Pierce Brosnan - Bond 007 signed Bond photo
Size: 10in x 8in

Signed: 'Pierce Brosnan'

Brosnan portrayed the secret agent James Bond in GoldenEye, Tomorrow Never Dies, The World Is Not Enough and Die Another Day. He also provided his voice and likeness to Bond in the video game James Bond 007: Everything or Nothing. He is the third actor to play James Bond in more than two films, along with Roger Moore and Sean Connery. In addition to his salary for his James Bond movies, Brosnan received a car. The BMW Z3 from GoldenEye (1995), an 8-series BMW (instead of the 750iL) from Tomorrow Never Dies (1997), and the Z8 from The World Is Not Enough (1999).


Brosnan first met James Bond films producer Albert R. Broccoli on the sets of For Your Eyes Only because his then-wife was in the film. Broccoli said, "if he can act… he's my guy" to inherit a role of Roger Moore. It was reported by both Entertainment Tonight and the National Enquirer, that Brosnan was going to inherit another role of Moore's, that of The Saint, Simon Templar. Brosnan turned down the rumours in July 1993 but added, "it's still languishing there on someone's desk in Hollywood."

In 1986, Timothy Dalton was approached for the Bond role; his involvement with the 1986 film adaptation of Brenda Starr kept Dalton from being able to accept it. A number of actors were then screen-tested for the role – notably Sam Neill – but were ultimately passed over by Broccoli. Remington Steele was about to end, so Brosnan was offered the role, but the publicity revived Remington Steele and Brosnan had to decline the role of James Bond, owing to his contract.

By then, Dalton had become available again, and he accepted the role for The Living Daylights (1987), and Licence to Kill (1989). Legal squabbles about ownership of the film franchise resulted in the cancellation of a proposed third Dalton film in 1991 (rumoured title: The Property of a Lady) and put the series on a hiatus, which lasted six years. GoldenEye was originally written with Dalton as Bond[citation needed], but he turned it down. On June 7, 1994, Brosnan was announced as the fifth actor to play Bond.

Brosnan was signed for a three-film deal with the option of a fourth. He first appeared as Bond in 1995's GoldenEye to much critical praise. Critic James Berardinelli described him as "a decided improvement over his immediate predecessor" with a "flair for wit to go along with his natural charm." GoldenEye grossed US $350 million worldwide. It had the fourth highest worldwide gross of any film in 1995. It was the most successful Bond film at that time.

In 1996, Brosnan formed a film production company entitled "Irish DreamTime" along with producing partner Beau St. Clair. Three years later the company's first studio project, The Thomas Crown Affair, was released and met both critical and box-office success. Brosnan returned in 1997's Tomorrow Never Dies and 1999's The World Is Not Enough, which were also successful. In 2002, Brosnan appeared for his fourth time as Bond in Die Another Day. During the promotion, he mentioned that he would like to continue his role as James Bond: "I'd like to do another, sure. Connery did six. Six would be a number, then never come back."

Brosnan asked EON Productions when accepting the role, to be allowed to work on other projects between Bond films. The request was granted, and for every Bond film, Brosnan appeared in at least two other mainstream films, including several he produced. Brosnan played a wide range of roles in between his Bond film appearances, ranging from a scientist in Tim Burton's Mars Attacks!, to a volcanologist in Dante's Peak and the title role in Grey Owl, a biopic about Englishman Archibald Stansfeld Belaney who adopted the Ojibwa name Grey Owl and become one of Canada's first conservationists.

Brosnan at the Cannes Film Festival in 2002 Shortly after the release of Die Another Day, the media began questioning whether or not Brosnan would reprise the role for a fifth time. Brosnan kept in mind that both aficionados and critics were unhappy with Roger Moore playing the role until he was 58, but he was receiving popular support from both critics and the franchise fanbase for a fifth installment. For this reason, he remained enthusiastic about reprising his role. Throughout 2004, it was rumored that negotiations had broken down between Brosnan and the producers to make way for a new and younger actor. This was denied by MGM and EON Productions. In July 2004, Brosnan announced that he was quitting the role, stating "Bond is another lifetime, behind me"; this is thought by some to be a failed negotiating ploy. In October 2004, Brosnan said he considered himself dismissed from the role. Although Brosnan had been rumoured frequently as still in the running to play 007, he had denied it several times, and in February 2005 he posted on his website that he was finished with the role. Daniel Craig took over the role on October 14, 2005. In an interview with The Globe and Mail, Brosnan was asked what he thought of Craig as the new James Bond. He replied, "I'm looking forward to it like we're all looking forward to it. Daniel Craig is a great actor and he's going to do a fantastic job". He reaffirmed this support in an interview to the International Herald Tribune, stating that "[Craig's] on his way to becoming a memorable Bond."

During his tenure on the James Bond films, Brosnan also took part in James Bond video games. In 2002, Brosnan's likeness was used as the face of Bond in the James Bond video game Nightfire (voiced by Maxwell Caulfield). In 2004, Brosnan starred in the Bond game Everything or Nothing, contracting for his likeness to be used as well as doing the voice-work for the character.


source:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pierce_Brosnan

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