7 interesting facts about Pierce Brosnan

Pierce Brosnan was born on 16th may 1953 in Drogheda, Republic of Ireland. Throughout his career in the world of acting, he has graced us with roles in films such as 'Mrs. Doubtfire', 'The Thomas Crown Affair', 'Mamma Mia' and how can we forget him as James Bond.

Of course, his most famous role has to be that of Mr Bond. His first appearance as 007 was in the film 'Goldeneye' (1995) and had the pleasure of playing the secret agent another three times in films such as 'Tomorrow Never Dies' (1997), 'The World Is Not Enough' (1999), 'Die Another Day' (2002).

The Irish actor is now into his 60's, although it doesn't seem it. To pay tribute to the action packed career of the brilliant Pierce Brosnan, we provide you with seven interesting and fun facts about the actor that you may not know.

1 Pierce the producer

We know Brosnan is a talented and charismatic actor, but his passion for cinema stretches further than just being in front of the camera. As a matter of fact, he also produces films and in 1996, alongside Beau St. Clair, founded Irish Dreamtime. The production company helps make both commercial and independent films. The first film produced by the company was 'The Nephew' (1998).

2 Born to be 007

There aren't many people that fit the role of James Bond as well as Pierce Brosnan does. According to the actor, the first film he saw as a kid was 'Goldfinger' starring the first Bond actor Sean Connery. Little did he know that he would soon be stepping into the famous Bond tuxedo himself.

3 Claustrophobia

We all have our fears and insecurities, and Brosnan is no different. Despite playing one of the most brave characters known in the world of cinema, the Irish actor suffers from claustrophobia. Due to this, it led to the filming of Roger Donaldson's film, Dante's Peak (1997), posing problems for Brosnan.

4 Salary and a car

For some people, a salary is about as good as it gets, maybe with the odd bonus chucked in. For Pierce Brosnan, he didn't only get a whopping big sum of money for playing James Bond, he also got given a brand new car courtesy of BMW for each film he did. For example, in 'Goldeneye' he got gifted with a Z3. For 'Tomorrow Never Dies' he walked away with a BMW 8 Series, and finally for 'The World Is Not Enough' he received a Z8.

5 Putting on the pounds

According to the James Bond tailors shop in London, out of all the James Bond actors there have been, Brosnan has been both the lightest and the heaviest of them all. For example, in his first Bond movie 'Goldeneye' (1995) he walked into the shop weighing 164 pounds. This made him the lightest 007 agent they had ever tailored for. This was all about to change by his fourth movie, 'Die Another Day' (2002) when he weighed 211 pounds and subsequently making him the heaviest Bond actor too.

6 Playing with fire

Brosnan likes having a little play around with fire every now and then as he is in fact a professional fire-eater. The actor performed a fire eating act at a circus during his younger years and since then has even performed his impressive talent in front of the cameras. He showed off his skills on a 'Remington Steele' (1982) episode during the second season and also performed his act in Muppets Tonight: Pierce Brosnan (1996), as you can see above.

7 Role sharing

It seems like Bond actors are fit to play certain type of roles as there has been some role sharing throughout the years, and Brosnan has been right in the thick of it all. For example, the Irish actor has shared roles with two previous Bond actors. The first James Bond actor, Sean Connery played King Arthur in 'The First Knight' (1995), whilst Brosnan also played King Arthur in the 1998 animated film 'Quest for Camelot'. Brosnan isn't stopping there as he also shared a role with former 007 actor David Niven. Niven played Phileas Fogg in 'Around the World in 80 Days' (1956). Brosnan also played Fogg in the 1989 version of the same film.