Pierce Brosnan Discusses the Last Rifleman and the Damages of War

Pierce Brosnan will always be best known for playing James Bond in Golden Eye, Tomorrow Never Dies, and more, but his career has spanned decades, genres, and scales, appearing in countless other classics, including Mrs. Doubtfire, Mamma Mia, The Thomas Crown Affair, and Mars Attacks! to name a few. Now Brosnan takes another entirely unique turn in The Last Rifleman, a true story about Bernard Jordan, the WW2 Veteran who escaped from a senior living home to pay tribute to the 75th Anniversary of the D-Day Landings. Below the surface of the story lies an investigation of the men Brosnan says were, “wrenched and thrown into gunfire and death.”

The character Artie Crawford is loosely based on Jordan, and Brosnan “ages up” about 20 years (his actual age is 71, and Artie Crawford is in his 90s). The transformation into this older man haunted by his past, the loss of his wife, and the passage of time is rendered masterfully by Brosnan in a performance that stands out among countless strong ones. We asked Brosnan what inspired the performance, the choice of the film, and the general direction of his career, and he offered fascinating insights and reflections on the industry at large:

The Last Rifleman is a departure for Brosnan playing a character much older than him, and we were curious about what drew him to this specific character and challenge. He said the story “had a deep poignance for me” and ruminated on, “The pain of war, the dread of war, the loss of youth, and the nightmares that you live with from the damage of war. It was a love story about a man who’s trying to find some meaning to his life as his years are ticking fast by, and he’s grieving a wife that he’s had by his side.” What did Brosnan use to transform into this character?

I lent heavily on a documentary called
We Fought On D-Day
, and your readers can find [it]. I just watched the documentary over and over again… transfixed by the deep emotion, the conflict, the pain, and the suffering that each of these men had in the documentary. Every man in the documentary was Artie for me.​

Pierce Brosnan Reveals His Job as an Actor

Though he wouldn’t outright suggest anyone to play James Bond next, we have some sense of his thoughts on potential candidate Aaron Taylor-Johnson, and Brosnan went on to discuss his varied career and what directions are left for him to pursue, saying, “There are many choices that I haven’t done yet, and the choices have not presented themselves. I’ve done four movies this year already, from a Western back to the spy genre, back to comedy, to the movie I’m working on now, which is adventure popcorn, Cliffhanger.” He went deeper into how he sees acting in general and offered a telling look at the whole of his work:

“My job as an actor is to be able to have some versatility. To move around the stage with as much sincerity, honesty, passion, and believability as possible. To entertain, to find an audience, and to bring that audience with you. Sometimes you succeed, sometimes you don’t. Sometimes you find a jewel when you least expect it, and it just reveals itself, and it has its own alchemy […] The journey that I have on every project is exhilarating.

“But the essence of it is turning people on,” added Brosnan. “Do they want to watch you when the curtain goes up? Do you get them? Do they believe in you? Can you transport them for, an hour, an hour and a half, three hours? Can you suspend the disbelief and wonderment of it? And do you make them feel good? Do you make them feel joyful? Do you make them feel that you’ve shared something courageously about yourself or attempted to as an actor? It’s constant.” Check out The Last Rifleman — Brosnan will transport you yet again. The film releases in theaters and on digital starting November 8, 2024, from Samuel Goldwyn Films.