Pierce
Brendan Brosnan (Honorary) OBE (born May 16, 1953) 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 legal
disputes over ownership of the series.
Early life
Born an only child in the Republic of Ireland in Drogheda,
County Louth, Brosnan lived in nearby Navan, County
Meath. He was educated by the Irish Christian Brothers
and would later condemn their brutality. Brosnan's mother
moved to London for work after his father abandoned
the family; in 1964, at the age of 11, 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. He trained
as an actor at the Drama Centre, London.
Career
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.
James Bond
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 1967. The 1986 film adaptation of Brenda Starr, however,
kept Dalton from being able to immediately 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 the United States generally as a tuxedo) 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. Die Another Day, while controversial
to fans as being perhaps one of the weaker entries
in the series, shattered all previous Bond films in
terms of worldwide box office gross and is currently
the highest grossing Bond film ever (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.
Shortly after, the media began questioning
whether or not Brosnan would reprise the role for
a fifth and final time, Brosnan keeping in mind that
aficionados and critics both were unhappy with Moore
playing the role well into his 50s. 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 anouncement 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.
Brosnan was the first James Bond actor
to be born after the April 13, 1953 publication of
the first Bond novel, Casino Royale.
Private life
Brosnan's first wife, the Australian actress Cassandra
Harris, died of ovarian cancer in 1991, after eleven
years of marriage. In 2001, Brosnan married American
journalist Keely Shaye Smith.
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
subject.
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 Hawaii.
Selected filmography
The Matador (2005)
Laws of Attraction (2004)
After the Sunset (2004)
Evelyn (2002)
Die Another Day (2002)
The Tailor of Panama (2001)
The Thomas Crown Affair (1999)
The World is Not Enough (1999)
Quest for Camelot (1998)
Dante's Peak (1997)
Tomorrow Never Dies (1997)
Robinson Crusoe (1997)
The Mirror Has Two Faces (1996)
Mars Attacks! (1996)
GoldenEye (1995)
Love Affair (1994)
Mrs. Doubtfire (1993)
The Lawnmower Man (1992)
Mister Johnson (1990)
The Fourth Protocol (1987)
Nomads (1986)
The Long Good Friday (1980)
source from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki
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