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Pierce Brosnan Profile |
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Birth Date: May 16, 1953
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Birth Place: Drogheda, County Louth, Ireland
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Birth Name: Pierce Brendan Brosnan
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Height: 6'1"
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Pierce Brosnan Wallpapers |
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Biography |
Pierce Brendan Brosnan is an Irish film actor and producer.
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.
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 and remains a committed
supporter of the Catholic Church.[citation needed] 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.
In the early-1980s, he became a television star in the
United States with his leading role in the popular
miniseries Manions of America, which he followed in 1982 by
playing the title role in the high-rated NBC detective
series Remington Steele. He was actually offered the job as
James Bond before the Remington Steele series could be
completed, but Brosnan was unable to break the contract with
the producers. In 1992, Pierce 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.
In 1986, with Roger Moore's retirement from the role,
Timothy Dalton was offered the role of James Bond once again
after previously having turned it down when Sean Connery
left the role in 1971. The 1986 film adaptation of Brenda
Starr, however, kept Dalton from being able immediately to
accept the role. A number of actors were then screentested
for the role, notably Sam Neill, but ultimately were passed
over by Cubby Broccoli. Brosnan (whose Remington Steele
series had just ended), was offered the role, but publicity
revived the Remington Steele programme and forced Brosnan to
back out of the role due to his contract with the show.
Dalton then became available and accepted the role. Dalton's
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
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 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 series films.
The request was granted, and for every Bond series film,
Brosnan appeared in at least two mainstream films, including
several he had produced. For a time, rumour was that
Brosnan's 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! to Canadian conservationist Grey Owl in the
biopic of the same name.
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. Pierce returned
as Bond 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 the super suave
secret agent in Die Another Day, which, while controversial
to fans as being one of the weakest entries in the series,
shattered all previous Bond films in terms of worldwide box
office gross and is currently the highest grossing Bond film
of all time (although not with inflation counted.)
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 aficionados
and critics both were unhappy with Moore playing the role
well into his fifties, but he received popular support from
both critics and the franchise fanbase for a fifth. 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, EON Productions, and even Brosnan himself. 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 posted on his website
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. After the announcement of
Craig as the next 007, Brosnan's Bond wax figures at all
Madame Tussauds — including London, New York City, and Las
Vegas — were removed. While it may be incorrect to suggest
that Brosnan was fired from the role, as 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 first Bond to end his reign not of his own
accord.
When Brosnan was in high school, his nickname was "Irish"
Brosnan married the Australian actress Cassandra Harris in
1980 and adopted her two children, Christopher (b. 1972) and
Charlotte (b. 1971). 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. 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 gliclee prints of his works
are given to a trust to benefit some of his favorite
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 British
citizen.
On September 23, 2004, Brosnan became a naturalized citizen
of the United States. 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 Beach,
California and has a home in Hawaii. He supported John Kerry
in the 2004 Presidential election, and is a vocal supporter
of gun control and same-sex marriage.
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's adopted son Chris can currently be seen on UK show
Love Island. Which is based on a Fijian island.
Brosnan, along with producing partner Beau St. Clair, formed
a film production company in 1996 entitled Irish DreamTime. |
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Other Information |
He adopted his first wife Cassandra Harris's children,
Charlotte (b. 1972) and Christopher (b. 1973), after their
father died in 1986.
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.
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.
At the Genesis Awards Ceremony, reunited with "Remington
Steele" (1982) co-star Stephanie Zimbalist. [1996]
On December 28, 1991, one day after their 11th wedding
anniversary, his wife, Cassandra Harris, died in his arms.
She died of ovarian cancer.
His 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.
At the age of 11 he 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.
He 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 on the TV show "Remington Steele" (1982).
His character was a career criminal gone "straight" as a
private investigator, with an amazing knowledge of and
obsession with classic cinema. In the episode "To Catch a
Steele" (original air date 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), he was
approached by a prankster in a Dublin bar who asked to shake
the actor's hand. He 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.
Three sons: Sean Brosnan (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).
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 at the cinema,
Goldfinger (1964) and Lawrence of Arabia (1962), are also
the two films that have had the most influence on him.
Graduated from the prestigious MA program at the Drama
Center in London, England.
Was originally 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.
Was considered for the role of Batman/Bruce Wayne in Batman
(1989).
Brosnan's Bond was mainly dressed with shirts and ties from
Turnbull & Asser, shoes from Church's, and suits from the
Italian company Brioni. The cuff links and the belts were
mostly Dunhill's.
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.
Pierce is a professional "fire eater". He 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", where
Remington and Laura are to go undercover in a circus.
Is a fan of Doctor Who |
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What a pitty he´s not James Bond any longer... he was made for it.
Smart, good looking, good sense of humor and simply stunning.
*sigh*