Name:  Pierce Brendan Brosnan
Birthdate:  May 16, 1953
Breakout Role:  Titular role, Remington Steele

It’s no big secret that I am a huge Pierce Brosnan fan from way back in the 1980’s, when I first saw the opening credits for a little show called Remington Steele, so indulge me for a bit.  As a dorky teenager, I fell for the twinkling blue eyes and mysterious smile and never looked back.  I can remember sitting in my mom’s tacky little living room, watching on a console television that still had a dial and rabbit ears encased in aluminum foil, and thinking, “This man is going to be a star.”  (I was smart, even back then.)

He not only was the best Bond (imo), but he’s a general all-around great guy, committed to his causes and still making great movies.  The fact that he’s Irish (he became an American citizen in 2004) doesn’t hurt matters any (considering my own heritage is part Irish, part Scot).  And today, I found out he is the new face of L’Oreal Men Expert line of skincare.  Hey, whatever keeps those Irish eyes a-smilin’ is fine with me.

I just bought The Thomas Crown Affair, and I own all the Bonds, so I may have to have a Brosnan movie night tonight…

Trivia:

• He had problems with the line “If you’re Q, does that make him R?” in The World Is Not Enough, because his Irish accent got in the way of proper pronunciation (he says it “Aah”).
• In the movie Tomorrow Never Dies, a stuntman got a bit too into the scene and hit Pierce in the mouth with his helmet, causing him to have to have emergency stitches (but finished the scene!).  In the scene where he’s driving and answers the call from Elliot Carver, you can just see the stitches before he answers his mobile.  He now has a scar just above his lip, and it is referenced in the opening scenes of Die Another Day.
• Also in the opening scenes of Die Another Day, Pierce blew out his meniscus when he jumped on that last hovercraft.  You can see him slip.  Ow!

Favorite movie lines:

Xenia Onatopp:  Nice to meet you, Mr. Bond.
Bond:  The pleasure, I’m sure, was all mine.  (Goldeneye)

Q:  Here’s your cell phone.  Talk here, listen here.
Bond:  So that’s what I’ve been doing wrong all these years?  (Tomorrow Never Dies)

Bond [strolling into a hotel in Hong Kong dripping wet in nothing but a pair of pajamas]:  My usual suite, please.  (Die Another Day)

If you remember, several weeks ago Pierce Brosnan suckerpunched a photographer who wouldn’t take no for an answer and who kept bugging the actor and his children.  At the time, it was said that the police were looking into the incident.  Well they looked, and they found insufficient evidence to charge the actor with anything:

After a complete review of the investigation done by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department…there is insufficient evidence to prove this case to a jury beyond a reasonable doubt.

Apparently, when the photographer wouldn’t stop talking to and photographing the kids, Pierce got a little irate and began swearing at the man.  When the guy still wouldn’t take a hint, there were punches thrown, complete with Pierce getting tagged right in the martini shaker.

You know, if some guy that I didn’t know, carrying a big camera, came up and started talking to my kids, I think there’s be punches thrown too if he didn’t take a hint and scram.  Not advocating violence against anyone, but if someone is going to cross that line they’d better be prepared to deal with some sort of consequences, whatever they may be.

Having said that…Pierce, I’m talking to you.  You’ve long been one of my favorite actors, going all the way back to Remington Steele.  I’ve followed your career from the beginning.  I think you’re a complete dilf.  I know you don’t like paps, and they can be the lowest form of scum on earth.  And no, this moron shouldn’t have been talking to the kids.  But next time, you might not be so lucky.  You’re better than this.  Just be cool and walk away.

And btw, you know how to get in touch with me, right?

Now this makes me sad.  I’ve been a huge Pierce Brosnan fan for years, going all the way back to Remington Steele…and let’s face it, he’s still got it.  He can drive my Aston-Martin any time.  Total dilf.  But according to TMZ, apparently there was an altercation between Pierce and a paparazzi attempting to get some photos, and now Pierce is under investigation:

The incident allegedly occurred outside Casa Escobar last Friday in a Malibu mall about 6:15 PM. We’re told Brosnan allegedly committed a battery on Robert Rosen, a photographer.

According to Rosen, Pierce was there with his kids, when Rosen began snapping photos (see below). Rosen says Pierce then said, “Why don’t you get a real f**king job.” Rosen says he then started complimenting Pierce on his Bond roles.

A short time later, an enraged Pierce allegedly told the photog, “Why don’t you f**k off, mate,” and then struck him in the ribs. A witness says the pap instinctively reacted by kicking Pierce — we’re told, in the stomach.

Oh sigh.

Pierce, man…pull it together.  This isn’t a James Bond movie (and why did they drop him, anyway?  A blonde Bond?  Since when?  Okay, back on the subject), where you can beat people up while wearing your impeccable tux and then be swept away by a helicopter with great timing, with no repercussions.  I know the paps can be irritating, condescending, fawning, intruding, and fake in their effluvious praise, but seriously.  This is no way to handle it.  And especially with your kids around…come on, man, have some class.  Your kids don’t need to see this, and neither do other people’s kids.

Getting kicked in the stomach is no small matter, but then neither is getting punched in the ribs.  Pierce may have to answer for his pugilistic ways, as the whole thing is being investigated by the LA Sheriff’s department and is going to be turned over to the DA for review.  Of course, if this goes the way of recent celeb encounters with the paps (i.e., Orlando Bloom), this might be the last we hear of it.

I hope this is exaggerated, but Pierce really doesn’t like paps, so it might not be.

UPDATE:  OK! is reporting that the photog hit Pierce right in the martini shaker.  Ouch.

UPDATE #2:  The Daily Mail is reporting that the photog’s name is Barry Rosen, not Robert Rosen.