Family Entertainment
Pierce Brosnan: Everything You Imagined
Written by Kristen Fahs |
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 During the middle of last week, I found myself telling everyone I knew that Thursday would be the day I would interview Pierce Brosnan... Mr. Brosnan... Pierce... Bond. Yet, through the entire hubbub of Thursday’s After the Sunset happenings at the Four Seasons Hotel, I found myself all at once jittery with butterflies in my stomach yet playing it cool, as if I had known him for ages. And in fact, after meeting Brosnan, I did feel as though I already knew him.
His stunningly charming persona -- the one that recurrently resonates throughout his films -- came across the roundtable to where I was sitting and captured my full attention. I was won over by Brosnan, hook line and sinker. He is everything his audiences can imagine and more. Within himself resides Thomas Crown's thieving humor, James Bond's exquisite finesse and Max Burdett's desire for all things beautiful. Indeed, Brosnan is a man of many talents and even more charm.
Walking into the press room, cleanly shaven and perfectly clad in a plain charcoal T-shirt with an overlaid canvas jacket, Brosnan greets everyone with a calm yet raspy, "hello, everyone." As he is just recuperating from a cold, Pierce seems reserved yet engaged as he answers the press members’ questions. Then the fun begins.
When asked if he was a "sunset person" or a "sunrise person," Brosnan reticently answers by saying that he is both; he then agrees that he is more of a sunset type of person.
“Oh, God. I've done both. Both have been really great. But sunsets... I love sunsets.”
Brosnan also mentions that he enjoyed the company of his family while filming on location in the Bahamas, as well as at the prestigious Atlantis Resort Hotel. Yet, who wouldn't love the Atlantis Hotel and the included pampering that would be soon to follow!
 Despite the fame and the glamour that often surrounds Brosnan, a sense of humility shone through from beneath his celebrity exterior. As he discusses his more physically vulnerable scenes in Sunset, he slyly mentions his philosophy of BICO, "Belly in; Chest out." Brosnan also states that his body “could’ve been better” had he worked out. Yet, at this remark, everyone in the press room scoffs. Come on, you can’t get any better than the way Brosnan looked in Sunset; he could be wearing a chicken suit and we would still oogle over him.
With reference to his co-stars, Brosnan casually blankets the question by saying, “it was great working with them all.” Likewise, he compliments both Woody Harrelson and Salma Hayek by saying that their characters were as great onstage as the actors themselves were offstage. When asked about working with Hayek, he responds that she, “walks the walk in the most delightful ways,” and has become “lionized” in Sunset by way of her sexy, seductive character.
As for Harrelson, well, the comments lack a sense of sexuality and instead rely upon the fact that the two characters of Max Burdett (Brosnan) and Stan Lloyd (Harrelson) built enjoyable rapport and camaraderie during the film. Indeed they did, as Brosnan begins to explain the unforgettable bedroom scene. When asked how much fun it was doing the scene, Brosnan replies by saying, “that was the first day’s work, really. Hop into bed with my leading man. I’ve had some great leading ladies and now Woody!”
 Apparently, the two actors had not interacted very much either on or off screen until they were instructed by the director and practical joker, Brett Ratner (Rush Hour), to climb into a single, queen size bed and discuss life, philosophy and sunsets. During this same time, Brosnan also discusses his interactions with Ratner and how the director maintained a lighthearted mood on and off of the set with each and every character. Brosnan commends Ratner on his direction of Sunset due to the fact that Ratner, “has his own style of filmmaking,” and “lives, breathes, eats and dreams movies, and has a passion for actors which is sincere and contagious.”
And last, but not least, the information everyone has been waiting for: Bond. No, Mr. Brosnan will not be filming another Bond, thus ending a streak of sex appeal and attraction for many Brosnan Bond fans. In replying to the question of whether or not he will be working on Bond films in the future, the actor responds by saying that he “can’t wait for the day never to talk about it.” Apparently, his days of riding suavely in Bond’s leather shoes are up.
Brosnan also mentions that not worrying about the Bond films has “been a great liberation.” He says that he got over the termination of his run of participation in the Bond films and thought that the only thing left to do was partake in the never-ending drama of discussing the reasons behind his exit from his Bond fame.
 Yet, aside of the negative frame of the Bond films, Brosnan looks anxiously ahead to the next possible movie franchise: Thomas Crown II. While sure to be a hit, this forthcoming blockbuster has to be articulated and backed up by an equally as awesome cast as seen in The Thomas Crown Affair. On this, Brosnan comments, “it would be great if we could pull off Thomas Crown. It was a mighty achievement that we hit the notes that we did and set the bar as high as we did with the last one.”
Indeed, the bar is now set higher than ever, with Brosnan faithfully accepting the challenge. We wish you luck, Brosnan, on this feat, and will be here the next time to watch your successes from the press box. Keep ‘em coming.
After the Sunset opens in theaters everywhere Friday, November 12.
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