Pierce Brosnan's bitter exit from James Bond

Pierce Brosnan reveals that he was effectively dumped over the phone by the producers of the James Bond series.

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(Credits: Far Out / Eon Productions)

Film » Cutting Room Floor

Mon 24 March 2025 21:45, UK

Playing James Bond is a dream only a handful of actors have achieved. As it stands, only six men have officially portrayed Britain’s top secret agent. There have been a couple of unofficial interpretations of the character – David Niven in the 1967 spoof version of Casino Royale comes to mind – but for now, it’s just that half-dozen who’ve technically received their license to kill. Before Daniel Craig and his bright blue eyes took over the part, the chap heading up the franchise was Pierce Brosnan.

The Irish-born star replaced Timothy Dalton as 007, making his debut in the 1995 adventure, GoldenEye. Yes, that is the film that inspired the legendary Nintendo 64 game. Following that, Brosnan appeared in three more Bond movies – Tomorrow Never Dies, The World is Not Enough, and Die Another Day – reverting back to a slightly lighter version of the character. He also apparently insisted that Bond give up smoking, a reflection of changing attitudes in society.

Despite dutifully serving MI6 for seven years, Brosnan left the franchise under unfortunate circumstances. Die Another Day became the highest-grossing Bond of all time upon its release but was met with middling reviews by critics. It also didn’t help that Madonna’s theme song for the movie was absolutely dire. As Brosnan told The Guardian many years after the fact, his departure from the role of a lifetime was not his choice. 

“I was in the Bahamas, working on a movie called After the Sunset and my agents called me up and said, ‘Negotiations have stopped. [Producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael Wilson] are not quite sure what they want to do. They’ll call you next Thursday,’” he recalled. “I sat in Richard Harris’ house in the Bahamas, and Barbara and Michael were on the line – ‘We’re so sorry.’ She was crying, Michael was stoic and he said, ‘You were a great James Bond. Thank you very much,’ and I said, ‘Thank you very much. Goodbye.’ That was it. I was utterly shocked and just kicked to the kerb with the way it went down.”

Brosnan was keen to star in at least one more Bond movie before hanging up his golden gun. However, he allegedly was asking for too much money. His salary had already gone up massively over the course of his time in the role, from $4million for GoldenEye to $16.5m for Die Another Day, so Eon were probably looking for a way to cut costs by hiring a new, less demanding star. They eventually landed on Craig, who led a grittier reboot of the franchise that ultimately proved to be very successful. He was also willing to play the part for much less cash.

Thankfully, Brosnan has done quite well for himself since being unceremoniously dumped. He has found regular work in both TV and film as both a leading man and a supporting player. He was nominated for a Golden Globe for the 2005 film The Matador and has appeared in big franchises like ‘Percy Jackson’ and the DC Extended Universe. There was also the great Mamma Mia! debacle, but nobody bats a thousand. 

The former superspy has seemingly mended fences with the series that made him a global superstar. He regularly comments on all things Bond, giving his opinion on who the next person to take up the mantle should be. Even so, it must bring back some painful memories of what might have been.

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James BondPierce Brosnan

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