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

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  • MurdockMurdock The minus world
    Posts: 16,362
    Getafix wrote:
    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?

    It's up to EON to decide what tone they want to film to be. Remember, Babs and MGW had just taken producer's chair. They were trying to pick a formula that worked. They struck gold with GoldenEye but it descended into sci-fi camp by Die Another day. Personally I think GE, TND and TWINE are great movies. DAD is mediocre. I don't have a problem with Brosnan's performance at all. He's the reason I watch his movies. He oozes cool. Like Roger Moore he's way too hard on himself.
  • Posts: 1,492
    Getafix wrote:
    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.

    Thats true. He bought into the anti-Dalton propaganda from the interviews

  • Posts: 1,492
    Murdock wrote:
    [I don't have a problem with Brosnan's performance at all. He's the reason I watch his movies. He oozes cool. Like Roger Moore he's way too hard on himself.

    The role has gone beyond camp now.

  • MurdockMurdock The minus world
    Posts: 16,362
    actonsteve wrote:
    Murdock wrote:
    [I don't have a problem with Brosnan's performance at all. He's the reason I watch his movies. He oozes cool. Like Roger Moore he's way too hard on himself.

    The role has gone beyond camp now.

    What do you mean by that?
  • edited April 2014 Posts: 11,425
    Murdock wrote:
    Getafix wrote:
    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?

    It's up to EON to decide what tone they want to film to be. Remember, Babs and MGW had just taken producer's chair. They were trying to pick a formula that worked. They struck gold with GoldenEye but it descended into sci-fi camp by Die Another day. Personally I think GE, TND and TWINE are great movies. DAD is mediocre. I don't have a problem with Brosnan's performance at all. He's the reason I watch his movies. He oozes cool. Like Roger Moore he's way too hard on himself.

    Most of the Brosnan films have a mix of lighter and darker moments. I just think Brosnan failed to deliver on the darker/ more serious stuff. He wasn't up to the job. So the tone of the films was not really very disimilar (IMO) from previous Bond movies, it was just that the directors and Brosnan did not bring out the seriousness in the central character. Moore's strength was his ability to shift gears from campy to deadly serious without it looking totally ridiculous. Brozza never did that.

    I got the sense that they gave Tomahori free rein to do what he wanted on DAD. It was him who decided to turn it into a bad comic book movie.
  • MurdockMurdock The minus world
    Posts: 16,362
    Getafix wrote:
    Murdock wrote:
    Getafix wrote:
    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?

    It's up to EON to decide what tone they want to film to be. Remember, Babs and MGW had just taken producer's chair. They were trying to pick a formula that worked. They struck gold with GoldenEye but it descended into sci-fi camp by Die Another day. Personally I think GE, TND and TWINE are great movies. DAD is mediocre. I don't have a problem with Brosnan's performance at all. He's the reason I watch his movies. He oozes cool. Like Roger Moore he's way too hard on himself.

    Most of the Brosnan films have a mix of lighter and darker moments. I just think Brosnan failed to deliver on the darker/ more serious stuff. He wasn't up to the job. So the tone of the films was not really very disimilar (IMO) from previous Bond movies, it was just that the directors and Brosnan did not bring out the seriousness in the central character. Moore's strength was his ability to shift gears from campy to deadly serious without it looking totally ridiculous. Brozza never did that.

    I disagree. I think Brosnan performed brilliantly. Brosnan handled dark and light just fine.
  • edited April 2014 Posts: 11,189
    Here are Brosnan's "villain kills" (i.e. several of his more serious moments). On the whole I think he's ok:



    I love "no...for me", "me too" and "I never miss" in particular.

    Broz did certainly have his fair share of short-comings and as @actonsteve said isn't the strongest of actors but had his good moments that felt like Bond to me.
  • 4EverBonded4EverBonded the Ballrooms of Mars
    Posts: 12,480
    Murdock wrote:
    Getafix wrote:
    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?

    It's up to EON to decide what tone they want to film to be. Remember, Babs and MGW had just taken producer's chair. They were trying to pick a formula that worked. They struck gold with GoldenEye but it descended into sci-fi camp by Die Another day. Personally I think GE, TND and TWINE are great movies. DAD is mediocre. I don't have a problem with Brosnan's performance at all. He's the reason I watch his movies. He oozes cool. Like Roger Moore he's way too hard on himself.

    Ah, Murdock you and I are in complete agreement. :-bd Again.

    And, BAIN123, yes Brosnan is definitely okay in those scenes. I really found to be a good Bond, quite compelling at times, and even in DAD I like his Bond, just not the film.

    The man is gracious and is too hard on himself. Far better attitude than the opposite, wouldn't you agree?

  • edited April 2014 Posts: 11,189
    Broz does have a point. With the other actors they all aimed to be different to their predecessors. Broz took the safe route and gave the audience what they wanted but not much else.

    I genuinely loved him at the time, and still do. He's entertaining to watch (more so than Laz who relies on those around him a lot). But most of his films don't really hold up that well now. GE I genuinely love but the rest I can take or leave.
  • RC7RC7
    Posts: 10,512
    The man is gracious and is too hard on himself. Far better attitude than the opposite, wouldn't you agree?

    Very true.

    At the end of the day, Brozzer was a product of his time and a lot of people like him. I don't get why so many feel the need to constantly deride the bloke. Get over yourselves. I think Brozzer has more charisma in his little finger than Laz, but I don't spend my time deriding the bloke. I try to find the positives where possible.
  • edited April 2014 Posts: 1,492
    .



  • edited April 2014 Posts: 1,492
    actonsteve wrote:
    Not to say that he no ability - just that he was miscast and I think underestimated the role.

    This was the rub. I think he now thinks going for his film roles he was miscast.





  • edited April 2014 Posts: 11,189
    RC7 wrote:
    The man is gracious and is too hard on himself. Far better attitude than the opposite, wouldn't you agree?

    Very true.

    At the end of the day, Brozzer was a product of his time and a lot of people like him. I don't get why so many feel the need to constantly deride the bloke. Get over yourselves. I think Brozzer has more charisma in his little finger than Laz, but I don't spend my time deriding the bloke. I try to find the positives where possible.

    Whether people like it or not he does, so does Moore.

    "I think underestimated the role".

    I remember Connery was once quoted as saying the same thing about Dalton.
  • edited April 2014 Posts: 11,425
    RC7 wrote:
    The man is gracious and is too hard on himself. Far better attitude than the opposite, wouldn't you agree?

    Very true.

    At the end of the day, Brozzer was a product of his time and a lot of people like him. I don't get why so many feel the need to constantly deride the bloke. Get over yourselves. I think Brozzer has more charisma in his little finger than Laz, but I don't spend my time deriding the bloke. I try to find the positives where possible.

    Err... this thread is in response to an article in the Telegraph just the other day, based on a recent interview with Brozza himself, in which he makes some very enlightening new comments.

    He is basically saying similar things about his own performance to what a lot of his critics have been saying for years. It is very interesting and it reflects well on Brosnan that he has this degree of self awareness.

    The self doubt he talks about is particularly fascinating, because I always felt this came across in his performance - that he didn't really believe in his own ability.
  • Posts: 1,492
    Its actually a crying shame when this happens as it was with Connery. I like Moores attitude
  • Posts: 12,526
    I can understand it really. I don't like being in photo's or videos to be honest! Unless it is with someone from Bond ofcourse! :-bd
  • edited April 2014 Posts: 11,425
    actonsteve wrote:
    Its actually a crying shame when this happens as it was with Connery. I like Moores attitude

    But I also thought Moore had criticised Dalton?
    RogueAgent wrote:
    I can understand it really. I don't like being in photo's or videos to be honest! Unless it is with someone from Bond ofcourse! :-bd

    Not sure I follow what you mean...
  • Posts: 1,492
    Well, until Connery got his Oscar for the Untouchables he didn't want to discuss it. H will talk about it now.
  • Posts: 11,425
    BAIN123 wrote:
    RC7 wrote:
    The man is gracious and is too hard on himself. Far better attitude than the opposite, wouldn't you agree?

    Very true.

    At the end of the day, Brozzer was a product of his time and a lot of people like him. I don't get why so many feel the need to constantly deride the bloke. Get over yourselves. I think Brozzer has more charisma in his little finger than Laz, but I don't spend my time deriding the bloke. I try to find the positives where possible.

    Whether people like it or not he does, so does Moore.

    "I think underestimated the role".

    I remember Connery was once quoted as saying the same thing about Dalton.

    With all respect to Connery, this is clearly total nonsense. Fair enough to say Dalton got it wrong, but Tim was arguably the actor most reluctant to take the part (because he perceived the difficulty in adding more to the part) and clearly one of those who took it most seriously. Underestimated it? I think not.
  • edited April 2014 Posts: 11,189
    I don't think Moore ever criticised Dalton (I've never heard or read him do so anyway). More that the films were becoming too violent - so I doubt he would have been a fan of LTK.

    I think Connery said Dalton thought it would be easier than it was. I remember reading something along those lines in "James Bond...Unmasked".

    I think if anything Dalts perhaps didn't realise how strong some people's idea of Bond can be. To this day Moore and Connery are still the more popular Bond's.
  • edited April 2014 Posts: 11,425
    actonsteve wrote:
    Well, until Connery got his Oscar for the Untouchables he didn't want to discuss it. H will talk about it now.

    I see - you mean it's a shame when the actors refuse to talk reflectively about how they approached the role? I agree. But in Brosnan's case, I think that this always reflected the fact that he didn't have much to say. I don't think he ever really had many ideas about who or what Bond was. As he implies in the interview, or just sort of read his lines and hoped for the best. He was winging it.
  • RC7RC7
    Posts: 10,512
    Getafix wrote:
    RC7 wrote:
    The man is gracious and is too hard on himself. Far better attitude than the opposite, wouldn't you agree?

    Very true.

    At the end of the day, Brozzer was a product of his time and a lot of people like him. I don't get why so many feel the need to constantly deride the bloke. Get over yourselves. I think Brozzer has more charisma in his little finger than Laz, but I don't spend my time deriding the bloke. I try to find the positives where possible.

    Err... this thread is in response to an article in the Telegraph just the other day, based on a recent interview with Brozza himself, in which he makes some very enlightening new comments.

    He is basically saying similar things about his own performance to what a lot of his critics have been saying for years. It is very interesting and it reflects well on Brosnan that he has this degree of self awareness.

    The self doubt he talks about is particularly fascinating, because I always felt this came across in his performance - that he didn't really believe in his own ability.

    That's fine. Like I said, people like him as Bond. If you don't, that's great. Good for you.
  • edited April 2014 Posts: 1,492
    .
  • Posts: 1,492
    actonsteve wrote:
    As he implies in the interview, or just sort of read his lines and hoped for the best. He was winging it.

    He was winging it while we were watching it. Watch Dalton at the Fair compared with a good Broz scene
  • edited April 2014 Posts: 11,189
    actonsteve wrote:
    actonsteve wrote:
    As he implies in the interview, or just sort of read his lines and hoped for the best. He was winging it.

    He was winging it while we were watching it. Watch Dalton at the Fair compared with a good Broz scene

    His best scene in that film is Pushkin's hotel room, hands down. Great performance from Dalton.

    One thing I did notice is that Dalton's a very dramatic actor compared to the likes of Connery, Moore and even Craig. You can tell his mind is always at work.
  • Posts: 2,341
    Interesting post @Getafix,
    Lots of thespians do not watch their work (Doris Day admitted to hating to see herself act). Many actors find themselves critical of their work and wishing they had played this scene or that scene differently.

    That being said, I understand that Brosnan once admitted to "never nailing the Bond character." He was confused and just did not know what to do. Other actors go into the role and leave their own imprint on the character. Even Lazenby in his one film broke new ground. Pierce, hell we just never knew who his Bond was.

    If he hadn't nailed the character in four films a fifth was not gonna make any difference.
  • MurdockMurdock The minus world
    Posts: 16,362
    Pierce broke some ground. look at the beach scene in GoldenEye. He has the look of a man who doesn't like what he does. But it's all he's good for. Pierce's Bond has depth.
  • 4EverBonded4EverBonded the Ballrooms of Mars
    edited April 2014 Posts: 12,480
    Yes, Pierce had depth. And his own style and charm. Just because he is talking down his role now, does not mean he did not do a fine job. It doesn't. There are issues with some of his films, most notably his final one. He has had the best post Bond career of all the Bond actors and seems to be continuing on a good level for his upcoming work.

    Because of his career success overall, I think he can say whatever he wants to about his time as Bond - it is not the only productive or memorable work he has done. He should be feeling more satisfied, secure as an actor by now. And I think he does, and I think that shows. He was understandably bitter after being not given a fifth film and especially the way it was handled (over the phone) - I feel he had a right to be upset by that. But it is so good to see him move on in his career and for the bitterness to have evaporated. I think he has long known that life is more important than Bond, and that he has worth as an actor apart from that, and his personal life has certainly had its tragic heartbreak as well as great positive things. So I am happy for him now. I really don't look at his talking down about his portrayal of Bond as the truth. I keep in mind that many, many artists are not satisfied with their own work. And I am just pleased to see all the negative effects from that time past, when he was told that DAD would be his final Bond film, all of that negative crap seems to be gone. That's great. :)

    Pierce had some very fine moments as Bond. He was a memorable Bond and still popular Bond for many. It will be interesting to see in ten years' time how people react to his Bond and his films.

  • RC7RC7
    Posts: 10,512
    Yes, Pierce had depth. And his own style and charm. Just because he is talking down his role now, does not mean he did not do a fine job. It doesn't. There are issues with some of his films, most notably his final one.

    Pierce had some very fine moments as Bond. He was a memorable Bond and still popular Bond for many. It will be interesting to see in ten years' time how people react to his Bond and his films.

    He was great. It's just the MI6 Miserati who get their knickers in a twist over him. It's like hating a band, yet rather than moving on, you spend your time telling everyone how bad they are. I thought that's what pre-pubescent kids did?
  • 4EverBonded4EverBonded the Ballrooms of Mars
    edited April 2014 Posts: 12,480
    Indeed. To each his own opinion, but the level of negativity towards Brosnan on this forum is well, too bad, in my opinion. It does not reflect opinion around the world, I think.

    Yes, yes, you are entitled to post what you truly feel, Getafix, actonsteve, and others. I may go on an OHMSS thread and do that shortly ... you know, just in case I have an urge to vent negatively.

    I just added more to my first comment, above, too.
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