Date of Birth: May 16, 1952
Place of Birth: County Meath, Ireland
Sign: Sun in Taurus, Moon in Aquarius
Relations: Fiancée: Keely Shaye Smith (journalist); late wife: Cassandra Harris (actress); stepchildren: Charlotte, Christopher; sons: Sean William; Dylan Thomas (with Shaye Smith)
Education: Attended The Drama Centre in London
FROM REMINGTON STEELE to James Bond, Pierce Brosnan has a talent for playing suave spies and detectives.
The truth is, it was inevitable that Brosnan would eventually become Bond. His early resume is packed with film titles like The Heist, Death Train and The Deceivers. Trivia buffs might be interested to learn that Brosnan's family moved from Ireland to London on the day Ian Fleming, the author who created Bond, died. And the first film young Brosnan ever saw was Goldfinger. Okay, so those are cool facts to buoy my theory, but there must be millions of people whose first movie-going experience involved a Bond film. The clincher is this: in 1981, Brosnan's wife, Cassandra Harris, was cast as a Bond girl in For Your Eyes Only. It was through her casting that the actor met Broccoli. Cubby Broccoli, Bond producer extraordinaire. The idea of Brosnan-as-Bond was born.
Brosnan's own history is dramatic: shortly after he was born, his father abandoned Pierce and his mother. He would only show up much later, when the actor was in his 30s and already established. His mother lived in London, while Pierce was raised in Ireland by his grandparents. At age 15, he set out to explore the world of theatre, and after spending some time with an experimental theatre company, Brosnan landed at the Drama Centre of London. It must've been to his liking, because the then-vagabond spent three years, studying classic and contemporary theatre.
After graduating, Brosnan immediately became a hit in London's West End, gaining a reputation fortified by strong performances in Franco Zeffirelli's Filumena and Tennesee Williams' Red Devil Battery Sign.
Fast-forward to 1981: the newly-married Brosnan and his wife, Cassandra, travel to the US, where Pierce has landed a role in the miniseries The Manions of America. While they were Stateside, Cassandra landed the plum Bond film (she had been rejected as a Bond girl twice previously) and Brosnan – telling producers he was being considered as the next Bond – landed Remington Steele. The detective show was a hit for a couple seasons, but when it began faltering, it sank quickly. In a living definition of the word 'serendipity,' as soon as Steele was canceled, Bond producers offered Brosnan a multi-million dollar contract. But in life, as in film, there are plot twists: NBC decided to renew Steele – mostly because of Brosnan's new-found high profile – and Timothy Dalton was inserted as a temporary Bond. Brosnan found work in numerous detective/spy/thriller roles, but none of them Bond.
Another blow struck in 1987, when Cassandra was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. She battled for four years – an impossibly long time for that kind of cancer – before dying on December 28, 1991. Her last words to Brosnan were, "always an actor." Now Brosnan had even more incentive to play Bond.
Three years later, Brosnan's dream finally came true. Cast as Bond in Goldeneye, he single-handedly revived the Bond franchise; the film took in $350 million worldwide. He agreed to appear as Bond in three more films, Tomorrow Never Dies, The World is Not Enough, and one that has yet to be written.
Movies:
1999 The Match
1999 The World is Not Enough
1999 Grey Owl
1999 The Thomas Crown Affair
1998 The Nephew
1998 Quest for Camelot
1997 Tomorrow Never Dies
1997 Dante's Peak
1996 Mars Attacks!
1996 The Mirror Has Two Faces
1996 The Disappearance of Kevin Johnson
1996 Robinson Crusoe
1995 GoldenEye
1994 Love Affair
1993 Entangled
1993 Mrs. Doubtfire
1992 Live Wire
1992 The Lawnmower Man
1991 Mister Johnson
1988 The Deceivers
1988 Taffin
1987 The Fourth Protocol
1986 Nomads
1980 The Long Good Friday
1980 The Mirror Crack'd
1995 Night Watch
1994 Don't Talk to Strangers
1993 The Broken Chain
1993 Death Train
1991 Victim of Love
1991 Murder 101
1990 Happy Birthday, Bugs!: 50 Looney Years
1989 The Heist
1989 Around the World in 80 Days
1988 Noble House
1984 Nancy Astor
1982 Remington Steele
1981 The Manions of America
© 2000 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
