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Brosnan's 007 role in doubt
02/04/2004 11:59 - (SA)
Mexico City - The producers of the James Bond franchise may doubt their choice of leading man, but Pierce Brosnan - who has portrayed the suave superspy four times - is hardly worried; he's beginning filming in Mexico on another movie, The Matador.
The Bond producers are reportedly looking for a younger face to replace Brosnan, who has starred in four Bond films since 1995.
The 50-year-old Irish actor acknowledged on Thursday that his participation in the next Bond movie is indeed uncertain.
"The producers last year invited me back, and I said 'Yes'," Brosnan told journalists in Mexico City, where he is shooting The Matador, in which he plays a hitman at the end of his game.
"They (the Bond producers) now seem to be in a malaise of confusion as to how to go forward," Brosnan added.
The next Bond film is scheduled to start shooting in 2005. Brosnan is credited with having rejuvenated the franchise when he first played 007 in 1995's Goldeneye.
And the latest Bond film, Die Another Day, released in 2003, was the franchise's biggest money maker ever. All told, Brosnan's four Bond films grossed about $1.5bn at the box office.
Brosnan was initially tapped to play the British lady killer in 1986, at the tail end of his stint on the hit TV show Remington Steele. Unable to wiggle out of his contract with NBC, Brosnan was forfeited the role to Timothy Dalton.
Having waited so many years to bring some Irish charm to Bond, Brosnan is reluctant to let the character go.
When asked on Thursday who he would like to be the next James Bond, Pierce Brosnan leaned toward his microphone, locked eyes with the reporter and answered in a clear, determined voice: "Me."
Rumoured replacements for Brosnan include Ewan McGregor, who took a stab recently at playing a mature, debonaire role in Down With Love, and Hugh Jackman, who won over comic book fans with his portrayal of Wolverine in the X-Men movies.
While the Bond producers continue to brood, Brosnan plans to pursue other projects. He's due to grace the silver screen this month opposite Julianne Moore in Laws of Attraction, a romantic comedy about two divorce lawyers falling in love.
After shooting The Matador, Brosnan will move on to work on another film in Mexico - Mexicali - about a tourist who witnesses a murder.
The father of five is also busy with his production company, Irish DreamTime, which has been involved in several of his recent non-Bond films.
"They (the Bond producers) know where to find me if they want me for the next one," he said.
- AP
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South Africa
