32 years since Pierce Brosnan was announced as successor to Timothy Dalton's James Bond

By: Anders Frejdh

Published:
2026-06-08

Pierce Brosnan, James Bond, announcement, 1994

On this day in James Bond history (1994), Pierce Brosnan was announced as the successor of Timothy Dalton as Ian Fleming’s 007 at a special press conference at the Landmark Hotel in London. Two months earlier, on 12th April 1994, Dalton had announced he was stepping away from the role of Bond.

Two days after the announcement in London, Pierce Brosnan was back on location in a remote village in Papua New Guinea shooting drama Robinson Crusoe (1997). During a break in filming, the actor was approached by a gang of children shouting “James Bond! James Bond!”

“I was dumbstruck,” Brosnan recalls. “Here I was, in the middle of nowhere, being recognised as Bond as a result of all that international publicity. At that moment any lingering doubts I had that GoldenEye (1995) was just another film left me completely.”

Barbara Broccoli, Pierce Brosnan, Michael G. Wilson, 1994

Barbara Broccoli, Pierce Brosnan, Michael G. Wilson, 1994

Background to Pierce Brosnan becoming James Bond

After Roger Moore departed the role following A View to a Kill (1985), one of the actors who came in for an audition was Pierce Brosnan. Then star of the television series Remington Steele (1982-1987). Brosnan auditioned on 12th May 1986, playing scenes opposite Annie Lambert before being put through his stunt paces by Clive Curtis. Yet, there was a sticking point.

Producer Albert R. Broccoli said, “We made it a stipulation to his agent: if he could be cleared completely out of his TV series, cutting all ties with the network, we’d consider him. Pierce was wildly keen to play the part. But when talks began with the network, there was a lot of stalling. In the end, his TV contract was renewed, and our search had to continue.”

As well as the legal complications, there were other factors at that time that ruled Brosnan out of the Bond film following A View to a Kill, 1987’s The Living Daylights.

When the role became free again following Dalton’s departure, Brosnan was going through a period of career disappointment tinged with personal tragedy. In 1987, his wife, actress Cassandra Harris who portrayed Countess Lisl in 1981’s For Your Eyes Only, was diagnosed with terminal ovarian cancer. This caused the actor to put work on hold until her passing in 1991. So, at the point 007 became available again, Brosnan chose not to pursue it.

“The moment Timothy jumped ship I thought, ‘No, it wouldn’t happen a second time,” Brosnan observed at the time.

Well, it did. Thankfully.

Article by Anders Frejdh. Copyright © 2026 From Sweden with Love. All rights reserved.

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32 years since Pierce Brosnan was announced as successor to Timothy Dalton's James Bond

Background to Pierce Brosnan becoming James Bond

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