Pierce Brosnan was born Drogheda, County Louth, Ireland and mostly raised in Navan, County Meath, Ireland before moving to London as a teenager.
Brosnan was raised an Irish Catholic. But the social pressures of the religion and the fact that his father left him and his mother when he was a baby made it somewhat difficult for both of them. He said:
To be Catholic in the '50s, and to be Irish Catholic in the '50s, and have a marriage which was not there, a father who was not there, consequently, the mother, the wife suffered greatly.[1]
As an adult, Brosnan has continued to carry on his Catholic heritage and considers himself a man of great faith. The loss of his wife of 17 years to cancer, among other trials, says Brosnan, were only manageable due to his faith in God and his church:
[Prayer] helped me with the loss of my wife to cancer and with a child who had fallen on tough times. Now prayer helps me to be a father, to be an actor and to be a man.[2]
However, despite being a faithful Catholic, other religious belief systems appeal to him, and he seems the open-minded sort. While acknowledging the centrality of Catholicism, Brosnan throws a bone to Buddhism:
I was an altar boy. That never leaves you. So when there are churches around, I go to church. I just went yesterday. I also love the teachings of Buddhist philosophy. It's my own private faith. I don't preach it, but it's a faith that is a comfort to me when the night is long.[3]
Politics. Liberal Politics
Brosnan is quite politically active–and liberal to boot. He's got a lot to say about what goes on in the U.S., particularly after her acquired U.S. citizenship in 2004.[4]
2004 was an election year and Brosnan threw his star power behind John Kerry–George W. Bush's opponent.[5] It didn't work out and the next four years saw Brosnan take nearly any chance he got to disparage Bush. He criticized Bush's entry into the Iraq War, he criticized Bush's environmental policies.[6] And after the federal government (according to many) bungled Hurricane Katrina relief efforts in 2005, Brosnan said:
This man called President Bush has a lot to answer for. I don't know if this man is really taking care of America. This government has been shameful.[7]
So, it would be natural to assume that he was an Obama supporter in 2008. That assumption would be correct,[8] but it's not all sycophantic praise for Obama from Brosnan. He held Obama to his promise to protect whales–and got a response![9] A political, canned, meaningless response, but a response nonetheless.
Yes, Brosnan is an environmentalist. Not only is he watching out for whales, he's got his sights on nuclear weapons, testing and energy–something for which he feels so strongly that he'll skip the premiers of his own films out of protest.[10]
And let's not forget gay marriage. Brosnan is all for it. He said:
People should be allowed to marry and gay marriage should be out there. If a man or a woman has a good partner and they love each other with their heart and soul, let them marry. I am very much for gay marriage. I think the rest is censorship and conflict and really no one else's business.[11]
As you can see, Brosnan is a man of his convictions–and willing to make his voice heard. We wouldn't accept any less from 007.
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