In a somewhat surprising revelation, former James Bond actor Pierce Brosnan has revealed he would be more than happy to return to star in the iconic spy franchise, but not as the titular character. Instead, he would be willing to take on the role of one of James’ foes, were he asked to make a comeback.
The Irish-American actor revealed the condition during a live watch-along of his first Bond movie Goldeneye, hosted by Esquire. During the live stream, Pierce answered questions and when the time came for someone to ask if he would like to portray a villain, he replied “Would [I] return as a villain? If asked, yes! I believe so.”
He may have got rid of it for this video, but we think his previous moustache and beard facial fuzz scream villainous leader. Plus, he still knows how to dress well, so Bond would have an adversary in the style stakes as well.
Brosnan took on the role of Great Britain’s most famous spy for seven years, starting in 1995 with Goldeneye and ending with Die Another Day in 2002. Despite his four movies as Bond receiving mixed reviews, they were a success at the box office and cemented Pierce as a Bond to remember. It’s reported that he was more than keen to star in at least one more Bond film, if not two, but it wasn’t to be, with his age allegedly being the factor that ultimately saw Daniel Craig take over.
Pierce has however spoken out before the upcoming instalment, claiming the franchise has lost its subtle sense of humour. The Irish Post has quoted him as arguing “that the franchise has lost its way after it was forced to reinvent Bond as a more… brooding character”
“When I played him you have to let the audience in that this is a fantastic joke – this man, jumping off a motorcycle and catching up a plane, is completely preposterous. But for me, you had to let them in… Sean (Connery) did it, Roger (Moore) did it par excellence.”
Let’s hope the laughs return in the next movie, No Time To Die, which will see blonde Bond Daniel Craig reprise the role for the final time. The movie was originally slated for release in November 2019, before being pushed back to February 2020 and then April 2020. But then the global pandemic got in the way and forced distributors to push the release back once more to November 2020.