Pierce Brosnan: Super-Spy to Super-Dad

I got to interview James Bond!! Okay, I've had a crush on Pierce Brosnan since the t.v. mini-series "The Manions of America" back in...well, a long time ago. Then there was "Remington Steele", a t.v. series that I never missed. In the last month, the Irish-born actor has not only shown us that he is still one of the best Bonds going but with the new family film Evelyn, Brosnan reveals the depth and range that he's always been capable of. Pierce had been too ill to attend our local Die Another Day junket, to my sorrow but I did speak with him about Evelyn. The film is about Desmond Doyle, a real dad in Ireland who fought the government and got the country's constitution changed in order to get his kids back. An antiquated law had forced him to turn them over to government church-run homes when their mother abandoned the family.

Brosnan was feeling much better and looking young and fit in black jeans and shirt. While he ordered a cappucino he apologized for missing the "Bond" junket due to a bad chest cold and laryngitis. Oddly enough, I had bad laryngitis at this interview and had to apologize for sounding like a bullfrog! We asked him about Bond and his work in Evelyn, which his company Irish Dreamtime produced.

TeenHollywood: Did you have a plan to make the big studio films so that you would have the chance to show the acting range that you showed in this movie?

Brosnan: I always wanted to do movies even when I was doing theater in England. I had a passion for film. To this day, I still love getting the job. I love what I do. When I was younger, I played with a lot more colors. When I came to America and I got myself into a typecasting corner but knew that at some point, I was going to have to challenge myself w/an emotional role, a role that has a deeper resonance of emotions. You become James Bond and I had faith in myself of getting stronger in the role hopefully, but what do you do from there? So I formed this company Irish Dreamtime with Beau Marie St. Clair with the intention of going back to Ireland and doing movies there.

TeenHollywood: You sing in this film.

Brosnan: It was the first time I had ever sung. I was a bit apprehensive about the whole area of opening my mouth and singing, but I had Bruce Beresford who's such an accomplished and wonderful director that he said 'Look, all you have to do is be mildly attractive'. So I thought, that's fair enough, I'll just be mildly attractive. There's a great community of Irish people here in Santa Monica and so I found these 2 great lads, Dez and Len, and they came out to the house and we had good sessions. We picked these songs, not knowing if they were going into the movie or not but Bruce liked them and we kept them. The album is coming out at Christmas and I'll be on the cover in a nice cardigan and rocking chair w/dog at my feet... no, just joking. I'm on the soundtrack (laugh). Apparently it's already been on Howard Stern – I can only imagine what he said.

TeenHollywood: Did you have to get your Irish accent back?

Brosnan: Yeah but I had a great man in Brendan Gunn. He's a doctor of the voice. He works w/Daniel Day Lewis a lot...he's a saint.

TeenHollywood: Were you always going to play the lead, a working-class Irishman?

Brosnan: I come from humble origins really. Desmond Doyle is closer to me than anything I've played probably. I grew up in Ireland. There are many things in the story that I identified with, being Irish, being a father, being Catholic, broken home, single parent...not so much the singing. I read it and just thought it was really well founded and I thought it had a light touch to it. These stories can be heavy-handed and maudlin, dark, sentimental and this one had levity to it, which I felt was refreshing. It came to us 6 years ago after Goldeneye happened but it really came to the light of day at the beginning of last year. We sent it to Bruce, he fell in love with it and once we had Bruce on board, we were then off to the races with a real filmmaker and a text we had faith in. I sat down with a group of actors and I heard myself say the lines that I began to fall in love with the part.

TeenHollywood: Doesn't Evelyn compare a bit to your own early life?

Brosnan: I left (Ireland) when I was 11. I was an alter boy in the small town of Navin where I grew up. I have very fond memories of that time and the priests who served mass and being part of the congregation. I suppose in some respects, it was the first performance I ever gave. There was my father who ran for the hills when I was an infant and then my mother took courage in both hands and went to find new life for us both. So there was a certain sense of aloneness during those years. There was a certain identification there. And I'm a father. I know what it's like to be a father and a single parent.

TeenHollywood: What is the status on you and Bond?

Brosnan: Die Another Day was the end of my contract. The contract was for 3 with the option for a fourth. They've asked me back for a 5th and I've said yes, and happily so. Bond has been the most wonderful celebration and role for me to play in my life. It's been a challenge. You become part of this franchise; you become this ambassador for this role. You become many different things to many different people.

TeenHollywood: Are you surprised that Bond had its debut 40 years ago and "Die" was such a huge hit?

Brosnan:. The writing was better; there was more character and more to do as the man. In this film, he is stretched to his maximum and he is torn apart, brought down to his knees and that's an exciting premise for any Bond story. They have been formulaic, which is their strength and their weakness. So I'm extremely happy to have Evelyn on the tails of Die Another Day. It doesn't get better than this. These opportunities don't come round that often – these wonderful little films like Evelyn on the heels of a megahit like Bond. So I sit back, relish it, enjoy it and give thanks.

TeenHollywood: When you finally decide to retire the Bond character, do you have a preference on who should take over?

Brosnan: Well, I've been asked the question and I've found myself saying Colin Salmon who has played Robertson in the Bond movies. He's a great actor. I'm too busy doing the job myself to think about anybody else or relinquishing it. You become a bit possessive of the role especially if you've had the success like Die Another Day and each one has gotten better and better. It'll be interesting to see how I really deal with letting go before somebody says Get Off The Stage!

TeenHollywood: Other than Bond, what's your next project?

Brosnan: We have a big piece called The Legend of Lockenvar. It's a Sir Walter Scott poem. It's a good adaptation from a young writer who's brought this project to us. We've been working on that for the last couple of years and there's a romantic comedy we've been trying to do.

TeenHollywood: Your character in Evelyn is so passionate about getting his family back. If somebody were to threaten your own family, what lengths would you go to?

Brosnan: Oh I'd go for them. I'd just go for the jugular – yeah. I'd fight to the death. I'd go all the way. .

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Lynn Barker is a Hollywood-based entertainment journalist and produced screenwriter.