Pierce Brosnan

Actor / Writer / Producer

1 title

Date of Birth: 1953-05-16 (age 73)
Nationality: Ireland
Place of birth: Navan, County Meath, Ireland

Mini Bio

Pierce Brendan Brosnan, OBE (May 16, 1953) is an Irish actor, film producer and environmentalist who holds Irish and American citizenship. After leaving school at 16, Brosnan began training in commercial illustration, but trained at the Drama Centre in London for three years. Following a stage acting career he rose to popularity in the television series Remington Steele (1982–87). After Remington Steele, Brosnan took the lead in many films such as Dante's Peak and The Thomas Crown Affair. In 1995, he became the fifth actor to portray secret agent James Bond in the official film series, starring in four films between 1995 and 2002. He also provided his voice and likeness to Bond in the 2004 video game James Bond 007: Everything or Nothing. Since playing Bond, he has starred in such successes as The Matador (nominated for a Golden Globe, 2005), Mamma Mia! (National Movie Award, 2008), and The Ghost Writer (2010). In 1996, along with Beau St. Clair, Brosnan formed Irish DreamTime, a Los Angeles-based production company. In later years, he has become known for his charitable work and environmental activism. He was married to Australian actress Cassandra Harris from 1980 until her death in 1991. He married American journalist and author Keely Shaye Smith in 2001, becoming an American citizen in 2004.

Backstage

Pierce Brosnan at an event for The Ghost Writer (2010)
Pierce Brendan Brosnan was born in Drogheda, County Louth, Ireland, to May (Smith), a nurse, and Thomas Brosnan, a carpenter. He 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 Harris, his wife of eleven 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 Brosnan. Brosnan is most famous for starring in the TV series Remington Steele (1982) as the title character, as well as portraying famous movie character James Bond in GoldenEye (1995), Tomorrow Never Dies (1997), The World Is Not Enough (1999) and Die Another Day (2002).
On December 28, 1991, one day after their 11th wedding anniversary, his wife, Cassandra Harris, died in his arms. She died of ovarian cancer. Sadly, the same disease would claim the life of Harris' daughter (and Brosnan's stepdaughter) Charlotte in 2013.
After the release of Die Another Day (2002), he was approached by a man in a Dublin bar who asked to shake his hand. He complied and then cracked up when the man said, "That's the closest my hand will ever get to Halle Berry's arse \[butt\].".
At the age of 11, he was almost six feet tall, making him a target of bullies.
He is a professional "fire eater", having performed a fire eating act in a circus at a young age. Knowing this, the writers for Remington Steele (1982) asked him to hone his skills as a fire eater for an episode during the series' second season, entitled High Flying Steele (1984), where Remington and Laura are to go undercover in a circus. He also performed the act in Pierce Brosnan (1996).
He adopted his first wife Cassandra Harris' children, Charlotte Brosnan (b. 1971, d. 2013) and Christopher Brosnan (b. 1973), after their father died in 1986.
Is claustrophobic, which made the filming of certain scenes in Dante's Peak (1997) very difficult.
After being chosen to play James Bond, Brosnan wasn't allowed to wear a tuxedo in any other film. This posed a problem for the wardrobe staff of The Thomas Crown Affair (1999).
In 2004, Quentin Tarantino expressed an interest in directing Brosnan in a version of Casino Royale (2006), but was turned down by the Bond producers.
During the restaurant scene in Mrs. Doubtfire (1993) when her teeth fell into a wine glass, the cast didn't know Robin Williams would do that, and their reactions on film were genuine, mirroring the shock of the crew.
Met his Bond predecessor Sir Sean Connery for the first time at The 76th Annual Academy Awards (2004), but only for a few minutes.
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.
While it may be incorrect to suggest that Brosnan was fired from the role of James Bond, because technically the producers simply chose not to renew his contract, they had agreed in principle to collaborate on a fifth Bond film before the producers pulled from negotiations. This makes Brosnan the only Bond to end his reign not of his own accord.

TV Series

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