Pierce Brosnan Dismisses James Bond Question With Blunt Response

Pierce Brosnan is an actor whose most iconic role came between 1995 and 2002 as a certain illustrious secret agent who goes by the codename 007. He was the sixth actor to play James Bond, and he did so across four films. His turn as Britain’s most illustrious spy may be nearly a quarter-century behind him, but he remains well-remembered for it. And this year, less than a week in advance of Christmas, he shared with the world his very brief but uncompromising thoughts on how this particular character would spend the holiday.

Brosnan on James Bond’s Christmas

On December 19, Brosnan was interviewed by Kevin Maher of the UK’s Times in advance of the early-January wide release of “Giant,” a boxing drama biopic in which he plays the real-life trainer Brendan Ingle. Maher, who had interviewed Brosnan on previous occasions, explained that the actor had a rule in regard to discussing James Bond; Maher summarized this rule as, “you get one free Bond question and the rest are going to cost you.” In this case, he chose to ask Brosnan whether 007 would enjoy Christmas.

“Of course he would enjoy Christmas!” the actor said. For some reason, Maher opted to break the rule, following up on his first question by inquiring whether “such a solitary figure [would] rather be somewhere else, alone.” In a deadpan tone, Brosnan said, “I don’t really want to answer the question and I’m not going to answer the question.” Upon further prompting, he “slowly and carefully” said, “Because I couldn’t give a f***! Why would I waste my time thinking about where James Bond would be at Christmas?”

Brosnan’s Demeanor: Discourteous But Ultimately Good-Humored

Obviously, Brosnan cared no more for decorous etiquette than he did for pondering the holiday habits of fictional secret agents. His response to Maher’s forbidden follow-up question was not his sole instance of coarse manners. The interview took place in a restaurant, and when a “fortysomething fanboy” approached his table to request a selfie with him, he hissed: “I’m busy right now, sir.” Maher recounted that Brosnan’s eyes were “glaring” and compared his demeanor to that of his “MobLand” character, a crime kingpin named Conrad Harrigan.

Subsequently, an agent “from the publicity company representing ‘Giant'” came over to supervise the interview, “just to make sure Brosnan is on-message.” “Bollocks to that!” the actor growled, and promptly demanded that this agent leave the restaurant.

After his aggressive dismissal of Maher’s James Bond inquiry, there was an awkward pause, as the interviewer was “contemplating just how quickly that went south.” Fortunately, Brosnan then immediately returned to his prior good cheer, breaking out in a broad grin as he said, “But I know where Pierce Brosnan’s going to be spending Christmas! At home with my wife, in my little island retreat in Hawaii!”

A little later, after going on about his two homes (one in Hawaii, the other in Malibu), he interrupted himself to apologize for his outburst. “I’m sorry for not being able to help you with James Bond,” he said. “It’s something that’ll go on until the day is done. Connery was the same: ‘Don’t ever ask! Don’t ever ask!'” He also professed to be “as excited as the next man or woman to find out who’s going to play that role again,” and expressed great respect for four of his fellow Bond actors: Sean Connery, Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton, and Daniel Craig.

Conclusion

Determining who the nicest and rudest celebrities are has long been a task for many an online listicle. After his Friday interview, Brosnan may not find himself very close to the “nicest” end of the spectrum anytime soon. Then again, it is strangely nice to see a movie star who isn’t afraid to speak up when his celebrity status threatens the integrity of his personal boundaries. (He’s not about to let any autograph-seekers interrupt his day!) And, of course, his impertinence was only one facet of his demeanor during this interview. With Christmas just around the corner, even an interviewee as intractable as Brosnan wasn’t about to let it be said that he had no goodwill in his soul.