02-13-2006
Pierce Brosnan Biography
Pierce Brosnan was born in 1953 in Navan, Irland,
where he lived until he was 11 years old. Pierce’s youth was quite hard as his
father abandoned the family while Pierce was only 1. His mother then decided to
live and find a job in London. She left Pierce to his grand-parents, but both
of them died when he was 6. The young boy was put in some relatives’ care and
sent to a Christian school where he was beaten. Pierce was finally reunited
with his mother in 1963. Now living in London, he was often mocked by his
schoolmates due to his strong Irish accent and his short height. He learnt the
basis of acting while trying to imitate the London accent and the behaviour of
his classmates.
Although Pierce was particularly brilliant in
arts when he was in high school, he decided to quit at the age of 16 and started an artistic
training in the Ravenna Studios. In the same time, he took part to experimental
plays at the Oval House Theatre in Kennington Oval. But to earn his life,
Pierce had to take various ungratifying jobs. He was, for instance, a cab
driver, a dishwasher, a house cleaner and even a fire-eater in a circus! In the
Remington Steele episode entitled High Flying Steele as well as in the remarkable Muppet Show episode in which he was invited, Brosnan showed his fire-eater
talents... He pursued his training attending various theatrical workshops and
then entered the London Drama Centre in 1973. He graduated in 1976 and became a
stage assistant manager at the York’s Royal Theatre. Six months later,
Tennessee Williams chose Brosnan to perform in the English production Red
Devil Battery Sign. This was Brosnan's first step to a prestigious
theatrical carrier, with roles in remarkable plays like Filumena (directed by
Franco Zeffirelli) and Wait Until Dark.
In 1981, Pierce got the main role in the
American miniseries The Manions of America. It was a
great success in the United States and Pierce was then offered a role in the TV
series Remington Steele. The series was broadcasted in lots of
foreign countries. True to his classical background, Pierce appeared in the
series Nancy Astor, produced by the BBC and won a Golden Globe
for his role. Other notable performances followed like in Around the World in
80 days, Noble House etc.
Now living in the United States and while
dozens of large circulation newspapers praised Brosnan performance in Remington
Steele, several polls showed that he would be the ideal successor of Roger
Moore as James Bond. In 1986, Remington Steele was losing audience and
the 007 producers and United Artists offered Brosnan, for the first time, the
role of the famous secret agent in Licence to Kill. But the series audience
improved and Brosnan, still bounded to Remington Steele’s producers, had to
start the filming of the fifth and ultimate season.
In 1995, Pierce got the James Bond role at
last. The results commensurated with the expectations: Goldeneye became the most
popular movie from the 007 saga with 350 million dollars in the box-office.
Brosnan, who is capable of interpreting both action and comedy figures,
immediately suited the James Bond character, offering an extraordinary
performance full of energy, charism and charm. He also brought his know-how as a
classical actor, and his athletic constitution enabled him to make most of the
stunts in the four Bond movies.
Brosnan also became famous playing in various
types of movies : comedy (Mrs Doubtfire, with Robin Williams), action
(Dante’s Peak), drama (Evelyn), thriller (the 4th Protocol), sci-fi (the Lawnmower
Man), romantic comedy (The Mirror Has Two Faces, Laws of Attraction) etc. In the height of his carrier, Pierce Brosnan
extended his activities to producing movies. In 1998, he created the Irish
Dream Time company with his associate Beau St. Clair. The company’s first
production was The Nephew, which was presented in various film festivals. He
then produced for MGM/UA the John McThiernan’s romantic thriller Thomas Crown
that generated about 200 million dollars in the box-office. The third movie was
Evelyn, directed by Bruce Beresford. Based on a true story, it enabled Brosnan
to come back to his Irish roots and presented a bunch of talented actors like
Stephen Rea, Alan Bates, Julianna Margulies and Aidan Quinn. More recently,
Brosnan promoted The Matador that was released at the end of the year 2005.
As a committed environmentalist, Brosnan plays
a very active part within various foundations for the environmental cause,
particularly for the protection of whales. He was by the way honoured by the
Environmenal Media Association and Woman In Film. In 1997, Michael Gorbatchev,
the International President of Green Cross, gave to Brosnan the Environmental
Leadership Award to thank him for his actions in favour of the protection of
whales and fragile ecosystems. Brosnan also manages the campaigns launched by
the Entertainment Industry Foundation that raises and allocates each year several
millions of dollars of funds.
Pierce Brosnan, who originally planned to be a
painter, continues his successful movie carrier.
As far as his personal life is concerned, he was first married to Cassandra
Harris (who was featured in the Remington Steele’s season 2 episode Woman of Steele). He met her in 1978 and they got married in 1980. Cassandra was 12 years
older than Pierce and had two children from a previous union, Charlotte and
Christopher. Pierce finally adopted them in 1986 after the death of their
father. Cassandra and Pierce also got a third child, Sean, born in 1983.
Cassandra Harris died on December 28th, 1990, after 4 years fighting an ovarian cancer. In
1994, Pierce met journalist Keely Shaye Smith to whom he married in Irland
in 2001. Dylan Thomas (born in 1997) and Paris Beckett (born in 2001) enlarged
the Brosnan family.
[Sources : Comme au cinéma and Tiscali]
For a complete filmography of Pierce Brosnan, visit the IMDB.
Young Pierce
With wife Cassandra and kids Christopher and Charlotte
With son Sean
James Bond
With wife Keely Shaye Smith
With sons Dylan and Paris
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