‘Shaken, Not Stirred’ — The Ups And Downs Of Pierce Brosnan’s Life
Most people know Pierce Brosnan as the actor who portrayed special agent 007 — or should we say, James Bond — for many years. What many don't realize is that Brosnan is a person who has faced many struggles throughout his life. He was abandoned by his father, suffered tremendous loss in later years, and still managed to find success as an entertainer.
He is beloved around the world, not simply for his good looks, but also for his ability to make you understand and become empathetic with his character. Check out some unknown facts about your favorite Irishman actor Pierce Brosnan.
A Tough Start In Life
Pierce Brosnan was born in Ireland in 1953. His father was a carpenter, but Brosnan doesn't remember much of him — he ended up leaving him and his family while Brosnan was still an infant. Because of the financial difficulties due to his father leaving, Brosnan's mother moved to London, alone, to become a nurse. Brosnan was raised primarily by his grandparents during this time.
Brosnan's mother would remarry and moved the family to Britain. It was a difficult move for Brosnan, as his Irish accent stood out in school (he was even nicknamed "Irish" and made fun of for his background). But there were a few good moments: during this time, Brosnan's stepdad took him to his first James Bond movie.
First Marriage To Cassandra Harris
Pierce Brosnan met the woman who would eventually become his wife, Australian Cassandra Harris, in 1977. The two married in 1980.
Harris had two children from a previous relationship, whom Brosnan would later adopt as his own in 1986 when their biological father passed away. Sadly, tragedy would hit the family again, when Cassandra was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 1987. She passed away three years later. She was only 43 years old at the time of her passing. Brosnan continued to care for the children, including a son named Sean the two had in addition to his adopted kids.
Finally Landing His First Roles
Pierce Brosnan began his career, as many actors do, as a stage performer. He began in the 1970s, and was noticed early on by legendary playwright Tennessee Williams, who personally picked Brosnan to star in his play The Red Devil Battery Sign.
When the 1970s left and the 1980s came, Brosnan made the change to movies. One of his first movie roles was The Long Good Friday. Brosnan also starred in a miniseries on American television called The Manions of America, which was about an Irish family escaping famine and emigrating to the U.S.
A Golden Globe Nomination
Brosnan continued to star in many roles, and his star status also continued to rise. He had a supporting role in the BBC miniseries Nancy Astor, which propelled his star status in London a bit but allowed him to get a new distinction too: Golden Globe nominee, for best-supporting actor.
In the film, which details the life of the first woman ever to serve in the British Parliament, Brosnan plays the role of Robert Gould Shaw II. Perhaps most endearing about his rise in status was a telegram that was sent to him, which Brosnan still has, from his stepfather: "Thank God for you, dear boy," it read.
The Brosnan Family Moves To L.A.
In 1982, Brosnan and his family decided to move away from London to live full time in Los Angeles, California. No doubt the move had a lot to do with a television role Brosnan had — as the title character for the show Remington Steele. Many saw Brosnan's role on the show as a precursor to him someday becoming the next James Bond — even a Washington Post review of the show said as much.
The show revolved around a woman who started out her own private investigation firm — but who discovered her would-be clients didn't feel comfortable about hiring a woman. So she hired Brosnan's character, a con-man, to be the front of the business, aptly naming him Remington Steele. The role helped make Brosnan a household name and lasted until 1987.
Turning Down James Bond...
Cassandra had a dream for her husband: with the talk of him becoming the next Bond, she wanted it to come true. She even had an "in" for her husband — herself being an actress, she played a role in For Your Eyes Only, which starred Roger Moore as 007. On the set, Pierce Brosnan met Albert Broccoli, who produced the film.
It was in 1987 that Brosnan was offered the role, for the first time. But he turned down the offer to fulfill his role on Remington Steele, as the series wouldn't allow him to play Bond and Remington at the same time. Timothy Dalton would continue being Bond through 1989 instead...
Meeting His Dad
The success of Remington Steele for Brosnan opened up many additional doors for the actor — and not all of them career-related. Brosnan's father, the one who left him and his family as an infant, actually reached out to his son and invited Brosnan to meet him at an Irish hotel while the actor was filming there.
The meeting didn't go over very well. Brosnan wished he and his father could have met under different circumstances, in a more private venue. Brosnan later recalled that the event wasn't all bad. At the end of the day, he spent a Sunday with a man he hardly knew, enjoyed some beer, and learned his father was a good whistler. "That's about all I know about him," Brosnan later said in an interview.
Playing The Baddie In Fourth Protocol
Just because he turned down the role of renowned spy 007 doesn't mean Brosnan didn't want to play the part. In 1987, he starred in a film called The Fourth Protocol, alongside famed English actor Michael Caine. In the film, however, Brosnan isn't the good guy: instead, he plays a KGB officer named Major Valeri Petrofsky.
His mission? To set off a nuclear disaster and to make it look like it was an accident on the part of the United States government. Even though he played the villain, being a part of the film likely helped him to get the "feel" of a spy film moving forward.
Help Comes From Diet Coke
Brosnan was upset about losing out on the role of James Bond, but because Timothy Dalton was a friend of his, he kept mum about talking about it much. He continued doing Remington Steele for one more season but also appeared in a Diet Coke commercial where he portrayed a "dashing Bond-like" figure in the role.
That commercial helped produce in the public's mind the image that Brosnan could act in the role of James Bond. And when a dispute over distribution rights forced the cancellation of a third Dalton-based Bond series, the actor ultimately walked away. In 1994, Brosnan officially became Bond.
Playing Bond
Dashing good looks, a wry sense of humor, looking good in a tux, and more helped to make Pierce Brosnan a convincing James Bond. He went on to play 007 in several films, including GoldenEye, Tomorrow Never Dies, The World Is Not Enough, and Die Another Day. Film critic Roger Ebert was impressed with his portrayal, saying that Brosnan made Bond "somehow more sensitive, more vulnerable, more psychologically complete" than other actors had in the past.
Brosnan didn't just make Bond films, however, and opened up his own production studios. The first film he made, in which he also starred, was The Thomas Crown Affair, in which he played an art thief. In spite of his successes in other roles, Brosnan remained as James Bond until the year 2005.
An Injury To The Face During Bond Filming
Being an international spy comes with many risks, so naturally, playing one on the big screen comes with a few, too. Pierce Brosnan found this out, the hard way, when he suffered an accident on the set of Tomorrow Never Dies. One of the stuntmen in the movie had their helmet accidentally fly off, which landed smack-dab in Brosnan's face, cutting him up the side of it. Ouch! It required eight stitches in total.
Filming got creative after the accident, as the director decided to greet the challenge by filming scenes where Brosnan's face was turned in such a way that it wouldn't be noticeable, at least until the injury healed. I guess they didn't want to waste the make-up department's budget?
Pierce Brosnan Breaks The Bond Rules
Up until Pierce Brosnan, the production company handling James Bond films would not allow actors under contract to star in another film. Brosnan broke the mold, so he was allowed to do so, starring in a few roles on the side.
There was another quirky rule he was allowed to break, just a little bit. Brosnan was not allowed to be in a movie where he wore a tuxedo. This extended to his life in public, too, but there was one scene in The Mirror Has Two Faces, which came out a year after his first Bond film, where he did indeed wear a tux. Well, rules are meant to be broken once in a while!
Performing His Own Stunts In Thomas Crown
Brosnan's successes continued into the mid-to-late 1990s, and he decided to take his career in another direction, alongside his acting. He and friend/producer Beau St. Clair founded a production company Irish Dreamtime, which allowed him to produce his own film in 1999, The Thomas Crown Affair.
The film is full of many action scenes, all of which are performed by Brosnan himself — even an impressive boat crash. Surprisingly, one of the things Brosnan had to learn for the role was how to use a sand wedge for golf. The Thomas Crown Affair was a box office hit for that year.
Brosnan Performed As A Fire-Eater
Some kids run away to join the circus. Pierce Brosnan took a temporary step away from schooling, dropping out at age 16, to do so. After leaving his school behind him, Brosnan met a man who was demonstrating to others how to do fire-eating. Brosnan wanted to learn, and perfected the craft himself. While performing on the street, a circus agent saw Brosnan, and offered him a contract for three years.
Brosnan later returned to school for illustration, and beyond that, attended the Drama Centre in London. We believe he took the better route, choosing to become a world-renowned actor and producer rather than a famous fire-eater.
Second Marriage, To Keely Shaye Smith
Pierce would find love a second time when he met journalist Keely Shaye Smith on a beach in Mexico in 1994. The two dated and got married in 2001, in Brosnan's home country of Ireland. The two have two sons, Dyland and Paris, and continued to raise Brosnan's other children from his previous marriage together. Brosnan is now even a grandfather!
The two both have an entertainment background, although Brosnan is more akin to acting as a fictional character while Keely has worked on many television programs with a journalistic, nonfiction point of view, including Good Morning America, Unsolved Mysteries, and Entertainment Tonight.
He Adores His Wife And Isn't Afraid To Show It
Hollywood standards often treat women — particularly their appearances — unfairly. That was sadly the case with Pierce's wife Keely Shaye Smith, who gained a noticeable amount of weight years into the couple's marriage.
Body standards for actresses are incredibly fierce, and they're also daunting for the spouses of actors. In spite of these unfair standards — a Hollywood actor is "allowed" to gain weight as he ages, while an actress often gets scorned for it — Pierce showed unwavering support for his wife, sending out social media posts frequently expressing his love for her. Hollywood could learn a thing or two from this couple.
Losing Charlotte To Cancer
Tragedy struck Brosnan in his younger years. Sadly, it hit his family again more recently, in 2013 when his adopted daughter Charlotte died. Both of Charlotte's biological parents (her mother was Brosnan's first wife) passed away at a young age, with her mother Cassandra dying in 1991.
Charlotte passed away from the same disease her mother did, ovarian cancer. Brosnan, who considered and treated Charlotte like his own daughter, discussed losing both his wife and her to the disease. "To watch someone you love have his or her life eaten away bit by bit by this insidious disease, that part of your sorrow becomes an indelible part of your psyche," he said.
The Next Bond?
Pierce Brosnan expressed a controversial point of view, too, when he discussed who should become the next James Bond after Daniel Craig (who assumed the role after Brosnan). Of particular contention was whether Brosnan thought the next 007 should be black or not, as rumors swelled over actor Idris Elba becoming the next Bond.
While Brosnan said that "there's no reason why you cannot have a black James Bond," he also said he expects the next person to play the role will still be white. He also added the next Bond will be male. He's part right — the next Bond film will still feature Daniel Craig as Bond, but a woman will take over his 007 call sign.
A Gay Bond? "Sure, Why Not?"
Pierce Brosnan, as noted earlier, is a very charitable fellow. He's even an ambassador for UNICEF. In addition to his regular philanthropic work, the actor is also an advocate for the LGBTQ community. Brosnan was celebratory when his home country of Ireland legalized same-sex marriage.
Questioned on whether he believed James Bond could ever be gay, Brosnan said it was definitely something that could happen. "Sure, why not?" he's quoted as saying. He doesn't know whether the production company in charge of Bond would ever let it happen, but he thinks it could work. "It would certainly make for interesting viewing," Brosnan said.
He Once Thought He Was Gay
Brosnan even questioned his own sexuality at one point in his life. In an autobiography the actor released in the early 2000s, Brosnan detailed what had gone through his mind when he was a younger man. I was young, frivolous and full of abandon — a hippie with long hair down to my shoulders and a little goatee beard," he wrote.
Pierce came to the conclusion that he wasn't gay, but having that experience probably taught him an important lesson of acceptance, which he apparently held onto for a long time. Brosnan has been married to his current wife, Keely Shaye Smith, since 2001.
Mamma Mia
Beyond his time as James Bond, Brosnan has had success in a variety of other films, including Laws of Attraction, The Matador, and notably in the ABBA-based musical, Mamma Mia, where he starred alongside Meryl Streep as her love interest.
The role, of course, being a musical required him to sing. Brosnan said he practiced doing so while walking on the beach. According to critics, it didn't pay off — many took issue with his singing voice. Still, the film was critically acclaimed, and Brosnan's acting chops definitely shine through beyond his singing prowess. It couldn't have been all bad — after all, he did come back to star in the sequel!
Seraphim Falls With Liam Neeson
2006 saw Brosnan star in another film called Seraphim Falls. The movie casts Brosnan alongside Liam Neeson, in a Western where both play American characters. It was a fun experience for both actors, who grew up adoring the genre and both finally got to be in one, together. Perhaps in a bit of irony, the film also featured an American actor named Xander Berkely — who played an Irish character.
The film wasn't widely released, appearing in a limited number of theaters across the U.S. It also went up against some bigger named movies in the weekend it was released. Worldwide, Seraphim Falls earned about $1.2 million in ticket sales revenues, most of which was made overseas.
Working With Roman Polanski
Pierce Brosnan hasn't been without controversy, however. In 2010, he agreed to work on a film called The Ghost Writer, along with fellow actor Ewan McGregor. The problem? The film was being put together by infamous director Roman Polanski. The directo was charged with a sexual assault of a 13-year-old girl in the 1970s, and has lived outside of the United States ever since to avoid conviction.
The film ended up being a moderate success for Brosnan. It earned more than $60 million at the box office, working with a budget of about $45. It received mostly positive reviews from critics as well, and has an 84 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
High Honors From Her Majesty The Queen
The Queen of England bestowed a very dignified honor on Pierce Brosnan, one that is typically reserved for Britons. The Queen in 2013 awarded him with the honorary title Officer of the Order of the British Empire for his "outstanding contribution to the British film industry." Yet Brosnan is Irish — which meant the award was given without full OBE honors. Still, it's a pretty important title, and one the actor wouldn't take lightly.
Brosnan is a citizen of two countries, actually — in 2004, he officially became a U.S. citizen. Yet he still retained his Irish citizenship as well.
Brosnan's Catholic Faith
Pierce Brosnan is a man of many tenets when it comes to his spiritual life, but he's held onto his Catholic beliefs throughout much of his life. He's credited his religious background as having helped him through some of the toughest times in his life — the deaths of his daughter and his wife, for instance. At the same time, however, he's been critical of the belief, recognizing his mother was practically ostracized after his father abandoned them when he was a baby. Brosnan also follows some of the tenets of Buddhism, but when it comes to his religious habits, he stands (mostly) by his Catholic practices.
Environmental Causes
Many celebrities have causes they promote, and with the help of their fame, they typically raise awareness and funds for those causes. Pierce Brosnan and his wife Keely have many charities they have given to in the past and presently, lending their names to support environmental causes for the most part.
Pierce and Keely have helped the Natural Resources Defense Council, The International Fund for Animal Welfare, and Greenpeace. Brosnan has even taken his message at times to social media — he has promoted saving whales on Instagram, for example.
Helping A Hawaii Playground
Pierce and Keely own a home near an elementary school in Kuai, Hawaii. Keely was on the planning committee for that playground, which was in disrepair. Pierce also noted the bad condition the playground was in. "We were disheartened that the playground equipment was condemned for so long, and we wanted to find a way to help...we believe play activities enhance children's educational experiences and they were missing out," he said.
THe couple donated $100,000 to help the playground, giving the money to the nonprofit group 3R's, which stands for Repair, Remodel, and Restore Hawaii's schools. Children for many years to come will enjoy that playground, thanks in large part to the Brosnans!
Tragic Fire In Malibu
Pierce Brosnan had an $18.5 million eco-friendly estate in Malibu, California, but a good chunk of it was lost to a fire in 2016. Around that time, many brush fires had spread throughout the state, causing millions if not billions of dollars in damage. The fire in the Brosnan home, however, was deemed an electrical fire, unrelated to other fires happening in California.
Over one million dollars was lost in property damage from the fire. The family was also home when it happened, but no one was injured. Pierce's Aston Martin was also destroyed, but the situation could have been a lot worse.
That's Just Rude
On The Late Late Show With James Corden, the CBS late-night host has a regular segment called "Spill Your Guts or Fill Your Guts." The rules to the game are simple: you either answer a question from the person you're playing with, or you have to eat something disgusting.
A question came up to James to answer from Khloe Kardashian about which celebrity has been rude to him since he became famous. The option to skip the question was to drink bird saliva (gross!). James opted to name the celebrity — and said Pierce Brosnan's name. Apparently, the incident occurred at a concert.
Concert Confusion
Corden explained that he didn't think Pierce Brosnan is a rude person, just that he was particularly rude on one occasion (hey, we all have bad days). It happened at a U2 Concert, Corden explained. Corden was at the show with his wife and some friends, and as Corden recalled, Brosnan was also there with a group of people. The Brosnan party left the area, and Corden assumed they weren't coming back.
Corden remembered thinking, "literally, I've never felt anything like it, this arm went on here and just pushed me out the way. And I looked at him, and he didn't even glance at me and he just moved back into this area."
He Credited Mary Tyler Moore With His Big Break In Acting
Mary Tyler Moore died in 2017, at the age of 80. Brosnan, like many in Hollywood, was devasted by the news of her passing. When he took to Instagram to discuss her legacy, he noted that it was Mary Tyler Moore's production company, MTM, that gave him his start on Remington Steele.
Pierce thanked Moore for her help in getting him a role that essentially led to him becoming James Bond, and in turn made him a household name in entertainment. There's no doubt that Brosnan has incredible talent, but without Mary Tyler Moore, who knows what different directions he may have taken?
A Trained Illustrator
Pierce Brosnan is a lover of painting. He even sells his artwork, most of the time giving the proceeds of his work to charitable causes. What many might not know about the actor is that he actually has formal training on the subject.
Brosnan went to art school, training to become an illustrator when he was 16 years old, before he switched over to acting. The urge to paint was always there while he acted. Unfortunately, it had to be placed on the backburner for a while as his acting career took off in the 1980s. Yet Brosnan continued to paint, and continues to do so to this day.
Becoming A Citizen
Pierce Brosnan has lived in the United States since 1982, when he moved to California to become a full-time actor on the series Remington Steele. Before then, he had lived in Ireland in various locations, and in London, living in that city after he moved in with his mom and stepdad as a teenager.
From 1982 until 2004, however, while living in the U.S., Brosnan wasn't officially an American citizen! He was able to work in the U.S. on a visa, but decided to become a citizen in 2004. He also retained his Irish citizenship, which takes a great amount of pride in.
He Really Crashed the Car In Shattered
Brosnan had a key role in the 2007 film Shattered (that was the title of the film in the U.S. — elsewhere, it was called Butterfly on a Wheel). The movie also stars Gerard Butler and Maria Bello. Their characters' daughter is abducted by Tom Ryan, a character played by Brosnan.
There are various action scenes and moments of suspense in the film, but one particular scene, which involves a car crash, is jarring. Brosnan appears to be in the car as it happened on screen, but this wasn't done with trick photography or a stunt double — Brosnan was actually in the car when it happened. Yikes!
Adjusting A Scene In James Bond
Pierce Brosnan has portrayed James Bond in a handful of films, so he knows the character quite a bit, including his motivations and mannerisms. In The World Is Not Enough, one scene was altered by Brosnan himself. Pay close attention, and you'll notice that Bond, while underwater in one of the scenes, takes the time to readjust his tie. Who takes the time to make such an adjustment during a consequential sequence? Apparently, it's in 007's wheelhouse.
Brosnan came up with this idea on his own, and pitched it to the director. The director loved the idea, and included it in the filming of the scene.
He Saw Goldfinger At Age 12
The universe has a funny way of working at times. A kid growing up in Ireland, having dreams of acting, might not think he'd ever star in a role he watched on the big screen as a kid — but that's exactly what happened for Pierce Brosnan. The actor said the first movie he ever saw in theatres was 1964's Goldfinger at age 12. What are the odds??
Brosnan obviously took on different types of roles from when he saw Bond up to when he became 007. But certainly, seeing James Bond (played by Sean Connery at the time) left a big impression on him at the time.
He's Learned The Ukelele
A talented actor with several decades of success, Pierce Brosnan has other talents he's good at as well. We've already detailed that he's adept with paint and a brush as an illustrator, but Brosnan also has another artistic love — playing the ukelele. He's even starred in commercials for Komoa, a uke company.
"I love the ukulele. It's got a beautiful, melodic tone to it," Pierce once said about the small instrument. "There's something innocent and romantic, and it's just a grand instrument to play" Pierce reportedly got interested in the ukelele after spending time in his Hawaiian home.
He's Worked In Many Independent Films
He's been in huge blockbusters and starred as the most famous spy in the world. He's been in over 70 movies, and has been a part of 10 television series as well. But Brosnan doesn't mind working with smaller production companies either for the right storyline. He's worked with many independent films in his career.
"I love the intimacy and the passion and the danger that go into independent filmmaking because it comes out of a creative necessity," Brosnan has said. Hey, we just love the characters who come to life when Pierce acts, whether it's a big film or not!
He Admits He's Claustrophobic
James Bond, AKA 007, has been in many tight situations while performing his spy duties. Pierce Brosnan, having portrayed Bond on the big screen, has had to act out those scenes. But Brosnan himself probably wouldn't make a great clandestine spy operative, given that he's claustrophobic.
It isn't just the Bond series that gave him troubles. Brosnan, who readily admits his fear, also had difficulties filming the movie Dante's Peak, which required him to be in a number of tight areas. But Brosnan demonstrates he's truly dedicated to his craft, performing in these scenes anyway in spite of his fears.
He Has A Scar On His Face
We mentioned earlier that Brosnan has performed his own stunts in a variety of films. It's also been noted that he had suffered an injury during the filming of one of the James Bond films. It was from that injury that Brosnan received a facial scar.
It's not easy to catch, but if you look closely, you can make out the star's scar, which came about from a stuntman's helmet hitting him directly in his face during the filming. The scar is only noticeable in films after Tomorrow Never Dies, of course, seeing as that was when the accident happened.
