

Before playing James Bond, Brosnan made his television debut in the 1970s playing in series such as "Remington Steele" and "The Manions of America". He also played in films such as "The Lawnmower Man" (1992) and "Mrs. Doubtfire" (1993).

Brosnan is also known for his commitment to different causes, including the environment and the fight against cancer. He was notably appointed goodwill ambassador for UNICEF in 2001.

In addition to his acting career, Brosnan is also a talented artist. He published a painting book entitled "Reflections" in 2001, and also showed his paintings in exhibitions around the world.

In summary, Pierce Brosnan is an Irish actor famous for playing the role of James Bond in the 1990s and 2000s. He is also known for his commitment to different causes, as well as for his artist's talents.

Photos

Filmography

Trivia

• Has a scar on the right side above his top lip. He was hit by a stunt man on the making of Tomorrow Never Dies (1997).
• Was made a Freeman of Navan, Co. Meath, Ireland (the town he lived in until he moved to England in 1964) on 11th November 1999.
• At the Genesis Awards Ceremony, reunited with "Remington Steele" (1982) co-star Stephanie Zimbalist. [1996]
• Owns his own production company, Irish DreamTime. Its first release was The Nephew (1998).
• Chosen by People (USA) magazine as one of the "50 Most Beautiful" people in the world. [1996]
• Chosen by People magazine as one of the "50 Most Beautiful People" in the world. [1991]
• The very first film he claims to have seen is the 007 movie Goldfinger (1964).
• Enjoys fishing on the River Towy in Carmarthenshire, South Wales. Jimmy Carter (former American President) also enjoys the same fishing spot.
• Is the third actor to play James Bond in more than two films, along with Roger Moore and Sean Connery.
• Was orignally chosen to play 007 in 1986, but his contract with the TV series "Remington Steele" (1982) prevented him from doing so. Instead, the role went to Timothy Dalton.
• He purchased the typewriter of James Bond creator Ian Fleming for £52,800.
• Hosted "Saturday Night Live" (1975). [5 May 2001]
• At the age of 11 Pierce was almost six feet tall, but he was still the target of bullies due to his being Irish.
• Voted "Sexiest Man Alive" by People Magazine in 2001.
• Is claustrophobic, making the filming of certain scenes in Dante's Peak (1997) very difficult.
• Pierce Brosnan was voted sixth in the Orange 2001 film survey of greatest British film actors ever.
• In addition to his salary for his James Bond movies, Brosnan received a car. The BMW Z3 from GoldenEye (1995), an 8-series BMW (instead of the 750iL) from Tomorrow Never Dies (1997), and the Z8 from The World Is Not Enough (1999).
• Early in his screen career he portrayed the character of Remington Steele in the show "Remington Steele" (1982) . His character was a career crimnal gone "straight" as a private investigator, with an amazing knowledge of and obsession with classic cinema. In the episode "To Catch a Steele" (original airdate 11-Feb-1983, episode 15) Remington Steele equates the case he is working on to the original movie The Thomas Crown Affair (1968), starring Faye Dunaway and Steve McQueen. Sixteen years later he starred in the remake of that movie, The Thomas Crown Affair (1999).
• He was given an honorary OBE by Britain's ambassador to Ireland, Stewart Eldon on 19th August 2003. Honorary OBEs are awarded on merit to non-British citizens by the Queen to people who have made an important contribution to British interests. The award formally makes him "an Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire".
• After the release of Die Another Day (2002), Brosnan was approached by a prankster in a Dublin bar who asked to shake the actor's hand. Brosnan complied and then cracked up when he heard the man say, "That's the closest my hand will ever get to Halle Berry's arse [butt]."
• On August 12, 1964, as an 11-year-old he flew, for the first time, from Ireland to the UK to join his mother May, the very day that Ian Fleming died.
• He says that his favorite Bond films are From Russia with Love (1963) and For Your Eyes Only (1981), and that his least favorite Bond film is On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969).
• Became an American citizen on 23 September 2004 but still plans to keep his Irish citizenship.
• He studied under Yat Malmgren, a dancer and drama teacher who also worked with Sean Connery in the 1950s and is credited with helping him develop a strong sense of movement and presence.
• According to the James Bond tailors in London, he has been both the lightest and heaviest of all the James Bonds. The tailors who fitted him for his Bond films state that in his first Bond movie, GoldenEye (1995), he weighed 164 pounds, making him the lightest actor to play Bond. However, in his fourth Bond movie, Die Another Day (2002), he weighed 211 pounds, making him the heaviest actor to play Bond.
• He says that the first two films he saw in the cinema, Goldfinger (1964) and Lawrence of Arabia (1962), are also the two films that have had the most influence on him.
• Graduated from / received his training at the prestigious MA program at the Drama Center in London, England.
• Salary : Die Another Day (2002) $16,500,000 / The World Is Not Enough (1999) $12,400,000 / Tomorrow Never Dies (1997) $8,200,000 / GoldenEye (1995) $4,000,000

Quotes

On his marriage to Cassandra Harris: "Our marriage gives me a stability that makes me feel I can tackel the world."

On his good looks: "I don't see myself as the 'Hunk of the Month.'"

About his deceased wife, Cassandra: "Cassie has made me the man I am, the actor I am, the father I am. She's forever embedded in every fiber of my being."

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."

About the movie industry: "There's too many people in seats of power who just haven't got a clue what they're doing. They're bean counters, and it just pisses me off because consequently our kids go to see this crap movie... there's nothing with meaningfulness."

On why, after the 1987 demise of "Remington Steele" (1982), he appeared in a series of movies that ultimately failed in the box office: "I had to make a living. I had the mortgage to pay; I had the school fees to pay. I had bread and butter to put on the table. You know your worth as an actor, but you have to get a job."

"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 stigmatised. 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 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 - 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."

"To my eye, women get sexier around 35. They know a thing or two, and knowledge is always alluring."

"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.'"

"Being an actor in Hollywood involves lots of things beyond acting. Charm really helps. And it's a good idea to incorporate a little Bond into all your dealings."

Family

• Spouse : Keely Shaye Smith (4 August 2001 - present) 2 children, Cassandra Harris (27 December 1980 - 28 December 1991) (her death) 1 child
• He adopted his first wife's children, Charlotte (b. 1972) and Christopher (b. 1973), after their father died in 1986.
• Three sons: Sean William (b. September 13, 1983), Dylan Thomas (b. January 13, 1997) and Paris Beckett (b. February 27, 2001). He also has two adopted children, Charlotte (b. 1971) and Christopher (b. 1973).
• On December 28, 1991, one day after their 11th wedding anniversary, Pierce's wife, Cassie, died in his arms. She died of ovarian cancer.
• Pierce's mother, May, was 19 when she gave birth to him. She had married his father, Thomas, on August 16, 1952. However, his parents separated when he was still a baby, and from the age of 4 he was raised by his maternal grandparents, Philip and Kathleen Smith, while his mother went to London to train as a nurse. When he was 6, both grandparents died and he was passed around amongst relatives until Eileen Reilly took him into her lodging house. Finally, when he was 10, his mother was able to take him to her home in Putney, London. While in London, May had met a man, named Bill Carmichael, who had asked her to marry him, but she wanted approval from her son. Pierce gave his approval and the couple were married. From that point on, Bill treated Pierce as his real son and they got along fine. It was Bill who took Pierce to see his first Bond movie, Goldfinger (1964), and it was at that point that decided to take up acting.

Author of the card

• Creation date: 01/07/2003 by stals
• Last update: 01/05/2007 by moa15