pierce brosnan
The name’s Bond, James Bond. And Crown, Thomas Crown. And…
The Son 2017
“The book was such a stellar success. I was offered the series and they already had five episodes on the page. I’d actually been looking to go back to TV, and had gone to the well several times with my own production company [ Irish DreamTime] but could never find something that was right.
“I love the character of Eli. He’s a man who’s caught between worlds, between being a cattle baron and going into the oil business. He’s an archetypical American hero – a powerful, patriarchal, take-no-prisoners kind of character. There’s an ambivalence to him because he’s so lethal and ruthless and dangerous, and yet he’s this kind-hearted, loving father to his sons and to his granddaughter in particular, who he holds a lot of stall by to take over the family empire.
“The story takes place from 1915, and references back to Eli as a young man, when he was abducted by the Comanches. I’ve played a number of patriarchs. Maybe it’s because I’m a fairly tall fellow and I know how to walk into a room – I’ve walked into many in my life. [ laughs] A man travels far to find out who he is. That assuredness of who you are comes with age and confidence. I’ve been kicked to the kerb a few times along the way, but you don’t hold it too tightly. You try to do varied work, and some of it has resonance, and some just falls by the wayside.”
The Ghost 2010
“It was outstanding working with Roman Polanski. He’s a very charismatic fellow, and a grandmaster of the cinema. I loved the book and I was captivated by the idea of playing this Tony Blair-type character. I’d ask, ‘Am I playing Tony Blair?’ and he’d say, ‘No, of course not.’ But all roads pointed to Tony Blair! So I looked at news footage and fashioned it accordingly.
“The viewfinder never leaves Roman’s eye. He’s constantly in motion, he rules the set, there’s no downtime, it’s 100 per cent concentration. He can push your buttons and mess with your head, but it’s for the benefit of the work at hand.
“Shooting in a studio was a challenge. It felt like being in a bunker. We had greenscreen on the windows and Roman said, ‘Out here are the sand dunes…’ But when I saw the finished film, I went, ‘Oh shit!’ I never realised the house would be such a character. It blew me away.”
Mama Mia ! 2008
“To quote Meryl [ Streep], it was criminal how much fun we had. She acquitted herself with such grace and humour and creative energy… She was easy to fall in love with.
“We rehearsed for five weeks, at Pinewood Studios. I was so nervous and preoccupied with the singing, it didn’t hit me until I went through the gates that I was back at the scene of the crime. [ laughs] They put me in the Kubrick dressing room; I drew the curtains and right in front of me was the 007 soundstage. Then we’d go in and it was the world of Mamma Mia!. [ laughs]
“Colin Firth and Stellan [ Skarsgård] and I were like deer in the headlights, having to sing in front of [ Abba’s] Benny and Björn. They certainly didn’t employ me for my singing, so I just belted it out. And once I got the singing out of the way, it was great fun, one of the most memorable films of my life. Everybody had their mums and dads and boyfriends and girlfriends [ on the
Greek Island locations]. We became a company, and it shows.”
Die Anot her Day 2002
“Making Die Another Day, I knew that my contract was for four films, so in my mind that was it. It was up to the producers to say otherwise, and consequently they made their decision.
“I was very comfortable in the role by then. I had a confidence as to what was required of me. GoldenEye was a baptism of fire as it is for any man who steps into those shoes. It was palpable, every day for six months, the task at hand and the sheer undertaking of playing such a role. The second one [Tomorrow Never Dies], they never really had their ducks in a row and there were always problems. [ pause] There was a certain frustration within me as the films went on, as I could see the world happening around me, and the movies… I wanted Bond to get a little more gritty and real and down and dirty, but however you try to nurse it along, the scripts would come along with the same outlandish scenarios. So you go with the flow, and just enjoy the great experience of travelling the world and being this character.
“I had a great time on Die Another Day. There were things that I read in the script that were so ridiculous, like the invisible car, but I just tried to act my way through it, and believe in it. You can really give yourself a massive headache and a great amount of stress trying to wangle some sense of believability into it.”
The Thomas Cro wn Affair 1999
“Realising that we were actually going to make this and that it was my idea to do this remake [ Brosnan also produced], there was a drumbeat of anxiety from the beginning of the undertaking, and it rose to a crescendo, causing almost paralysis by the time we got to New York. Because you’re on hallowed ground with Steve McQueen, the Master of Cool. You can’t act ‘cool’; you just have to find the humanity of the man.
“For me, it was a love story. Rene Russo is outstanding in it – foxy and sexy. You can feel chemistry [ on set], but you don’t know it’s going to work. You have faith, and if the material is good and sustains you for six months, then that is a strong indicator of what will transpire on film. Rene and I had a lovely easy way about us.
“And then John [ McTiernan] bookended it with the wonderful heist. I’m a painter, so I didn’t want to steal money, I wanted to steal art. And I love Monet, and I love the Metropolitan Museum. The studio fought us – they wanted us to do LA’s Getty museum – but I’m very pleased we got through that battle and set it in New York.”
The Tai lor Of Panama 2001
“The big sell was John Boorman. And Mr. Carré. I was, and am, a huge fan of Sir Alec Guinness in [ 1979 TV
series] Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. I was captivated by that. I had a wonderful meeting with John le Carré – we spent a memorable afternoon wandering around the golf course. And then to work with Boorman, Geoffrey Rush… And to travel to Panama… And to play the character [ Andrew ‘Andy’ Osnard, an MI6 agent exiled to Central America where he begins to squeeze information out of Rush’s Harold ‘Harry’ Pendel, a tailor to many of Panama’s elite].
“Playing a spy, I knew I had an audience with James Bond, but wanted to see how I could play within the genre and get away with it. When you have writing as good as that and an actor as brilliant as Geoffrey opposite you, there’s no acting required, really. You just listen to the other guy. When someone is that good, he just makes you real. [ pause] I love the life of the actor. I revel in it still to this day.”
Golden Eye 1995
“Bond had been dormant for six years and I’d been a huge fan of the character and the franchise. They were a part of my own growth as an actor – I’d seen the baton being passed from Sean [ Connery] to Roger [ Moore].
“I was a fan of both of their styles of acting, so, for me, it was trying to ride both horses, really. [ laughs] I tried to bring the Connery gravitas and Celtic soul to it, mixed in with the light touch of Roger Moore. I wanted to keep both of their spirits within my Bond, and at first I was very aware of it, and I was nervous about indicating or playing impressions of those guys. But then I made peace with it, and rather came at it with my own rhythm and sense of timing. You need the confidence of the gods to just stand there and try to deliver the lines as simply as possible. [ Director] Martin Campbell was my mentor and he was the one who kept my spirits alive and gave me the courage and the grace to go out there and play the role. We remain good friends.
“I never read a review or collected the papers because I find it pretty hard going. If they’re unkind, it just rips the guts out of you, and you play the lines over in your head. If you’re magnificent, it evaporates as soon as you’ve read it, because where do you go with all that? It’s ‘Thank you very much’ and you move on. But I heard that people liked GoldenEye and I was thankful, and relieved, that they did. I thought, ‘It looks like I got away with it and we can set forth here, do the next three.’ There was a sense of achievement.” gamesradar.com/totalfilm
The Long Good Frida y 1980
“It was my first movie, I didn’t read the script – I was just ‘IRA Man No.1’. I showed up at Tooting Bec swimming baths to pick up some guy, stab him, make a bomb… I had no idea! I never met Bob Hoskins.
“The final scene of that movie Hoskins’ gangster gets into a car only to find Brosnan waiting for him with
a gun] is so dynamic and visceral and palpable, but Bob wasn’t there. It was my first taste of movie magic. I went to work that night at the Savoy Hotel and I thought, ‘I really want to drive the car; it’s gonna be so cool, like Steve McQueen.’ Then [ director] John Mackenzie said at about 4.30 in the morning, ‘You’re in the back of the car.’ I thought, ‘Oh shit.’ When we shot the scene, Bob was just a white dot on the camera. Mackenzie said, “Keep the gun on him, you’ve got the son of a bitch, don’t take your eyes off him.” But
The Long Good Friday was a wonderful way to start a career in movies.”