Pierce Brosnan, the Irish-born actor who played the coveted film role of James Bond four times between 1995 and 2002, will celebrate his 65th birthday today.
Born on May 16th, 1953, in Drogheda, County Louth, on the east coast of Ireland, he was the only child of carpenter Thomas Brosnan and his wife May. His childhood was a difficult one – when he was still an infant his father abandoned the family and when he was four his mother moved to London to find work as a nurse.
It meant he was largely raised by his maternal grandparents, then by other relatives after their death and finally lodging in a boarding house. For most of this time he lived in Navan, County Meath, which he considers his home town. In August 1965, at the age of 11, he left Ireland to be reunited with his mother, now living with her new husband in East Lothian, Scotland. It was also around this time that he saw his first Bond film, “Goldfinger”, which left a lasting impression on him.
Soon after, the family moved back to London, which was a huge transition for a young boy used to village life in Ireland. Attending a large comprehensive in Putney, he felt an outsider and left at 16, briefly attending art school before quitting to work in circuses. Discovering that he enjoyed performing for audiences, and was good at it, he enrolled at the Drama Centre London, studying there for three years to his graduation in 1975.
His first work in the industry was not as an actor, but as assistant stage manager at the York Theatre Royal, but he soon began to pick up acting roles and get himself noticed, helped by his striking good looks. Brief film and TV roles followed, but it was in the USA that he made his breakthrough, cast as an Irish immigrant in the 1981 six-hour miniseries “Mansions of America”. It led to more TV work, including an acclaimed role in a BBC miniseries on the life of Nancy Astor.
Soon Hollywood was calling and in 1982 Brosnan moved to Southern California where he rose to popularity playing the title role in romantic detective series “Remington Steele”. The premise of the show meant his character was deliberately modelled on the suave English spy James Bond, as the ‘frontman’ for a detective agency actually run by his female partner, Laura Holt. The series ran for five series between 1982 and 1987 and made Brosnan a household name.
More film roles followed, including working with Michael Caine in “The Fourth Protocol” and Robin Williams in the 1993 hit comedy “Mrs Doubtfire”. When fellow actor and friend Timothy Dalton announced he would not return for a third Bond film there was widespread speculation the role would go Brosnan, those rumours confirmed in mid-1994. He had been offered the role previously in 1987, taking over from Roger Moore, but was tied to Remington Steele.
His first Bond film, 1995’s “GoldenEye”, was a huge hit and revived the flagging Bond franchise, followed by more success in “Tomorrow Never Dies” (1997) and “The World is Not Enough” (1999). His final outing as 007 in 2002’s “Die Another Day” was less well-received by the critics, but still a hit at the box office. Brosnan himself criticised some aspects of the movie, but remained hotly-tipped to return to the role until announcing in 2005 that he would not be doing so, replaced by current Bond actor Daniel Craig.
Throughout his time as Bond, Brosnan also worked on other film and TV project, which continued after it. A 2007 western, “Seraphim Falls”, in which he co-starred with fellow Irish actor Liam Neeson, was a surprise hit, but his best-known post-Bond role came the following year in a film adaptation of the ABBA musical “Mamma Mia!”. He has reprised that role in the hotly-anticipated sequel, “Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again”, due for cinematic release this summer.
Away from acting, Brosnan has been married twice, first to Australian actress Cassandra Harris, who died from cancer in 1991, and since 2001 to American journalist Keely Shaye Smith. He has five children, including American actor and filmmaker Sean Brosnan, and three grandchildren. In 2004 he became a naturalised citizen of the USA, but also retains his Irish citizenship and lives in Malibu, California.