Pierce Brosnan admits he can't bear to watch himself as Bond

edited April 2014 in News Posts: 11,425
Well, he's not the only one!

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/10755167/Pierce-Brosnan-I-was-never-good-enough-as-Bond.html

What's he going on about in terms of being stuck in a time warp between Sean and Rog?

Still, despite all that, he's a likeable chap.
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Comments

  • ThunderfingerThunderfinger Das Boot Hill
    Posts: 45,489
    Likeable chap, and good taste in Bond.
  • edited April 2014 Posts: 11,425
    Most interesting bit of the interview:

    “I felt I was caught in a time warp between Roger and Sean,” he says, “It was a very hard one to grasp the meaning of, for me. The violence was never real, the brute force of the man was never palpable. It was quite tame, and the characterisation didn’t have a follow-through of reality, it was surface. But then that might have had to do with my own insecurities in playing him as well.” Has he ever re-watched the movies? He mock-shudders. “I have no desire to watch myself as James Bond. ‘Cause it’s just never good enough.” He laughs mirthlessly. “It’s a horrible feeling.”

    I think he knows deep down that he did a poor job of it. DC's success has only underlined that. I admire his honesty though.
  • Posts: 11,189
    I enjoy him but I do admire his honesty. He should still be honoured that he shared the screen with Q for the last ever time.
  • edited April 2014 Posts: 11,425
    BAIN123 wrote:
    I enjoy him but I do admire his honesty. He should still be honoured that he shared the screen with Q for the last ever time.

    The more I hear from the man himself, the more I like him.

    I think he knows how lucky he was! He's seems a fundamentally decent and reassuringly flawed human being, with a keen sense of self awareness.
  • edited April 2014 Posts: 11,189
    Getafix wrote:
    BAIN123 wrote:
    I enjoy him but I do admire his honesty. He should still be honoured that he shared the screen with Q for the last ever time.

    The more I hear from the man himself, the more I like him.

    I think he knows how lucky he was!

    He does. I think age seems to have made him a bit wiser.
  • Posts: 11,425
    BAIN123 wrote:
    Getafix wrote:
    BAIN123 wrote:
    I enjoy him but I do admire his honesty. He should still be honoured that he shared the screen with Q for the last ever time.

    The more I hear from the man himself, the more I like him.

    I think he knows how lucky he was!

    He does. I think age seems to have made him a bit wiser.

    Yes, he's someone who has been through a lot in his personal life and yet has been incredibly blessed in his professional career. A very interesting life in many ways and a self made man. He has many interesting qualities, none of which were ever brought to the fore in his Bond performances. He just played it as “smooth git number one”.
  • Posts: 12,242
    Not my favorite Bond, but he does a good job. Brosnan was the least innovative of the 6 in my opinion, but still very serviceable.
  • edited April 2014 Posts: 11,425
    Definitely the least innovative. The insecurity he describes in the article always came across on screen - he seems scared of the role.

    'Action is character', but I don't know if Brosnan got or portrayed that very well.
  • Well I think that you always rate yourself worse than you are. I think he was a great Bond actor - even the best imo!!
  • Posts: 1,595
    I will always defend Brosnan's turn as Bond. Things get a bit rocky during TWINE but he's excellent in the other 3 in my book.

    He seems fairly reserved for someone in the public eye, and I can see why anyone would have a hard time watching themselves as Bond. It's a huge role.
  • DarthDimiDarthDimi Behind you!Moderator
    Posts: 23,447
    Brosnan was serviceable as Bond. I wonder if the his words in the interview aren't merely amends after losing the role to Craig.
  • He was great in Goldeneye! I wish they had wrote his Bond similar in the other 3 films. I don't think it was as much of a problem of his acting as much as the writing and the way TND, TWINE, and DAD were handled. Goldeneye, with it's origins being in the Dalton-esque, grittier style, is quite different from the other three. All of the six actors who have played Bond in the EON films have done great with their own style to the character, that includes Brosnan.

    Don't be too hard on yourself Pierce; you helped make sure Bond lived on.
  • edited April 2014 Posts: 11,425
    I think Brosnan is not just being self deprecating here. He knows his performances were not up to scratch.

    “The leading man arena can be fairly vacant and vacuous,” he says. “Who the hell am I within this role or on the page? They want you to bring your own persona, and that gets a little tricky at times, when it’s just you bringing yourself to a role which is thinly written.”

    Perfectly describes his tenure as Bond. Better actors, or perhaps just actors better suited to Bond, have worked magic from thinly written material.
  • Posts: 6,396
    I think he gives the worst debut performance by any of the actors in GE. Even Lazenby is more convincing at times in OHMSS.

    It's almost as though Brosnan was completely daunted by the task ahead of him and his performance is just 'meh'.

    Ironically, GE is the best of his films and as his performances did improve, the films got progressively worse.
  • edited April 2014 Posts: 11,189
    George "that's quite an enducement" Lazenby. :))

    I will admit Laz is stronger than Broz physically but go back and listen to some of Laz's line readings again. A lot of his dialogue is dubbed over too. You can tell.

    His best scenes are in the second half, but on the whole I don't think Broz is as wooden as Laz at his worse.
  • Posts: 6,396
    BAIN123 wrote:
    George "that's quite an enducement" Lazenby. :))

    I will admit Laz is stronger than Broz physically but go back and listen to some of Laz's line readings again. A lot of his dialogue is dubbed over too. You can tell.

    I'm aware of his shortcomings in OHMSS but for the most part he's actually quite good. and he is far more convincing in the barn scene with Tracy and her death at the end of the film than Brosnan is in throughout the enitrety of GE.
  • Posts: 2,400
    I do always feel a bit uncomfortable bashing Brosnan as an actor/as Bond. The man is a consummate professional and head to toe an excellent guy. I feel that needs to be said, especially by someone like me.
  • Posts: 11,189
    That barn scene is genuinely great, but I think Broz is still solid in several scenes. Graveyard scene, the scene with M, the bit when he drops Alec, the PTS.

    I enjoy Broz in GE more than laz eventhough I admit its not his best performance.
  • Posts: 6,396
    I do always feel a bit uncomfortable bashing Brosnan as an actor/as Bond. The man is a consummate professional and head to toe an excellent
    guy. I feel that needs to be said, especially by someone like me.

    I like Brosnan as an actor and as a person. he always come across really well whenever interviewed.

    I'm just no fan of his as Bond.
  • Posts: 1,492
    Trying to be fair here

    But he just isn't an actor..

    When he was in his teens he studied to be an actor. Told he was goodlooking at an early age he struggled with the technical side. He didn't learn the tricks of the trade. The way you say your lines convincingly. He thought that being an actor was all looks. The others (apart from Lazenby) knew when they did good work and can look back convincingly at the past work.

    Pierce knows he's shortcomings. He knows when he was bad. He has some perspective. The work he has going for him seems to be stretching himself as an actor. But he is never convincing. Stick him with Judi Dench and she chews him up. Craig was always an ever present threat

    Pierce grew up with the ability to do comedy but as we have seen more work was needed.
  • Posts: 1,492
    Murdock wrote:

    To be honest this needs to be kept. There is lots to discuss.

  • Posts: 11,425
    Does any one have a clue what he means by being stuck in a time warp between Sean and Rog? Does he mean he thinks he's a bit like Laz?
  • MurdockMurdock The minus world
    Posts: 16,328
    Getafix wrote:
    Does any one have a clue what he means by being stuck in a time warp between Sean and Rog? Does he mean he thinks he's a bit like Laz?

    I assumed he meant that EoN didn't know if they wanted him to play it serious like Sean or Campy like Moore.
  • Posts: 1,492
    I'd say he was more like Rog - he doesn't mention Dalton
  • Posts: 11,425
    Murdock wrote:
    Getafix wrote:
    Does any one have a clue what he means by being stuck in a time warp between Sean and Rog? Does he mean he thinks he's a bit like Laz?

    I assumed he meant that EoN didn't know if they wanted him to play it serious like Sean or Campy like Moore.

    Is it up to EON how the actor portrays the character?
  • Posts: 11,189
    I think he means that Sean and Rog still hung over him in spirit. He says in the EON that Rog and Sean came into his mind during his first scenes shot.
  • Posts: 11,425
    BAIN123 wrote:
    I think he means that Sean and Rog still hung over him in spirit. He says in the EON that Rog and Sean came into his mind during his first scenes shot.

    He definitely seemed overawed by the whole thing. I think he always doubted himself and his abilities, and that ultimately undermined his ability to a) deliver a strong performance and b) do anything very original.
  • Posts: 1,492
    Perhaps he should have paid attention to Dalts.
  • edited April 2014 Posts: 11,425
    actonsteve wrote:
    Perhaps he should have paid attention to Dalts.

    I think he had bought into the anti-Dalton propaganda and the idea that you can't play Bond too seriously or the audiences will be turned off. It's understandable that he would have had some negativity towards Tim, since he must on some level have resented Dalton for (in his mind) taking the part from him.

    At root though is the issue that, as you say, I don't think he had the ability as an actor.

    Not to say that he no ability - just that he was miscast and I think underestimated the role.
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