British star Pierce Brosnan’s stylish and suave persona made him the perfect choice to play the iconic secret agent, James Bond. Over the late 90s and the early 2000s, the actor endeared himself to audiences with his portrayal of Ian Fleming’s popular character in films like Tomorrow Never Dies, Goldeneye, and Die Another Day.
One of the features of the Black Adam star’s performances was the humor that he brought to the character which was a stark contrast to the more realistic, dark, and gritty version of James Bond as portrayed by his successor Daniel Craig. But this witty take on 007 proved to be short-lived with Brosnan having to make way for Craig, mainly due to the influence of another action thriller.
Matt Damon’s Bourne Trilogy Forced Pierce Brosnan Out As James Bond
Hollywood star Pierce Brosnan had a very successful run playing the slick and stylish British spy James Bond. The Remington Steele actor spoke about the unique aspects that he brought to the character which included making Bond witty which he believed made the character entertaining and relatable to audiences. But with Matt Damon’s The Bourne Identity and its sequels ushering in a new narrative form that was more edgy, dark, and serious, Brosnan realized that his version of James Bond would not hold up anymore. Speaking to Female First, the Mamma Mia actor said,
“Once Paul Greengrass let Matt Damon out of the door in such an epic way, the spy genre turned on its head and my time was done,”
Brosnan’s co-star in the first his first two James Bond films John Cleese also echoed these sentiments while pointing out why audiences in Asia could not relate to his co-star’s version of Bond. In a comment to Radio Times ( via The Guardian), Cleese said,
“I did two James Bond movies, and then I believe that they decided that the tone they needed was that of the Bourne action movies, which are very gritty and humorless. The audiences in Asia are not going for the subtle British humor or the class jokes.”
Pierce Brosnan confessed that despite his time with James Bond has come to an end, he was ready to look ahead and tackle other interesting projects that came his way.
Pierce Brosnan’s Casual Look As Thomas Crown Explained
Pierce Brosnan ruled the cinemas in the late 90s and early 2000s as the classy and suave secret agent James Bond. The Outlaws star also took on other interesting projects during this time including the remake of The Thomas Crown Affair. But working on films outside of the James Bond franchise proved to be a little tricky for the actor owing to certain clauses in the contract that he was bound by.
One of the rules that was reportedly part of the contract, restricted Pierce Brosnan from wearing a tuxedo outside of his role as James Bond. Owing to this, a particular scene in The Thomas Crown Affair which required the celebrity to be in formal wear, had to be changed. As a result, the scene shows the former James Bond actor wearing a midnight blue suit combined with an open collar and an untied white bow tie for a black tie event despite playing a fashionable billionaire in the film. It is still unclear if this rule was written into the actor’s James Bond contract or if it was just a verbal instruction that Brosnan was honoring.
Source: The Guardian
