
Brosnan's family moved
from his native Ireland to London. His father abandoned him
and his mom before his first birthday. Brosnan lived with
his grandparents up to the age of eleven, where he later reunited
in London with his mother. Brosnan left school at fifteen
and joined The Drama Centre of London for three years. His
first major performance came on the London stage in Filumena.

Brosnan's first breakthrough
came in 1981 with his performance in the mini-series The Manions
of America. He was later offered the lead in a detective drama
called Remington Steele. Brosnan was very popular with the
viewers of Remington Steele and many people began viewing
him as the next Bond.
The excitement of Remington
Steele soon started to fade after its fourth season. NBC cancelled
the series just as the producers of James Bond offered him
a multi-million dollar contract. Realizing that they just
canceled a show that held the new James Bond, NBC exercised
its sixty-day recall option to keep the show running. This
allowed Timothy Dalton to step up as the next Bond and Brosnan
returned to TV.
For the next couple
of years, Brosnan played the new boyfriend in Mrs. Doubtfire
and Love Affair until he received the call to play James Bond.
Brosnan's Goldeneye brought appeal back to the Bond franchise
after the disappointing films by Timothy Dalton.
Brosnanís portrayal
of Bond in his first film was greeted by critics with a nearly
unanimous comment: 'Heís the best Bond since Sean Connery.'
'His interpretation is pure cinema: impossible good looks,
utterly unflappable demeanor, and a witty line for any occasion.'
With this, he defined Bond for a generation of fans too young
to have seen Connery play the part. The film went on to gross
over $350 million globally. The charm that captivated audiences
world wide got him signed for two more films; Tomorrow Never
Dies and The World Is Not Enough. A new Bond film is set for
release in the fall of 2002.
Brosnan has been active
in other films while playing 007. Between his three Bond films,
Brosnan has starred in almost a dozen productions, including
Danteís Peak, The Mirror Has Two Faces, and a very Bond-like
remake of The Thomas Crown Affair.
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