When James Bond was an Irishman
“For an island inhabited by approximately seven million people, Ireland has a disproportionate amount of influence on global culture relative to its size…Ireland has consistently made significant contributions to the English-speaking film and television industries as well." Fr. Jake Martin, S.J. of Loyola Marymount University
A year ago this week in America Magazine, Fr. Martin, wrote the above in an article deceptively headlined, “What Makes A Movie Irish?” Spoiler alert. He doesn’t provide the answer to that question. But you'll know one when you see one.
As for Irish actors, “Indeed, if there is any area of the global film industry where Ireland has made a disproportionate contribution, it is in the realm of male actors.” (His article was written before Jessie Buckley of Killarney won the Best Actor Oscar for Hamnet.)
Which brings us to a male Irish actor who turned 73 yesterday (May 16) and has arguably been seen by more televsion and movie viewers than any other Irish actor except Liam Neeson.
Remington Steele
PIERCE BROSNAN was born in Drogheda, Co. Louth on the east coast of Ireland but was sent to Navan, Co. Meath, to be raised by his mom’s parents when his dad abandoned his family in 1955. His mom left him there to become a nurse in London, but his grandparents died two years later so he was sent to live with an uncle and then sent to a boarding house where he was raised before reuniting with his mom in England when he was 11 years old.
How’s that for an Irish childhood?
"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 which was not there, a father who was not there [...] the mother, 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."
But Brosnan got lucky. His mom married a man from Scotland, William Carmichael, who treated the boy well and even took him to see Goldfinger when he was 11. (Meanwhile in America, because Goldfinger got an A3 rating from the Legion of Decency, this 11 year old had to tell his parents he was going to see Mary Poppins… again.)
After he paid his acting dues in London, Brosnan took his good looks to Hollywood and became a TV star on Remington Steele (1982 - 84) and eventually became James Bond (1995 - 2002). He never hid his Irishness, nor did he engage with Irish causes or live in Ireland. In fact, he still doesn’t have a residence there.
In September 2004, as the longtime Los Angeleno became an American citizen he clarified his heritage."My Irishness is in everything I do. It's the spirit of who I am, as a man, an actor, a father. It's where I come from." His lack of an Irish accent led some to think he was actually English. "It amuses me in some respects that they should confuse me with an Englishman when I'm a dyed-in-the-wool, born and bred Irishman... I don't necessarily fly under any flag.”
He even called the production company he started in Los Angeles, Irish Dream Time.
Pierce Brosnan (l) as Gerry Adams (r) in the movie The Foreigner in which he co-starred with Jackie Chan. Despite a confusing plot, the movie was a big hit for Netflix.
The Greatest Western never made?
Have you ever gotten excited about a movie solely based on who’s in it? Such is the case with a film project Brosnan never brought to fruition: a Western.
"It's always in the cards. There's a bunch of us Irish fellows who keep saying we should get together and make a western - myself, Gabriel Byrne, Liam Neeson, Colm Meaney and people like that. We'd just like to do an Irish film about the West,” Brosnan said in 2007.
Five best Pierce Brosnan movies that were produced
The man has acted in 111 movies, these are five of them. My personal favorites. (Not included: his work as James Bond: Goldeneye (1995), Tomorrow Never Dies (1997), The World Is Not Enough (1999) and Die Another Day (2002).)
The Tailor of Panama - Slick bordering on sleazy, Brosnan plays a cad in Panama as Noriega was taken out by the U.S. in a regime change operation. Will he seduce Jamie Lee Curtis? Betray Geoffrey Rush? Abandon Brendan Gleeson? This is one of the best films made from a John LeCarre novel.
Mrs. Doubtfire - His character never had a chance in the competition with Robin Williams (Mrs. Doubtfire) for the love of Sally Fields. Set in San Francisco.
Evelyn - This small movie made in Ireland will make you a believer in Brosnan’s acting skills. He plays a housepainter fighting Irish authorities for custody of his daughter. Heartbreaking. And even more so when you know of his turbulent childhood.
The Matador - Brosnan plays a hitman who tries to recruit a naive American businessman (the underrated Greg Kinnear) as an accomplice. Forget the four Bond movies; Brosnan is at his best playing the anti-hero. This is Black Comedy at its finest.
Black Bag - This is one of his most recent movies (2025). Directed by Steven Soderbergh, it’s a spy thriller pitting husband (Michael Fassbender) against wife (Cate Blanchet). Brosnan is the haughty English (redundant) puppet master. Ruthless. Chilling. Not a leading role, but a meaty one
From The Independent. Pierce Brosnan had a “scare” (Jan. 28, 2020) with then Prince Charles before people began quarantining for the coronavirus pandemic. The actor, who is an ambassador for the Prince’s Trust, met with Prince Charles at the London Palladium for an event around the time, but there was “no shaking hands”.
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