Pierce Brosnan facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Pierce Brosnan OBE
Brosnan in 2025
Born	Pierce Brendan Brosnan (1953-05-16) 16 May 1953 (age 72) Drogheda, County Louth, Ireland
Citizenship	Ireland United States
Alma mater	Drama Centre London
Occupation	Actor film producer
Years active	1975–present
Spouse(s)	Cassandra Harris ​ ​ (m. 1980; died 1991)​ Keely Shaye Smith ​ (m. 2001)​
Children	5
Signature

Pierce Brendan Brosnan (born 16 May 1953) is a famous Irish actor and film producer. Many people know him as the fifth actor to play the secret agent James Bond. He starred in four James Bond movies from 1995 to 2002. These films included GoldenEye, Tomorrow Never Dies, The World Is Not Enough, and Die Another Day. He also appeared in video games like GoldenEye 007.

After finishing school at 16, Brosnan first trained in commercial illustration. He then studied acting at the Drama Centre in London for three years. He became very popular in the TV series Remington Steele (1982–1987). After that, he acted in movies such as the spy film The Fourth Protocol (1987) and the comedy Mrs. Doubtfire (1993).

After becoming world-famous as James Bond, Brosnan took on lead roles in other big films. These included the adventure film Dante's Peak (1997) and The Thomas Crown Affair (1999). Since his time as Bond, he has appeared in many movies. Some of these are The Ghost Writer (2010), Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief (2010), and The November Man (2014). He also starred in the musical comedies Mamma Mia! (2008) and its sequel Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again (2018). In 2022, Brosnan played Kent Nelson / Doctor Fate in the superhero film Black Adam.

Brosnan has been nominated for two Golden Globe Awards. One was for the TV miniseries Nancy Astor (1982). The other was for the comedy film The Matador (2005). In 1996, he started a film production company called Irish DreamTime with producer Beau St. Clair. He is also known for his charity work and efforts to protect the environment. In 1997, he received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In 2020, The Irish Times newspaper listed him as one of the greatest Irish film actors.

Pierce Brosnan's Early Life

Growing Up in Ireland

Pierce Brosnan was born on 16 May 1953 in Drogheda, County Louth, Ireland. He was the only child of May and Thomas Brosnan, a carpenter. His father left the family when Pierce was a baby. When he was four years old, his mother moved to London to work as a nurse.

For 12 years, Pierce lived in Navan, County Meath. He has said that he considers Navan his hometown. His maternal grandparents, Philip and Kathleen Smith, mostly raised him. After they passed away, he lived with an aunt and then an uncle. Later, he lived in a boarding house run by a woman named Eileen. He once shared that his childhood felt quite lonely. His mother was very brave to move to England for work, hoping for a better life for them both. She visited him once or twice a year.

Moving to London

Brosnan grew up in a Catholic family. He went to a local school run by the De La Salle Brothers and served as an altar boy. On 12 August 1964, he left Ireland to join his mother and her new husband, William Carmichael, in Scotland. He was 11 years old when Carmichael took him to see his first James Bond film, Goldfinger.

Later, they moved back to London. Brosnan attended Elliott School in Putney. He felt a bit like an outsider at first, being an Irish boy in a big city like London. His nickname at school was simply "Irish."

Discovering Acting

After leaving school at 16, Brosnan wanted to be a painter. He started training in commercial illustration at Saint Martin's School of Art in London. One day, he saw a fire eater teaching people at a workshop. He decided to join in.

He then trained as an actor for three years at the Drama Centre London. Brosnan has said that finding acting felt like a great freedom. It was a way to step into a new life. He found he was good at acting, and people appreciated his work. This brought him great satisfaction.

Pierce Brosnan's Acting Career

Starting Out in Theatre and TV

After graduating from the Drama Centre in 1975, Brosnan began working in theatre. He made his acting debut in Wait Until Dark. Within six months, famous playwright Tennessee Williams chose him for a role in The Red Devil Battery Sign. His performance created a lot of excitement in London.

In 1977, Franco Zeffirelli picked him to appear in the play Filumena. Brosnan also made small appearances in films like The Long Good Friday (1980) and The Mirror Crack'd (1980). He also had early TV roles in shows like The Professionals.

He became a TV star in the United States with his main role in the miniseries Manions of America (1981). In 1982, he starred in the BBC miniseries Nancy Astor. His role earned him a Golden Globe Award nomination in 1985.

Becoming a TV Star

In 1982, Brosnan moved to Southern California. He became very popular in the United States playing the main character in the NBC detective series Remington Steele. The show was a romantic comedy. The Washington Post newspaper even said that year that Brosnan "could make it as a young James Bond."

After Remington Steele ended in 1987, Brosnan appeared in other projects. These included The Fourth Protocol (1987), a Cold War thriller with Michael Caine. He also starred in Mrs. Doubtfire (1993), a popular comedy film. In 2003, Brosnan received the Irish Film and Television Academy Lifetime Achievement Award. This award recognized his important contributions to Irish film.

Pierce Brosnan as James Bond

The First Offer for Bond

Brosnan at the 2002 Cannes Film Festival

Brosnan first met James Bond film producer Albert R. Broccoli on the set of For Your Eyes Only. His first wife, Cassandra Harris, was acting in the movie. Broccoli thought Brosnan would be a great choice to take over the role of Bond from Roger Moore.

In 1986, NBC canceled Remington Steele. Brosnan was offered the role of James Bond. However, the news of him possibly becoming Bond made Remington Steele's ratings go up. So, the show was renewed, and Brosnan had to return to it because of his contract. This meant that Eon Productions, the company that makes Bond films, had to find another actor. They chose Timothy Dalton for The Living Daylights (1987) and Licence to Kill (1989).

Playing the Famous Agent

Legal problems stopped the Bond series for several years. After these issues were fixed, Timothy Dalton decided not to return for a third film. On 7 June 1994, Pierce Brosnan was officially announced as the fifth actor to play James Bond.

Brosnan signed a deal to make three Bond films, with an option for a fourth. His first Bond film, GoldenEye (1995), earned a lot of money worldwide. It was one of the most successful Bond films in a long time. Critics generally liked the movie. Roger Ebert said Brosnan's Bond was "more sensitive, more vulnerable."

Wax figure of Brosnan as James Bond at Madame Tussauds, London

Brosnan continued as Bond in Tomorrow Never Dies (1997), The World Is Not Enough (1999), and Die Another Day (2002). All three movies did well at the box office. Brosnan later said he would have liked to make another Bond film.

While playing Bond, Brosnan was also allowed to work on other movies. He appeared in films like Tim Burton's Mars Attacks! and Grey Owl. In 1996, Brosnan started his own film production company, Irish DreamTime. Their first film was The Nephew (1998). Their second, The Thomas Crown Affair (1999), was a big success.

Moving On from Bond

After Die Another Day was released, people wondered if Brosnan would play Bond a fifth time. He was nearing his 50th birthday. In October 2004, Brosnan announced that he was no longer playing the role. In February 2005, he confirmed on his website that he was finished. Daniel Craig took over the role in October 2005. Brosnan has said that Daniel Craig is a great actor and will do a fantastic job. He also shared that he was sad when his time as Bond ended.

During his time as James Bond, Brosnan also took part in the video games. His face was used for Bond in James Bond 007: Nightfire (2002). In 2004, he provided his voice and likeness for the game James Bond 007: Everything or Nothing.

Pierce Brosnan's Recent Work

Brosnan at the 2005 Toronto International Film Festival

Since 2004, Brosnan has continued to act in many different films. His first role after Bond was in Laws of Attraction (2004). He also starred in After the Sunset (2004). In 2005, Brosnan starred in The Matador, playing an assassin. Critics praised his performance, and he was nominated for a Golden Globe award.

In 2007, Brosnan appeared in Seraphim Falls with Liam Neeson. He also starred in Butterfly on a Wheel that same year.

Musical and Action Roles

In 2008, Brosnan joined Meryl Streep in the film version of the ABBA musical Mamma Mia!. He played Sam Carmichael, one of three men who might be the father of Sophie. Brosnan also narrated the Thomas & Friends movie The Great Discovery (2008).

Brosnan at the 2010 Berlin Film Festival

In Roman Polanski's 2010 thriller The Ghost Writer, Brosnan played a former British Prime Minister. He also appeared as Chiron in Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief (2010). In 2012, he played Philip in the Danish romantic comedy Love Is All You Need.

In 2014, Brosnan starred in The November Man, an action film where he played a retired CIA agent. In 2015, he appeared in the thriller Survivor. He later starred in I.T. (2016).

Brosnan in 2019

From 2017 to 2019, Brosnan played Eli McCullough in the TV series The Son. In 2017, he starred with Jackie Chan in The Foreigner. This film was directed by Martin Campbell, who also directed Brosnan's first James Bond movie, GoldenEye.

In 2018, Brosnan was in the mystery thriller Spinning Man. He also returned as Sam Carmichael in Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again. He had a supporting role in the action thriller Final Score.

In 2021, Brosnan produced and starred in the heist movie The Misfits. He also appeared in the horror film False Positive.

In 2022, Brosnan played Doctor Fate/Kent Nelson in the superhero film Black Adam. He joined Adam Devine in the Netflix action-comedy The Out-Laws (2023). That same year, Brosnan starred as King Louis XIV in the family adventure film The King's Daughter. In 2023, he led the hitman thriller Fast Charlie.

Upcoming Projects

Brosnan has several upcoming roles. He is set to appear in Black Bag, The Unholy Trinity, and voice Pontius Pilate in The King of Kings. He will also be in The Thursday Murder Club. He is currently filming an untitled Cliffhanger movie.

Pierce Brosnan's Philanthropy and Activism

Brosnan during his time as an environmental spokesman for Pacific Green in the late 1990s

Pierce Brosnan has been an Ambassador for UNICEF Ireland since 2001. He follows in the footsteps of fellow Bond actor Roger Moore, who was also a Goodwill Ambassador. Brosnan has supported campaigns like UNICEF's "Unite for Children, Unite against AIDS." He also supports same-sex marriage.

Brosnan became aware of the nuclear arms race when he was nine years old. In the 1990s, he worked with Greenpeace to end nuclear testing. He even boycotted the French premiere of GoldenEye to support Greenpeace's protests against French nuclear testing.

From 1997 to 2000, Brosnan and his wife, Keely Shaye Smith, worked with the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) to stop a salt factory from being built in Mexico. They also successfully fought against a proposed gas facility off the coast of Malibu, California. In May 2007, they donated $100,000 to help replace a playground in Hawaii. On 7 July 2007, Brosnan presented a film at Live Earth in London.

Brosnan is also a member of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society's Board of Advisors. In 2004, he was named 'Best-dressed Environmentalist'.

Art and Charity

Brosnan also raises money for charity by selling his paintings. He always wanted to be an artist and started as a trainee illustrator. He began painting again in the late 1980s when his first wife was ill, finding it helpful. He calls himself an "enthusiastic painter." He continues to paint in his free time. Profits from his artwork go to charities that help the environment, children, and women's health.

Since his first wife's passing, Brosnan has supported cancer awareness. In 2006, he was a spokesperson for Lee National Denim Day, a breast cancer fundraiser. In 2021, Brosnan launched his first collection of digital artworks called "Big Noise." These were inspired by his painting Earplugs, which he created while filming GoldenEye.

Pierce Brosnan's Personal Life

Brosnan at the LBJ Presidential Library in Austin, Texas, March 2017

Pierce Brosnan has been married twice. He has five children and four grandchildren. He met Australian actress Cassandra Harris in 1980. They married in December 1980 and had a son named Sean, born in 1983. He also raised Cassandra's two children from a previous marriage, Charlotte and Chris. He adopted them after their father passed away in 1986.

In 1987, while filming, Cassandra became very ill. She was diagnosed with ovarian cancer and passed away on 28 December 1991. Brosnan found it very difficult to cope with her death. He said that when your partner gets cancer, life changes completely. Cassandra had always wanted Brosnan to play James Bond. Four years after her death, he got the role. Sadly, his adopted daughter Charlotte also passed away from ovarian cancer in 2013.

In 1994, Brosnan met American journalist Keely Shaye Smith in Mexico. They married in 2001 in Ireland. They have two sons, Dylan and Paris. They mostly live in Malibu, California, and also have homes in Hawaii and Ireland. In 2015, their Malibu home caught fire, but no one was hurt.

In July 2003, Queen Elizabeth II made Brosnan an Honorary Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE). This was for his great work in the British film industry. As an Irish citizen, he received an honorary award. In 2004, he became an American citizen but kept his Irish citizenship. He has said that his Irish background is a big part of who he is.

Brosnan has talked about his Catholic upbringing. He said that faith has been a comfort to him during difficult times. He attends Mass and also finds comfort in Buddhist philosophy.

Pierce Brosnan's Film and TV Roles

Films

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1980	The Long Good Friday	1st Irishman
	The Mirror Crack'd	Actor playing "Jamie"	Uncredited
1986	Nomads	Jean Charles Pommier
1987	Taffin	Mark Taffin
	The Fourth Protocol	Valeri Petrofsky/James Edward Ross
1988	The Deceivers	William Savage
1990	Mister Johnson	Harry Rudbeck
1992	The Lawnmower Man	Lawrence Angelo
	Live Wire	Danny O'Neill
1993	Mrs. Doubtfire	Stuart "Stu" Dunmeyer
	Entangled	Garavan
1994	Love Affair	Ken Allen
1995	GoldenEye	James Bond
1996	Mars Attacks!	Professor Donald Kessler
	The Mirror Has Two Faces	Alex
1997	Robinson Crusoe	Robinson Crusoe
	Dante's Peak	Harry Dalton
	Tomorrow Never Dies	James Bond
1998	Quest for Camelot	King Arthur	Voice
	The Nephew	Joe Brady	Also producer
1999	Grey Owl	Archibald "Grey Owl" Belaney
	The Match	John MacGhee	Also producer
	The Thomas Crown Affair	Thomas Crown
	The World Is Not Enough	James Bond
2001	The Tailor of Panama	Andrew Osnard
2002	Die Another Day	James Bond
	Evelyn	Desmond Doyle	Also producer
2004	After the Sunset	Max Burdett
	Laws of Attraction	Daniel Rafferty	Also executive producer
2005	The Matador	Julian Noble	Also producer
2006	Seraphim Falls	Gideon
2007	Butterfly on a Wheel	Tom Ryan	Also producer
	Married Life	Richard Langley
2008	Mamma Mia!	Sam Carmichael
	Thomas & Friends: The Great Discovery	Narrator	Voice; UK/US dub; Direct-to-video
2009	The Greatest	Allen Brewer	Also executive producer
2010	The Ghost Writer	Adam Lang
	Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief	Chiron
	Remember Me	Charles Hawkins
	Oceans	Narrator	Voice; English-language version
2011	Salvation Boulevard	Dan Day
	I Don't Know How She Does It	Jack Abelhammer
2012	Love Is All You Need	Philip
2013	The World's End	Guy Shephard
2014	The Love Punch	Richard Jones
	A Long Way Down	Martin Sharp
	The November Man	Peter Devereaux	Also executive producer
2015	Some Kind of Beautiful	Richard Haig	Also producer
	Survivor	The Watchmaker
	No Escape	Hammond
	A Christmas Star	Mr. Shepherd
2016	Urge	Daemon Sloane/The Man
	I.T.	Mike Regan	Also executive producer
2017	The Only Living Boy in New York	Ethan Webb
	The Foreigner	Liam Hennessy
2018	Spinning Man	Det. Robert Malloy
	Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again	Sam Carmichael
	Final Score	Dimitri Belov
2020	Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga	Erick Erickssong
2021	Riverdance: The Animated Adventure	Patrick / Grandad	Voice
	The Misfits	Richard Pace	Also executive producer
	False Positive	John Hindle
	Cinderella	King Rowan
2022	The King's Daughter	King Louis XIV
	Black Adam	Kent Nelson / Doctor Fate
2023	The Out-Laws	Billy McDermott
	Fast Charlie	Charlie Swift
	The Last Rifleman	Artie Crawford
2024	Four Letters of Love
2025	Black Bag	Arthur Steiglitz
	The Unholy Trinity	Gabriel Dove
	The King of Kings	Pontius Pilate	Voice
	The Thursday Murder Club	Ron Ritchie
TBA	Giant	Brendan Ingle	Post-production
	Untitled Cliffhanger film	Ray Cooper	Filming

Television Shows

Video Games

See also

In Spanish: Pierce Brosnan para niños