Pierce Brosnan regrets leaving theatre for James Bond role

Pierce Brosnan has revealed he regrets walking away from his theatre roots after landing the iconic role of James Bond.

The 72-year-old actor began his career on stage before rising to fame in the 1980s TV series Remington Steele. He later became the fifth actor to portray 007, taking over the role in the mid-1990s. However, Brosnan now says he wishes he had returned to the stage once his Bond tenure ended—just as his successor, Daniel Craig, did.

Speaking to The Guardian, Brosnan recalled: “[My acting teacher Christopher Fettes] wanted me doing obscure 19th-century plays, but my dream was always movies. I was impressed that Daniel had the bottle to go back out there. I thought: ‘Why the heck didn’t I?’ You have to really want it, and I didn’t.”

He added, “It’s essential to be creative outside of Bond.”

While Craig continued performing on stage during and after his Bond years—appearing in A Steady Rain (2009), Betrayal (2013), Othello (2016), and Macbeth (2022)—Brosnan’s post-Bond career stayed focused on film.

Brosnan’s own theatrical debut was in the 1977 London premiere of Tennessee Williams’ The Red Devil Battery Sign, where he moved from understudy to lead at the playwright’s request. He fondly remembered receiving a telegram from Williams on opening night that read: “Thank God for you, my dear boy. Love, Tennessee Williams.”

Reflecting further, Brosnan said: “I remember finishing the show one night and bumping into Tennessee. He couldn’t find his way out of the theatre, so I walked him to his driver. He liked a tipple. You’d go to his house at night, and everyone would be at his feet while he told lyrical stories. None of which I can recall—because I was tippling, too.”