Even at north of 70, Pierce Brosnan is as effortlessly cool as the British agent he played for years. The role of James Bond made the Irishman rich and famous. Nevertheless, his life was not easy.
Pierce Brosnan is perfect. He corresponds to the ideal of the desirable, cultivated gentleman better than anyone else – and the marketing strategists of various luxury labels agree. Versace, Giorgio Armani, Brioni, Omega, Speake-Marin – to name but a few – continue to sign the smart actor for big money, making him a popular brand ambassador – in some cases, for decades. And they will continue to do so. Even in his more mature years, the former Bond actor looks as confident as the figure he portrayed in four films.
There's no doubt about it: the charisma of "007", who masters the most dangerous situations with panache while enjoying life to the full, has filtered through to Brosnan himself. "The world is not enough" – this motto seems to apply not only to the British spy, but also to the Irish-born actor. Brosnan simply personifies style in every situation, as his fans know – whether he is presenting the collection of Italian fashion designer Paul & Shark on the rolling hills of Tuscany or casually preparing pasta for his son in a black suit in a chic villa in a commercial for the Spar grocery chain.
But the two are, of course, not entirely the same. Unlike Bond, who prefers to order his martinis "shaken, not stirred", Brosnan prefers tequila. In 1986, long before he was offered his dream role, he was already promoting José Cuervo. And since 2020, he's been brand ambassador of Casa Don Ramón. He acquired a taste for tequila relatively late in life, at the age of 52 while shooting the movie "Matador" in Mexico City. Astonished that men and women were already drinking tequila at lunchtime in the city's best restaurants, he got a taste for the drink himself. Many tequilas later, he is still not a connoisseur, he says, but enjoys indulging in a sip now and again at his home in Hawaii.
As luxurious and carefree as Brosnan's life may seem on the outside, the man has experienced hard times and cruel twists. Even his childhood was anything but easy. His father left the family when he was still a baby, and Pierce's mother May soon went to London to earn a living as a nurse. She left young Pierce with her parents in the small Irish town of Navan, county Meath. After the death of his grandparents, the boy first stayed with his aunt and uncle and later with other relatives – but never for long. Eventually, he ended up in Eileen Reilly's small boarding house, which sublet rooms to workers. Little Pierce was also accommodated – only a green curtain separated his bed from the working men's dorm.
At the age of eleven, May, who had remarried, finally brought her son home. Her husband Wilhelm lovingly doted on his stepson, taking him to the movies time and again. This had more of an impact than he realized: "One of the first films I saw with Wilhelm was Goldfinger – I didn't want to be James Bond, but the seeds for the cinema were sown there in Putney High Street," says Brosnan.
After school, Brosnan moved to London to study art and later, acting. In the multicultural metropolis, the Irishman, who had been an outsider from an early age, gradually began to feel more liberated. His culinary horizons also broadened, as he got to know dishes and flavors from all over the world in London's countless restaurants. He developed a particular soft spot for Indian cuisine back then: "I like their curries. And chicken tikka is one of my favorite dishes. When I was at the theater in London, I was with a group in Bradford, where there is a large Indian community. We ate in these small restaurants that served fantastic curries. I always wanted to learn how to prepare them," he said in an interview.
Understandable, as Brosnan had to cook for his family every day. In 1977, he met the love of his life, Australian actress Cassandra Harris, and married her shortly afterwards in his native Ireland. Brosnan immediately adopted the two children that Harris brought into the marriage when their biological father died, Charlotte and Christopher: "It just felt so right. I didn't feel like a father, I wasn't a father; I was just Pierce. And then I became Daddy Pierce. And then I became Daddy." While Harris had already been offered various roles in film and television by the end of the 1970s, Brosnan earned his money primarily on the stage. That's why he was usually free in daytime. So he ended up cooking for the children every day. However, his repertoire of dishes was not too extensive: "I can make pasta, two great fish dishes and paella."
In 1981, Harris played a Bond girl in the film "For Your Eyes Only", starring Roger Moore. During filming, she made sure that Brosnan met Albert R. Broccoli, the legendary producer of the Bond films. She was convinced that her husband would be ideal for the cool spy . Broccoli was indeed impressed by the relatively unknown actor. That's why the producer kept an eye on him: "I knew he could be James Bond one day."
However, it was another 14 years before the Irishman was to shine on the big screen. "GoldenEye" catapulted the Irishman into the absolute stratosphere in one fell swoop. As overwhelmed as Brosnan was by his success, it pained him that he could no longer share it with Cassandra. She had died of ovarian cancer four years earlier at the age of 43. The father of three suffered some of the worst years of his life. Little did he know that the nightmare would repeat itself two decades later. His daughter Charlotte was also diagnosed with ovarian cancer and lost the battle that she, like her mother, had fought "with courage and dignity". When asked by Larry King what had helped him to overcome the loss, he replied: "My faith. You know I'm Irish. I'm Catholic. The church has always been a big part of my life." But faith alone was probably not enough. Three years after his wife's passing, the widower met Keely Shaye Smith, a journalist with a zest for life. "She saved me, she gave me the will to carry on," he said again and again. In 2001, shortly after the birth of their second son, the couple tied the knot - in Ireland, of course.
The couple raised their children in Malibu, but a few years ago, they decided to turn their backs on the hectic life of California and sell their property. Today, Pierce and Keely live on the Hawaiian island of Kaua'i, where they lead a simpler, more secluded life. Brosnan has also set up a studio in his "simple, pretty cottage" with a view of the sea. There he can devote himself undisturbed to his great passion, painting.
Brosnan is hardly ever in the kitchen any more – at least in his private life: "Fortunately, my wife Keely is a great cook. She grows her own vegetables in Hawaii. We also love going out to good restaurants, but our best dinners are at home," says the 72-year-old. "Five-star restaurants are great, but the pomp and fame take the taste out of the food!"
