Pierce Brosnan

Born: 16 May 1953
Where: County Meath, Ireland

Brosnan has been credited with reinventing the superspy James Bond after the stagey efforts of Timothy Dalton and camp geriatrics of Roger Moore.

Outside the world of 007 he has also notched up successes with the remake of The Thomas Crown Affair, The Tailor of Panama and Mamma Mia.

A disturbed childhood saw him separated from his parents when a baby and being passed around relatives when his grandparents died.

Arriving in London aged ten, he saw his first Bond movie - Goldfinger - and was bitten by the acting bug.

He gained experience as a member of the experimental London theatre workshop the Drama Centre (he also briefly learned a fire-eating act at the Oval House).

Brosnan made his stage debut in a 1976 production of Wait Until Dark and was first seen on the big screen in the Brit gangster film, The Long Good Friday.

After being cast in Remington Steele, Brosnan found himself selected in a poll as the favoured actor to replace the departing Roger Moore in the highly profitable James Bond series.

However, contractual obligations to the series made him unavailable and the baton was passed to Timothy Dalton.

Brosnan initially found little success in features, starring in the poorly received Ismail Merchant-produced adventure The Deceivers although he fared better in The Fourth Protocol and The Lawnmower Man.

He also played the supporting role of Stu, the other man, in the immensely successful if mild comedy Mrs. Doubtfire in 1993.

Brosnan finally received his cinematic license to kill in 1994 when he was named as the new 007, hitting the big screen with GoldenEye, and renewing his career as a feature lead.

The death, in 1991, of his wife Cassandra, left him with three children - two from Cassandra's first marriage, Charlotte and Christopher whom he adopted, and a son from their marriage, Sean.

He married long-time companion Keely Shaye-Smith in 2001, and has two sons with her, Dylan and Paris.

Outside Bond, he found time to star in the underrated Mars Attacks and volcano thriller Dante's Peak.

After the hit remake of The Thomas Crown Affair, Brosnan once again portrayed secret agent 007 for The World is Not Enough, followed by Die Another Day.

Other strong roles followed, included a well-received turn in the John Le Carre spy thriller The Tailor of Panama and a less-convincing performance in Bruce Beresford's Evelyn.

Subsequent outings - the rom-com Laws of Attraction with Julianne Moore and paradise island thriller After The Sunset - saw Brosnan merely ticking over, particularly after having confirmed his (enforced) retirement from the famous tuxedo.

Brosnan went firmly against type for 2005's The Matador, when he played a hitman in the midst of a mid-life crisis.

It's a trend he continued with Seraphim Falls, a western in which he plays a former Civil War commander on the run from a band of mercenaries.

He also won a new legion of admirers with his camp appearance in the Abba-based musical Mamma Mia with Meryl Streep.