He retains a legion of devoted fans, who remain eager to hear his views. And he did not disappoint them. Former four-times 007 actor Pierce Brosnan told the UK’s Sunday Telegraph newspaper (9 March) that the next James Bond actor should not be American, as he lamented Amazon’s takeover of the EON franchise, and he also said he hoped the company handles the character with imagination and respect.
Brosnan also praised the ‘great courage’ of the EON producers and wished them well. He also spoke about life after James Bond, as he prepares to launch a new art collaboration, and discussed the inspiration behind his line drawings.
His comments come in the wake of the recent dramatic news that Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson, the long-time custodians of the 007 franchise, had agreed to a deal with Amazon to hand over creative control of the character.
Now aged 71, the ex-Bond, of course, has carved out both a highly successful new stage in his career as a ‘character’ actor in films, and has also increasingly won praise for his other real-life role as an accomplished artist. He also has a number of new acting projects in the pipeline, in development or completed, including the highly anticipated new Guy Ritchie TV show MobLand, where Brosnan will star alongside Tom Hardy as rival crime bosses. The new seires, which is set to be released in Paramount Plus, also reunites Pierce with Helen Mirren (they were both in the classic gangster film The Long Good Friday back in 1980). Judging from the recently released new trailer for the new series, Brosnan’s numerous fans are definitely in for a real treat.
Bond’s Tomorrow
Speaking at some length to the Sunday Telegraph on Bond and the future, Brosnan said it is a ‘given’ that Daniel Craig’s successor as 007 should be British, despite the rumours that an American could be tipped for the iconic role. He also said that he ‘lamented’ the Amazon takeover and that Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson had shown ‘great courage’ in handing over creative control to the U.S. company after more than 30 years.
Explaining his thoughts further, Pierce said: ‘I thought it was coming for some time I guess, but I think it was the right decision for Barbara and Michael’. He continued: ‘It takes great courage for them to let go, they will still have a say in matters. I hope that [Amazon] handles the work and the character with dignity and imagination and respect’. He also said that ‘no one really knows’ what will happen to 007 under Amazon’s control: ‘In this world that is moving so fast now, at the speed of light, the change does come with a certain lament. History has been passed on and I’m very proud to have been part of that history and the legacy of Bond and the movies that I made with Barbara and Michael’.
He added: ‘That we moved the needle, that we brought it back to life. It had been dormant for six years and Goldeneye was such a success that it continued and went from strength to strength… I wish them well’.
0071? No go.
Brosnan’s comments in the Telegraph interview also complement some other observations he offered in a separate interview he recently did with GQ magazine, where he was asked if he knew of calls for him to reprise the role of 007 (there has been quite a lot of lobbying on social media for this to happen, some of it quite bizarre and calling for Pierce to be an ‘old man Bond’). He said: ‘I’ve heard of that. Of course, how could I not be interested? But I think it’s delicate situation now. I think it’s best to let sleeping dogs lie, really. I think so. It’s a rather romantic notion and idea, but I think everything changes, everything falls part. I think that its best left to another man, really. Fresh blood’.
Brosnan remains notably proud of his time as Bond, and this has often emerged in interviews that he has done over the years since he made his last Bond movie, Die Another Day (2002).
A good example came in 2014. Pierce was interviewed by showbiz writer Tim Teeman for the Entertainment section of The Daily Beast (2 July, 2014). Turning (perhaps inevitably) to his time as James Bond, Teeman had asked Brosnan whether he missed being Bond? Brosnan responded: ‘It was 10 years of my life, a decade of time in my career which was exhilarating and very rewarding, and it’s the gift that keeps giving, in the sense of “Once a Bond, always a Bond”. And it allows you to travel the world and enjoy life as this character’.
Brosnan said he had ‘great fun’ with Bond but: ‘I don’t miss it’. When asked whether there was a secret brotherhood of the Bonds, Brosnan explained: ‘I think there’s mutual respect and interconnectedness, but I don’t pick up the phone and speak to Sean. I’ve met him once in my life. Daniel is the one I had most rapport with, because we were ships passing. We sat and talked in the day before he entered the stage with his magnificent portrayal as Bond’.
Stay with the JBIFC for news of future developments as they happen in the Amazon takeover saga. You know the name, and you know the number.
Publicity photo for Brosnan’s second adventure as Bond, Tomorrow Never Dies (1997).