Pierce Brosnan
Pierce Brendan Brosnan OBE[1] (born May 16, 1953) is an Irish-American actor and producer best known for portraying James Bond in four films: GoldenEye (1995), Tomorrow Never Dies (1997), The World Is Not Enough (1999) and Die Another Day (2002).
Born an only child to Thomas and May (née Smith)[2] in Drogheda, County Louth, Ireland Brosnan was brought up in nearby Navan, County Meath.[3] He was educated in the local school, which was run by the De La Salle Brothers. Brosnan's mother moved to London, England 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 British World War II veteran (William Charmichael) who was quickly embraced as a father figure by his young stepson. It was Charmichael who took Brosnan to see his first Bond film, Goldfinger.[4] He was educated at Elliott School, a state secondary modern school in Putney, West London. Brosnan would have his first 'crush' on his geography teacher during his time at school. "She wore these very tight skirts...a great arse and a great pair of tits."[5] 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[2] and hired him. He trained for three years as an actor at the Drama Centre, London.[6]
Brosnan was first related to the James Bond role when he visited his wife Cassandra Harris on the set of For Your Eyes Only. According to a 1986 report, Albert "Cubby" Broccoli said "if he [Brosnan] can act...he's my guy" to replace then-Bond Roger Moore.[8][3] It was reported around this time, by both Entertainment Tonight and the National Enquirer, that Brosnan was up for inheriting another role of Moore's; that of The Saint, Simon Templar.[8] He verified the rumours in a 1993 issue of Orange Coast magazine but said "it's still languishing there on someone's desk in Hollywood."[9] The film was finally made in 1997 with Val Kilmer in the title role.
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[4] and that Sean Connery's performance as Bond had inspired him to enter show business.[13]
Brosnan was signed for a three film deal with an option of a fourth, and first appeared as agent 007 in 1995's GoldenEye, to much critical praise. James Berardinelli described Brosnan as "a decided improvement over his immediate predecessor" with a "flair for wit to go along with his natural charm", but added that "fully one-quarter of Goldeneye is momentum-killing padding."[16] GoldenEye made over $26 million during its opening weekend in the USA, and during its release made around $350 million worldwide.[17] It had the 4th highest worldwide gross of any film in 1995[18] and, taking inflation into account, was the most successful Bond film since Moonraker.[19] Brosnan returned 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 Bond in Die Another Day.
-- wikipedia.org
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