Did you know that James Bond actor Pierce Brosnan once sold one of his paintings for over
$1 million? Let’s take a deeper look at the life of this talented actor!
Pierce Brosnan was born in 1953 in Drogheda,
a port town in the Republic of Ireland. He was raised by a single mom and didn't meet
his father as a boy. For Brosnan, this was a lonely upbringing, as he told Cigar Aficionado,
"Childhood was fairly solitary [...] I grew up in a very small town in southern Ireland.
I never knew my father. He left when I was an infant,
and I was left in the care of my mother and my grandparents."
Brosnan went on to highlight the oppressive nature
of Catholicism in the 1950s and how his single mother was shunned, saying,
"My mother was very courageous. She took the bold steps to go away and be a nurse in England.
Basically wanting a better life for her and myself. My mother came home once a year,
twice a year. Consequently, there was a certain amount of early loss."
Despite the small-minded bigotry his mother endured,
she encouraged Brosnan to pursue his love of acting. He told the Irish Times,
"My mother was very supportive of it [...] She always said follow your dreams,
and I had this crazy dream about making movies."
In 1964, Pierce Brosnan moved to London, where he was reunited with his mother after being
raised by his grandparents for several years. However, Londoners did not take
too kindly to him, and he was viciously bullied for being Irish. At the time,
tensions between the British and Irish were high. Subsequently, Irish people were frequently
subjected to racist abuse in England, per The Independent. As Brosnan recalled to Playboy,
"I had my share of mockery, that's for sure [...] That's a painful one. [...] In London,
when I rejoined my mother in 1964 after she'd gone away to school,
suddenly I was the true fish out of water. I was the token Paddy in this large school in Putney,
South London. It was the first sting, the first whiplash of being in a strange land."
"Do you have any of the old Irish left, because how old were you when you left Ireland?"
"Well yes, there's a little bit there yes."
Brosnan said that he was also targeted due to his struggles with academia, telling Playboy,
"It started verbally because of my not knowing the language in some respects
and also with the deep realization that I was lacking education [...] I
couldn't read or write at the age of 11 when I came from Ireland."
By 1977, Pierce Brosnan was living in London and trying to make a name for himself as an actor.
Like many other budding performers, he started out in theater. And then,
the opportunity of a lifetime came when he got to meet lauded playwright Tennessee Williams,
famed for works such as "A Streetcar Named Desire" and "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof." At the time,
Williams was staging a production of "The Red Devil Battery Sign." When Brosnan discovered
that an actor had pulled out of the production, he leapt at the opportunity. As he told The Guardian,
"I got the call: 'Tennessee wants to see you now.' I tore
out of the flat and hopped on a bus. The bus was going too slow, so I got off and ran.
My heart was pounding — Tennessee Williams wants to see me. I got to Tennessee's apartment,
and we read through two very emotional scenes [...] And I got the job."
However, Brosnan's excitement for the stage has dissipated somewhat, as he confessed to Esquire,
"I might never go back to the stage. I enjoyed it when I was there. It's bloody hard work.
Seven shows a week [...] Maybe I'll just do a run for seven days. [...] That would be kind of cool."
In 1980, Pierce Brosnan scored a role in the gangster flick "The Long Good Friday,"
alongside British acting legends Bob Hoskins and Helen Mirren. While he was only in the
movie for a few minutes, The Hollywood News noted that Brosnan's presence in the film,
although fleeting, is instrumental to the plot. The fresh-faced then 27-year-old bore all the
charm that would become his defining feature. During a making-of featurette, Brosnan said,
"It was my first movie and I was just really proud to be part of it."
Playing an IRA hitman, Brosnan barely utters a word in the role,
yet he's at once a menacing and beguiling presence. The camera was firmly focused
on his intense blue eyes. As Brosnan said during a making-of featurette,
"I hadn't a clue what I was supposed to do. I hadn't read the script. They didn't send
me the script. There's no dialogue. I didn't have to read for this part!"
Just two years after we got a glimpse of his youthful countenance in "The Long Good Friday,"
Pierce Brosnan moved to California and was cast in crime series "Remington Steele," in which he
plays the titular character. With his steely blue eyes, the role rapidly propelled Brosnan
toward stardom. He would devote himself to the role for five years, from 1982 to 1987.
Now that he was unquestionably on his way to becoming a Hollywood A-lister,
Brosnan drew the attention of one family member in particular. In 1984, at the age of 31,
Brosnan finally met his father, Tom. Speaking with Interview Magazine about the surreal and
ultimately devastating encounter, Brosnan made a point of referring to his father as "Tom Brosnan"
as opposed to "dad," and remained stoic when discussing the matter. He explained,
"[My grandfather] was my father figure because the old man split when I was an infant.
I didn't really see Tom Brosnan until I was about 31 [...] I was shooting
'Remington Steele' in Ireland, and he showed up one Sunday."
"My father, Tom Brosnan, was a Kerry man."
As for the reunion, it was short lived, with Brosnan explaining,
"We sat down and we had a cup of tea, and after we drank all the tea, we went downstairs and
started drinking [...] Then he got on a bus, and I never saw him again. He died."
In 1980, Pierce Brosnan married actor Cassandra Harris, and they had their son Sean.
Brosnan also adopted Harris' children, Charlotte and Christopher, from a previous marriage.
Sadly, Harris was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 1987. Watching Harris die of
the illness led to Brosnan empathizing with the assisted dying cause. He told Playboy,
"I dealt with those issues on a very personal level with my wife [...] She went on dialysis
at the end. The dialysis was brutal. Finally I said, 'Stop it.' [...] At the end it was
very peaceful. […] People should be allowed to die when their bodies are wracked by disease."
Cassandra Harris died in 1991, at age 43. As for whether witnessing his wife's
suffering led to him wanting to follow a path of destruction, Brosnan emphatically told Playboy,
"Never, because I had children, who push and spur you on. Nothing in life prepares
you for going through a long illness that ends in death. Nothing gives you
the vocabulary to deal with that grief or those emotions. You just have to go slowly."
Tragically, their daughter Charlotte died of the same illness in 2013,
at age 41. Brosnan told People,
"Charlotte fought her cancer with grace and humanity,
courage and dignity. Our hearts are heavy with the loss of our beautiful dear girl."
After experiencing such a devastating loss, Pierce Brosnan decided to embrace his lighter side.
When he was cast in a family dramedy in 1993, little did he know that the
film would enjoy iconic status decades later. "Mrs. Doubtfire" was the perfect
opportunity for Brosnan to showcase his comedic skills, even if he did spend the majority of
the film being tortured by Robin Williams. Reflecting on the role, Brosnan told Esquire,
"[Robin Williams] was brilliant. Sally [Field] was gorgeous. She and I got on
like gas on fire. It was so delightfully enchanting. It was just delightful."
In that same interview, he recalled his first encounter with Williams, saying,
"[Robin] was sitting at the end of the trailer in his Hawaiian shirt and his big hairy arms,
and his hairy legs coming out of his cargo pants. But he had the head of Mrs. Doubtfire."
In the voice of his female alter-ego,
Williams proceeded to tease Brosnan. As the actor recalled, Williams trilled,
"Oh, you're so handsome. Oh, look at ya, Pierce. Oh, give us a kiss."
Years later, Brosnan still misses his late co-star, who died in 2014.
He reminisced poignantly to Esquire,
"His humanity was so far reaching, and joy of people, and love of life, bountiful. Oh,
Robin, still, his passing still hurts deeply. I miss him."
Several years after losing his beloved wife Cassandra Harris, Pierce Brosnan found love
again. In 1994, he met journalist Keely Shaye Smith in Mexico when she was set to interview
another sex symbol of the era, Ted Danson. But her eyes were firmly on Pierce. As Smith told People,
"He was captivating [...] Tall, dark and handsome — everything that everybody would immediately
be attracted to. He had this mischievous sparkle in his eyes. I thought, 'Wow!'"
Smith recalled their first date, reminiscing,
"We sat down under the stars and he held my hand. There were fireworks going off over our heads,
and Kenny Loggins was singing. We talked until 3 in the morning. I understand why women find
him sexy, because he is an appealing man. He really likes and appreciates women."
Meanwhile, Brosnan is equally besotted with Smith, telling People,
"I found a great woman in Keely Shaye [...] Not
if I searched a million times over would I find one as good."
They wed in 2001 and welcomed two sons, Dylan Thomas, who is indeed
named after Brosnan's favorite poet, and Paris Beckett. Two decades later,
their love is as strong as ever. In 2021, the actor paid a sweet birthday
tribute to Smith on Instagram below a photo of her in a swimsuit, writing,
"My beautiful luscious love Keely on her 58th trip around the sun yesterday."
In 1995, Pierce Brosnan's boyhood dreams of becoming a major movie star materialized
when he was cast as James Bond. Although he had big shoes to fill, having been preceded
by the dashing Timothy Dalton, the handsome Irishman was more than up for the challenge.
His first incarnation of the secret agent came with "GoldenEye," in which Brosnan flitted
between fighting Russian spies and locking lips with Famke Janssen’s sultry femme fatale.
"The name's Bond. James Bond."
Brosnan went on to sport the 007 tux three more times, last but not least with 2002's "Die Another
Day," which features some unforgettably steamy scenes with the orange bikini-clad Halle Berry.
The dapper Brosnan as Bond, slicked back hair and twinkly blue eyes,
remains one of the most iconic images of the secret agent. But despite being immensely
popular in the role, Brosnan has been pretty harsh on himself about it. He told Playboy,
"I never really felt as though I nailed it [...] As soon as they put me into the suit
and tie and gave me those lines of dialogue, I felt restricted. It was like the same old same
old. I was doing Roger Moore doing Sean Connery doing George Lazenby.
I felt as if I were doing a period piece that had been dusted off."
Many fans would disagree, since Brosnan was voted third best Bond, out of seven,
by RadioTimes. But perhaps for Pierce, the world is simply not enough.
"One rises to meet a challenge."
By 2005, a then 52-year-old Pierce Brosnan was told that he was too old to continue with the
Bond role. Considering that Daniel Craig was 53 when he starred in his final Bond installment,
Brosnan's exit was no doubt a reflection of the ageism of his era. This, it seems,
is something Brosnan was all too aware of, as he told Playboy,
"It was kind of shocking to have ageism come on me when I was just getting started [...] It's
shocking to be told that you're too old, that you're past your sell-by date."
"I was wondering why the door closed on me. I thought, I thought everything was going so well."
What made Brosnan particularly infuriated by the producers' decision to replace him
was their assertion that the Bond cinematic universe was a family. Brosnan raged to Playboy,
"You talk about being a family. You knew my late wife; you know my family
now. Yet I get a call from my agents at five in the afternoon in the Bahamas,
and I hear that you've shut down negotiations [...] It's cold,
it's juvenile, and it shouldn't be done like that, not after 10 years and four films."
Pierce Brosnan hilariously told Sky News.
"Singing is not necessarily my forte."
However, Brosnan got to showcase his singing abilities, or lack thereof, in the 2008 movie
adaptation of "Mamma Mia!" In the movie, he plays Sam Carmichael, one of three exes who may have
fathered Meryl Streep's character's daughter. Infamously, Brosnan serenaded Streep with a
rendition of "S.O.S." in the film. Or...as critics might say, he stumbled through it.
Some have been particularly extreme in reviewing his performance, with The New Yorker writing,
"I thought that Pierce Brosnan had been dragged to the edge of endurance by North Korean sadists
in his final Bond film [...] but that was a quick tickle with a feather duster compared
with the agony of singing Abba's 'S.O.S.' to Meryl Streep through a kitchen window."
While critics were savage, Brosnan was defended by none other than ABBA's Benny Andersson,
who said, per The Independent,
"Everybody complains that Pierce can't sing and it p----s me off [...] I think he has a
great voice. He couldn't sing Nessun Dorma, but neither could I, and I was in ABBA."
Despite any criticism he received,
Brosnan had a blast starring in the musical, as he told Interview Magazine,
"It was criminal how much fun we had on that movie. Once I got through the trauma of having
to listen to myself sing, the rest was just sheer joy, especially in the company of Meryl."
A decade later, he got to reprise his role in the sequel, "Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again."
Roman Polanski is a highly contentious figure,
yet he still manages to pull the biggest Hollywood A-listers for his films.
For instance, he cast Pierce Brosnan in his 2010 political thriller "The Ghost Writer."
In a divergence from his usual roles, the dashing Irishman plays a sinister and slimy figure,
a corrupt former British Prime Minister. In an interview with Slash Film, Brosnan highlighted the
important political message of "The Ghost Writer," one which remains pertinent today, saying,
"Our leaders should be accountable for their actions in life, and the pitfalls and
the dangers of politics [...] Someone like my character, who's very much a populist,
is this man who you begin to feel is just a puppet of a prime minister. As sincere as he
was when he started his career, he now finds himself to be maligned every which turn."
"I loved every minute of it."
Films have always been a means of political expression,
but while he acknowledges the relevance of the movie's themes, Brosnan is firmly
against films being used as overt political platforms. He emphasized to Slash Film,
"No. This is pure entertainment, this is no statement by me [...] This is just, as I said,
one of these huge 'what if' stories. I mean, it will certainly be viewed and talked about,
I presume, in political terms. But it's pure theatrical drama."
Alongside his acting career, Pierce Brosnan devotes much of his time to environmentalism
and other causes close to his heart. But the actor is by no means hopping on a Hollywood bandwagon.
Instead, he has been a staunch environmental advocate for decades, and was hailed the best
dressed male environmentalist by the Sustainable Style Foundation in 2004.
In 2019, he slammed then-president Donald Trump for being a climate sceptic, telling France24,
"We are on the precipice, over the precipice [...] But yes, the Earth is definitely hemorrhaging:
the oil, the burning of the forests. It's upon us, and world leaders don't seem to want to try and
come together. [...] President Trump, what he's done for the environmental movement is shameful."
Brosnan further discussed his passion for environmentalism and social causes
in an interview with Mashable Benelux in 2021, saying,
"My environmental work is ongoing. I am in the middle of being part of a
documentary about the saving of the San Ignacio Laguna,
which was a breeding ground for the Grey Whale [...] There is always work to be done
when it comes to the environment, and we try to make a better world for ourselves."
Now approaching 70, Pierce Brosnan sports a bushy beard and a mane of silver hair.
The distinguished gent is keeping as busy as ever. While acting is still
very much in the cards, including an appearance in the DC Extended
Universe in "Black Adam," Brosnan is also exploring other creative avenues.
In addition to being a venerated actor, Brosnan is a skilled artist. Art has always been a refuge
for the star, who has used painting as a means of coping with grief. In fact, his painting of
Bob Dylan sold for $1.4 million at a charity auction in 2018. Brosnan said at the auction,
"I started painting in 1987 when my late wife had cancer.
I had been painting out of pain, and now the pain sometimes comes through in color."
"Because I paint now, and I think I'm going to go for an exhibit next year."
In 2021, Brosnan decided to launch an exhibition of his work, and joked to Haute Living,
"I've shown my work a few times here and there, but to have a show like this will really be
putting my neck on the line. I think there's some progression and articulation of my work
over the years, so maybe I'll make a book from it [...] But who knows? Don't give up the day job!"
Without a doubt, Pierce Brosnan has come a long way since that lonely little boy in Ireland.
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