Playboy: Where you ready to step down as James Bond?
Brosnan: It would have been a trip to do another one. I prepared myself to do it. I psyched myself. But they have set sail. The made their decision. They want to reinvent it and make it a period piece. The want to get a younger guy.
Pierce Brosnan: Ill always be known as Bond, but now I dont have the responsibility of being an ambassador for a small country ruled by a character.Â
Playboy: How does it feel to be told that youre too old?
Brosnan: It was kind of shocking to have ageism come on me when I was just getting started. Its shocking to be told that youre too old, that youre past your sell-by date.
Playboy: Do we detect some bitterness? Brosnan: Its bloody frustrating that the f*ckers pulled the rug when they did. It was like, Come on, were family here. You talk about being a family. You know my late wife; you know my family now. Yet I get a call from my agents at five in the afternoon in the Bahamas, and I hear that youve shut down negotiations because you dont know how, where or which way to go and that youll call me next Friday? What can I say? Its cold, its juvenile, and it shouldnt be done like that, not after 10 years and four films.
When asked how he assessed his four Bond films (GoldenEye,1995; Tomorrow Never Dies, 1997; The Word Is Not Enough, 1999; Die Another Day, 2002) the actor responded:
Brosnan: All the movies made money. Creatively, maybe, they could have been stronger, but they were Bond movies, and they advanced a certain degree out of the dolddrums where they had been. They were tricky to do. I never really felt as as though I nailed it. As soon as they put me into a suit and tie and gave me those lines of dialogue, I felt restricted. It was like the same old same old. I was doing Roger Moore doing Sean Connery doing George Lazenby. I felt as if I were doing a period piece dusted off. They never really took the risks they should have. [¦] It would have been great to light up and smoke cigarettes, for instance. It would have been great to have the killing a little more real and not wussed down. My boys watch the movies on DVD, so I see them from time to time. I see myself with nowhere to go, and its all rather bland.
Brosnan went on to expresses his disappointment that the sex scenes in his Bond films where never steamy enough for his own tastes (It would have been great to have sex scenes that were right on the button.Â). When asked who would be his ideal Bond Girl, Brosnan had this to say:
Brosnan: Monica Bellucci is a ravishing beauty †a gorgeous, gorgeous woman. She screen-tested to be a Bond girl a while back and the fools said no. Teri Hatcher stole the day instead.
Asked about the reports of his clashes with Teri Hatcher in the set of Tomorrow Never Dies, Pierce explained:
Brosnan: The Teri Hatcher incident was blown out of proportion. She was late to set because she was newly pregnant. I didnt know that until the end of the day. [¦] I was vexed because I had a call time of six or seven AM, and we didnt do any work until three or four in the afternoon. No one told me her situation until afterwards. By that time Id already shot my mount off and cussed and moaned and groaned. Thats all it was, a storm in a teacup.
The most bizarre part of the interview is when the topic of former Bond star George Lazenby arose. This has garnered some outside press attention, so here is the Q&A in its entirety.
Playboy December 2005 issue
Playboy: How about George Lazenby, who played 007 in On Her Majestys Secret Service? He once said about you, If he walked into a room, I doubt anyone would look up. But this is the 1990s and women want a man who shows his feminine side. Pierce definitely has that.Â
Brosnan: George is just an angry, old, pissed-off guy. He was never an actor but some pissed-off Aussie who doesnt know how to show his feminine side. I met him, and hes got that kind of brittle edge to him. People want to take swipes. I have no idea why.
Brosnan went on to suggest Clive Owen would make a good James Bond, but when the conversation turned to his new film, The Matador, Brosnan once again let his fury fly:
Brosnan: I would like to see this film be a glorious poke in the eye to certain parties and to be a success and have other glorious roles follow in its wake. [¦] When the f*ckers try and hem you in with Bond, its great to come back with The Matador. Its great to say, F*ck you, a**hole. F*ck you who wouldnt give me a job. F*ck you who thought I was some wuss. F*uck you, who thought I was a pretty boy. F*ck you, who thought anything of me without even knowing me or giving me the chance. F*ck you. But when you go around with all that inside you all the time, you end up completely mangled so you have to let it go.
---------------------------------------------------
For some perspective, here are Lazenby's comments that lit the fuse on the war:
That wimp Brosnan's no match for my 007, says OldenEye George Lazenby
From The Sun [London], Nov. 10, 1995
Failed Bond star George Lazenby has made a stinging attack on new 007 Pierce Brosnan. The Aussie actor starred in the 1969 flop On Her Majesty's Secret Service -- which Brosnan described recently as "sad."
Now, in an exclusive interview, Lazenby has hit back, saying "I can tell you I was more of a fitting Bond than Brosnan. Bond is supposed to be a nice b******. Brosnan is just nice. Bond is supposed to walk in a room and be able to fight 3 guys at once. If Brosnan walked into a room, I doubt anyone would look up. But this is the 90s and women want a different man, a man who shows his feminine side. Pierce definitely has that."
