Pierce Brosnan Interview

Breaking the Bond Mould

In the course of meeting movie stars in interview situations, you might be surprised to learn that some of them are, well, a little disappointing. Despite the fact that on screen they may appear as one of the most handsome or beautiful men or women in the world, in the flesh they can come across as far removed from this persona and, to be honest, a little plain.

This is most certainly not the case with Pierce Brosnan, and if anything he is even more handsome in the flesh than on the big screen. Walking into the suite at Claridges, casually attired in jacket and jeans, he belies his 49 years and is, as they would say in his native Ireland, a fine figure of a man.

Brosnan is in town to publicise his new film Evelyn. It's a project close to his heart, as it his set in his native Ireland. He plays Desmond Doyle, a painter and decorator and man of the people who managed to upset the legal system in the 1950s when his three children were taken into state custody after his wife left him for another man.

He admits he felt an affinity for the piece as soon as he read it."The thing that attracted me was the levity of the piece. There is a lovely joyfulness to this film and a sense of humour. These stories can sometimes be pretty mournful and depressing - especially when they are about Ireland in the 1950s. And the fact that it was based on a true story was pretty intriguing for me. Also being a father I could certainly identify with the predicament this man found himself in."

Indeed, Doyle is far removed from the ultra-serious and high-tech world of Bond. Brosnan's character is fond of the craic, and he even makes his big screen singing debut. But it's clear that the fact that the film was set in Ireland was a huge factor in deciding to produce and make the film for his own company Irish Dreamtime. As a family man, Doyle's predicament also struck a chord. "He is a man who is fighting for his children. I am a father, I know what it is like to be a father, I know what it is like to come from a home that is fractured and I'm Irish and was brought up in the world of Catholicism in Ireland in the 1950s. Those were very hard years for any man or woman who had suffered from separation within the family."