Brosnan not shaken or stirred by Bond rumours

The producers of the James Bond film franchise may be doubting their choice of leading man, but Pierce Brosnan – who has portrayed the suave superspy four times – is hardly worried.

He is beginning filming in Mexico on another movie, The Matador.

The Bond producers are reportedly looking for a younger face to replace Brosnan, who has starred in four Bond films since 1995.

The 50-year-old Irish actor acknowledged that his participation in the next Bond movie is indeed uncertain.

“The producers last year invited me back, and I said ’Yes’,” Brosnan said in Mexico City, where he is shooting The Matador, in which he plays a hit man at the end of his game.

“They (the Bond producers) now seem to be in a malaise of confusion as to how to go forward,” Brosnan added.

But Brosnan is reluctant to let the character go.

When asked at a press conference who he would like to be the next James Bond, Brosnan leaned toward his microphone, locked eyes with the reporter and answered in a clear, determined voice: “Me.”

The next Bond film is scheduled to start shooting in 2005. Brosnan is credited with having rejuvenated the franchise when he first played 007 in 1995’s Goldeneye.

And the latest Bond film, Die Another Day, released in 2003, was the franchise’s biggest money maker ever.

All told, Brosnan’s four Bond films grossed about €1.2bn at the box office.

Rumoured replacements for Brosnan include Ewan McGregor, who took a stab recently at playing a mature, debonair role in Down With Love, and Hugh Jackman, who won over comic book fans with his portrayal of Wolverine in the X-Men movies.

While the Bond producers continue to brood, Brosnan plans to pursue other projects.

He is due to grace the silver screen this month opposite Julianne Moore in Laws of Attraction, a romantic comedy about two divorce lawyers falling in love.

After shooting The Matador, Brosnan will move on to work on another film in Mexico – Mexicali – about a tourist who witnesses a murder.

The father of five is also busy with his production company, Irish DreamTime, which has been involved in several of his recent non-Bond films.