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James Bond - Pierce Brosnan

Pierce Brosnan

When Timothy Dalton resigned from the Bond series in 1994, the role of Agent 007 fell back to Pierce Brosnan, who supposedly would have had the role in 1987 had he not been obligated to do the television series Remington Steele.  In fact, the rumors that Brosnan would be playing Bond saved the series after NBC had axed it, and Bond Producer "Cubby" Brocolli didn't believe people would pay to see Brosnan as Bond while he played a similar role on TV.

 

Born in Ireland on May 16, 1953, Brosnan moved to London in 1964, supposedly on the same day Bond-creator Ian Fleming died.  One of the first films he saw was Goldfinger.

Originally a commercial artisit, Brosnan was introduced to acting by a co-worker who was in a theater group by night.  He soon left his job to become an actor, and studied at the Drama Centre in London for three years.  After several years of stage productions throughout the UK, his break came in the 1981 TV mini-series The Manions of America, which led to his title role on Remington Steele.

Brosnan first met "Cubby" Brocolli in 1980 while his girlfriend (future wife) Cassandra Harris was filming a role in For Your Eyes Only.  Supposedly, Broccoli decided at that meeting that "If he can act...he's my guy" to replace Roger Moore.  Brosnan first auditioned for the role of Bond after For Your Eyes Only was released in 1981, as Moore was either contemplating retiring from the role or producers were trying to get him to accept less money.  Rumors started surfacing as early as 1984 that Brosnan was next in line for the role.

After Timothy Dalton was given the role in 1986, Brosnan finished the Remington Steele series, and continued to act, making TV mini-series, theatrical films and made-for-cable movies, as well as several TV commercials.  Many of his roles continued to reinforce his image in the public's mind as Bond, and rumors that he would replace Dalton continued throughout Dalton's short tenure as Agent 007.

Finally in June 1994, Brosnan was unveiled at a huge press conference in London as the 5th Bond.  His first Bond film, GoldenEye, was released in 1995, and grossed over $350 million worldwide, more than any other Bond film to that point.  Tomorrow Never Dies, his second Bond film, grossed more money in the United States than GoldenEye.  The World is Not Enough opened in 1999 and had the largest opening weekend in James Bond and MGM studio history. It also marked the final film for Desmond Llewelyn, who played Q, Bond's gadget inventing film. Replaced by Monty Python's John Cleese, Llewelyn was killed in a car accident shortly after the movie was released.

Bond's 40th Anniversary in film and 50th anniversary in print was marked with the release of Die Another Day in 2002. The film featured references to each of the previous Bond movies.

In 2005, it was announced that Brosnan would not return as Bond for the 2006 film Casino Royale. After much speculation over who would take the reigns, Daniel Craig was named the new Bond. Visit the official James Bond site for more information on the 21st Bond film.

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