Additional Coverage:
After four films and seven years as 007, Pierce Brosnan’s tenure as James Bond ended abruptly following the release of Die Another Day in 2002. While filming After the Sunset in the Bahamas, Brosnan received an unexpected call from his agents.
Negotiations for his continued role as Bond had stopped. Producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G.
Wilson were uncertain about the franchise’s future direction.
Brosnan awaited a promised follow-up call. When it came, Broccoli and Wilson delivered the news: Brosnan’s time as Bond was over.
He described the call as a shock. Broccoli was reportedly emotional during the conversation, while Wilson remained stoic, thanking Brosnan for his service as 007.
The actor admitted feeling “kicked to the curb” by the sudden and impersonal nature of his dismissal.
A few years later, Daniel Craig took up the mantle. Despite the circumstances of his departure, Brosnan harbored no ill will.
He reportedly offered Craig simple advice: “Just enjoy it.” Craig later admitted that it took him some time to heed that wisdom.
However, Brosnan recounts a different encounter, remembering Craig as apprehensive about stepping into such iconic shoes. Brosnan’s version involves a chance meeting at a club, where he encouraged a hesitant Craig to embrace the role.
He told Craig, “Go do it. You can do it, you’ll be brilliant,” and indeed, Craig went on to make his own indelible mark on the Bond legacy.