Pierce Brosnan was "frustrated" that his James Bond wasn’t "gritty and real".
The 63-year-old actor portrayed the suave spy in four films – ‘Goldeneye’, ‘Tomorrow Never Dies’, ‘The World is Not Enough’ and ‘Die Another Day’ – and though he had fun with the role, he wishes the plots weren’t so "outlandish".
He said: "There was a certain frustration within me as the films went on, as I could see the world happening around me and the movies … I wanted Bond to get a little more gritty and real and down and dirty, but however you try to nurse it along, the scripts would come along with the same outlandish scenarios.
"So you go with the flow, and just enjoy the great experience of travelling the world and being this character. I had a great time on ‘Die Another Day’. There were things I read in the script that were so ridiculous, like the invisible car, but I just tried to act my way through it and believe in it.
"You can really give yourself a massive headache and a great amount of stress trying to wangle some sense of believability into it."
Pierce was a big fan of previous Bonds, Sir Sean Connery and Sir Roger Moore, and while they inspired his performances, he didn’t want to be seen as simply trying to emulate their acting styles.
He told Total Film magazine: "I’d been a huge fan of the character and the franchise. They were a part of my own growth as an actor – I’d seen the baton being passed from Sean to Roger. I was a fan of both their styles of acting, so, for me, it was trying to ride both horses, really.
"I tried to bring the Connery gravitas and Celtic soul to it, mixed in with the light touch of Roger Moore. I wanted to keep both of their spirits within my Bond, and at first I was very aware of it, and I was nervous about indicating or playing impressions of those guys.
"But then I made peace with it, and rather came at it with my own rhythm and sense of timing. You need the confidence of the gods to just stand there and try to deliver the lines as simply as possible."
Pierce Brosnan’s Bond frustration
