Pierce Brosnan

Biography

Pierce Brendan Brosnan OBE (/ˈbrɒsnən/; born 16 May 1953) is an Irish actor and film producer. He is best known as the fifth actor to play secret agent James Bond in the Bond film series, starring in four films from 1995 to 2002 (GoldenEye, Tomorrow Never Dies, The World Is Not Enough, and Die Another Day) and in multiple video games.

After leaving school at age 16, Brosnan began training in commercial illustration and went on to attend the Drama Centre in London for three years. Following a stage acting career, he rose to popularity in the television series Remington Steele (1982–1987). 

After the conclusion of the series, Brosnan appeared in films such as the Cold War spy film The Fourth Protocol (1987) and the comedy Mrs. Doubtfire (1993). 

After achieving worldwide fame for his role as James Bond, Brosnan took the lead in other major films including the epic disaster adventure film Dante's Peak (1997) and the remake of the heist film The Thomas Crown Affair (1999). 

Since leaving the role of Bond, he has starred in films such as the political thriller The Ghost Writer (2010), the action fantasy Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief (2010), the action spy thriller The November Man (2014), and the comedy musical Mamma Mia! (2008) and its sequel Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again (2018). In 2022, Brosnan played Kent Nelson / Doctor Fate in the DC Extended Universe film Black Adam.

Brosnan has received two Golden Globe Award nominations, for the miniseries Nancy Astor (1982) and for the dark comedy film The Matador (2005). In 1996, along with American film producer Beau St. Clair, he formed a Los Angeles-based production company called Irish DreamTime.

 He is also known for his charitable work and environmental activism. In 1997, Brosnan received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his contributions to the film industry. In 2020, he was listed as No. 15 on The Irish Times' list of greatest Irish film actors.

Brosnan was born on 16 May 1953 in Drogheda, County Louth,  the only child of May (née Smith) and carpenter Thomas Brosnan. He has the same name as his grandfather, Pierce Brosnan, who in turn was named after his parents' surnames: John Brosnan and Margaret Pierce.

 For 12 years, he lived in Navan, County Meath, and said in 1999 that he considers it to be his hometown. His father abandoned the family when Brosnan was an infant. When he was four years old, his mother moved to London to work as a nurse. 

From that point on, he was largely brought up by his maternal grandparents, Philip and Kathleen Smith. After their deaths, he lived with an aunt and then an uncle, but was subsequently sent to live in a boarding house run by a woman named Eileen. 

He later said, "Childhood was fairly solitary. I never knew my father. He left when I was an infant. To be Irish Catholic in the 1950s, and have a marriage that was not there, a father who was not there the mother, and the wife suffered greatly.

 My mother was very courageous. She took the bold steps to go away and be a nurse in England. Basically wanting a better life for her and myself. My mother came home once a year, twice a year."