Pierce Brendan Brosnan (born 16 May 1953) is an Irish actor, film producer, and activist who after leaving school at age 16, began training in commercial illustration. He then went on to train at the Drama Centre in London for three years. Following a stage acting career he rose to popularity in the television series Remington Steele (1982–87), which blended the genres of romantic comedy, drama, and detective procedural. After the conclusion of Remington Steele, Brosnan appeared in films such as the Cold War spy film The Fourth Protocol (1987) and the comedy Mrs. Doubtfire (1993). He portrayed Dr. Lawrence Angelo in The Lawnmower Man (1992) and Mike Noonan in Bag of Bones (2011).
In 1994, Brosnan became the fifth actor to portray secret agent James Bond in the film series, starring in four films from 1995 to 2002 (GoldenEye, Tomorrow Never Dies, The World Is Not Enough and Die Another Day). During this period, he also took the lead in other films including the disaster film Dante's Peak (1997) and the remake of the heist film The Thomas Crown Affair (1999). Since leaving the role of Bond, he has starred in such films as the musical/romantic comedy Mamma Mia! (2008), the Roman Polanski-directed political thriller The Ghost Writer (2010) and the action spy thriller The November Man (2014).