Pierce Brendan Brosnan was born May 16, 1953, in Navan, County Meath, Ireland. His father, Thomas Brosnan, left the family when Pierce was at an early age, which left Pierce's mother, Mary "May" Brosnan, to raise her son alone. May left Pierce with his grandparents in Ireland and went to London to train as a nurse.The situation proved painful for the young Pierce, who wasn't reunited with his mother until he was 11 years old.Pierce has said that shortly after arriving in England, he experienced something that would have a major effect on his life. He saw his first motion picture, which ironically turned out to be a James Bond film -- Goldfinger.
Pierce left school and began training as a commercial artist before being bitten by the acting bug. After dabbling in a few plays, Pierce began serious training at the Drama Centre in 1969. He worked either behind the scenes or onstage in various plays before being picked by Tennessee Williams to star in Williams' The Red Devil Battery Sign.
In 1978, while still in hot pursuit of a strong acting career, Pierce met his future wife, Cassandra Harris, at a party. Pierce and Cassie married on December 27, 1980, in a small ceremony attended by, among others, Pierce's new stepchildren -- Charlotte, then 9, and Christopher, then 8. Pierce soon adopted them, and has been known to them as "Daddy" since the wedding day. In 1984, he and Cassie had a son together, Sean.
After the wedding, the couple struggled financially. Pierce continued to pursue acting, but landed only small roles, for the most part. His motion picture debut came in 1980 with The Long Good Friday, in which he played an IRA hitman. He also had a bit part in The Mirror Crack'd, where he was clutched to the bosom of Elizabeth Taylor.
During this year, Cassie was given a role in the latest Bond flick, For Your Eyes Only, in which she played the doomed Countess Liesl. According to Pierce, Cassie introduced him to Bond producer Albert Broccoli, the man who would later offer him the coveted role -- twice.
In 1981, Pierce got his biggest breaks ever by starring in the miniseries The Manions of America. While Manions didn't get rave reviews, it became a hit in America, and laid the foundation for his stardom.
In late 1981, Pierce borrowed ¡ê2,000 and headed to the U.S., where he heard about a role being cast in a TV detective series. He tried out for the role, and quickly won the part as the suave, charming title character in the NBC series Remington Steele.
The series became a hit, and Pierce quickly became a star. He starred opposite Stephanie Zimbalist, an actress who already had several films and TV movies under her belt. The two actors had a cool relationship, which became strained by the massive attention paid to Pierce, and the small amount of attention paid to Stephanie.
During a break from Remington in 1984, Pierce starred in the BBC miniseries Nancy Astor, where he played Nancy's first husband, Robert Gould Shaw. The role netted him a Golden Globe nomination.
Ratings for Remington began to wane during the fourth season. In 1986, NBC cancelled Remington. That summer, Pierce began pursuing the role he coveted most -- James Bond. Roger Moore had announced his departure, and Broccoli offered the role to Pierce. Pierce quickly accepted. The deal sparked a stream of publicity. NBC saw a golden opportunity, and renewed Remington for another season, effectively killing his chances at playing Bond.
Pierce reluctantly returned to Remington, but after six less-than-perfect episodes, the series was cancelled again. Pierce was left to fend for himself.
Pierce began pursuing a career in movies, starting with Nomads in 1986, and in 1987, he starred in The Fourth Protocol with Michael Caine.
In 1987, Cassie became ill. Her illness grew worse during Pierce's stint filming Mister Johnson. After their return to the U.S., Cassie was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. Pierce struggled to care for her and keep working to pay the bills. It was during her illness that he began delving heavily into one of his favorite pastimes -- painting.
On December 28, 1991, a day after their 11th wedding anniversary, Cassie died in Pierce's arms.
Financial troubles keep Pierce's grieving period short. Left with a family to support, he threw himself into work, trying to build a movie career, but many of his movies didn't do well at the box office. One of his biggest roles was in the cult classic The Lawnmower Man in 1992, a film based on virtual reality and co-starring Jeff Fahey. Pierce also starred in TV movies like Death Train. In 1993, he starred opposite Robin Williams and Sally Field in Mrs. Doubtfire.
In 1995, while filming Robinson Crusoe, which was originally slated to be a movie for CBS, Timothy Dalton announced he was leaving the role of James Bond after only two movies. On June 1, 1995, Pierce was offered the role, and this time, there were no contracts to get in his way.
Pierce's first stint as Agent 007 proved a huge success. Goldeneye netted over $350 million worldwide, and became the most successful Bond film of the series. His most recent Bond flick, Tomorrow Never Dies, has grossed more than $300 million worldwide. He recently completed Grey Owl, directed by Sir Richard Attenborough.
Pierce also began his own production company, Irish Dreamtime Inc., with long-time friend Beau St. Clair. He produces and co-stars in The Nephew, which opened recently in Ireland. He also stopped off in Scotland for a cameo in the low-budget comedy The Match. In mid-September, production will begin in New York on a remake of the classic The Thomas Crown Affair, co-starring Rene Russo and Denis Leary, which is also under the Irish Dreamtime banner. After that, he takes a break from producing to resume his role as James Bond in Bond 19, due in theatres Nov. 19, 1999.
In addition to his three children from Cassie, Pierce became a father again in January 1997 to Dylan Thomas Brosnan. He had the child with TV correspondant Keely-Shaye Smith, whom he met during an interview in 1994. The couple is living together and raising their child in California. Recently, Pierce also became a grandfather when daughter Charlotte and her fiance, Alex Smith, had their first child.
Moving to London with his family at an early age, Irish-born actor Pierce Brosnan made ends meet as a commercial illustrator and cab driver before turning to acting full-time. After training at the London Drama Centre, Brosnan made his West End stage bow in 1976, and appeared in his first film, The Long Good Friday, four years later.
American audiences got their first glimpse of the charismatic, muscular young actor in the 1981 network miniseries The Manions of America. The following year, he was cast as the suave adventurer hero of the weekly TV series Remington Steele. Brosnan's casual panache and his gift for quippery led the producers of the James Bond movies to select him as the new Bond upon the departure of Roger Moore in 1986. However, at the last moment, the canceled Remington Steele was renewed, and Brosnan was contractually obligated to remain with the program, forcing him to relinquish the James Bond role to Timothy Dalton. Insult was later added to injury when it became evident that the renewal of Steele was something of a subterfuge by its producers to keep Brosnan on their leash. This professional setback was further compounded by personal tragedy seven years later when Brosnan's actress wife Cassandra Harris died after a long illness.
The actor began to regain his motion picture bankability when he was cast in a choice secondary role in the megahit 1993 comedy Mrs. Doubtfire. In 1995, he finally got his chance to play Agent 007 in Goldeneye and proved that the producer's instincts were right on target. Brosnan not only provided a much-needed boost for the ailing series, but he also cemented his status as a capable leading man in a variety of roles ranging from the title character in Daniel Dafoe's Robinson Crusoe (1996) to a stuffy, lovestruck professor who meets a ludicrous fate in Mars Attacks! (1996) to a courageous vulcanologist trying to save a town threatened by a reawakened volcano in Dante's Peak (1997).
Brosnan played Bond for the second time in Tomorrow Never Dies (1997), essaying the role with great success. Following his turn as the titular thief in the stylish 1999 remake of The Thomas Crown Affair , the actor went on to his third Bond outing in The World is Not Enough, again proving that saving the world was most convincingly done by those with convincing tans, straight teeth, and plenty of fun gadgets. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
