SECRET AGENT

AS JAMES BOND STAR PIERCE BROSNAN TURNS 70, MARION MCMULLEN LOOKS BACK ON A STARRY ACTING CAREER

HE’S been shaken but not stirred, been insulted by Mrs Doubtfire and even blasted out a bit of Abba in the Mamma Mia! movie.

Pierce Brosnan has tackled everything from action adventure and thrillers to comedy and romance during his long career and has never been scared of a challenge.

One of his early film appearances saw him holding Bob Hoskins at gunpoint in 1980 gangster movie The Long Good Friday, but he really came to public notice when he turned up playing stylish thief turned phoney private detective in American TV series Remington Steele in 1982.

“Irresponsibility isn’t a sickness – it’s an art,” declared Steele.

His eye-catching performance soon saw him being touted as the perfect 007 and Roger Moore’s successor, but the dashing Irish actor was obliged to honour contractual commitments to Remington Steele.

He finally got his hands on Bond’s Walther PPK in GoldenEye in 1995 making a spectacular entrance with a dramatic leap down the face of a dam, followed by the infiltration of a Soviet chemical weapons facility.

Dame Judi Dench played spy boss M in the movie and later said: “I hope Pierce wouldn’t mind me saying, but we were both very frightened, suddenly taking over those two roles, it was very demanding and one was nervous about it.”

Pierce’s spell as 007 is fondly remembered by fans. He played James Bond in GoldenEye, Tomorrow Never Dies and The World Is Not Enough before his final mission in 2002’s Die Another Day.

Pierce wanted to make another movie but producers decided to recast the role, breaking the news to him over the phone in 2004.