It’s been 30 years since Pierce Brosnan finished his final scenes on his NBC detective series Remington Steele. The Irish actor enjoyed a four-picture run as James Bond and made several memorable feature films in the interim, but now he’s back in his next TV series, AMC’s The Son (Mondays at 10 p.m. ET/PT).
The 63-year-old had been a movie star for years, therefore, when he returned to the TCA press tour last January to promote the new series. Brosnan plays Eli McCollough, a Texan raised by Comanche’s who becomes a cattle baron and later an oil man. His story spans several generations, from his kidnapping as a child in 1849 to his days as his family’s Wild West patriarch in 1915.
Brosnan took questions during AMC’s TCA panel and was fleeing the Langham Hotel in Pasadena, Calif., when I caught up with him out in the lobby. A few of us gathered for a quick scrum, the practice with major talent at these gatherings. “Is this what I’m supposed to do?” Brosnan asked, knowing full well this was what he was supposed to do. Fairly tall, he looked around furtively for a rescuing publicist, then resigned himself to it. He was friendly; charming really, yet wary. He has that movie star veneer. You know you’ve got three minutes because he’s always looking for the out point.
The scrum is also the place for reporters to try and get a local angle. After a few preliminary questions, the lady from the San Antonio Journal asked about his shooting schedule in Austin, Texas, last summer, made grueling by hotter than usual temperatures.
I managed to get home to the wife and kids every other weekend or thereabouts and there was the nice thing. It’s like the old Robert Mitchum adage: “What do you look for in a script Mr. Mitchum?” “Days off.”
So I did my bit of acting shenanigans and went home.
Do you like television?
I love television, yes. I was brought up on television and I was brought up on westerns. In Ireland in the banks of the Boyne and Ganymede. To play this role is good resonance and meaning to me.
Are you going to explore deeply the immigration theme in the series?
In this particular, these 10 episodes yes it’s touched upon for sure. As an Irishman as an immigrant myself I certainly know what it’s like. I was an immigrant from Ireland to London and from London to America. I know what it’s like on the other side of the border. That is touched on in this in forthcoming episodes, yes.
Do you have memories of coming to TCA for Remington Steele and being in front of the press?
Oh Yes
Must have been a heady experience for a young
Oh it was fairly terrifying
Was it?
Yes, it still is mildly terrifying! To be confront by the lot of you? You never know but I’m fairly seasoned now by it all. Bond was massive, that was huge that was all around the world. But here I am and happy to be here I am.
Do you feel kind of afraid of the media?
No! I think one just has to be yourself and be honest. Talk about as much as you know the reasons for doing it, it’s a celebration to be in the company of everyone and this magnificent book.
What other characters did you enjoy the most?
There’s many I enjoyed them all. I love working as an actor it’s always a challenge it’s always a brand new day when it comes to a new role. There you go! All the best! Gotta go!
