It’s been thirteen years since Pierce Brosnan last played James Bond in a 007 movie, in 2002’s Die Another Day – but that didn’t stop the actor from speculating about who could take the reins as the world’s most famous spy when Daniel Crag eventually hangs up the tux.
Brosnan was talking to Details magazine about his upcoming action thriller No Escape when he was asked his opinion on Ireland’s legalization of gay marriage. The actor was born in Drogheda, outside Dublin.
“I never thought in a million years, but hallelujah!” Brosnan told the magazine of his excitement about the ruling. “Enough of the shaming. It’s a great indication of the forward-thinking of a nation that’s been so mangled by religion.”
When asked if he could ever picture a gay James Bond, Brosnan replied: “Sure, why not?” before pausing.
“Actually I don’t know how it would work,” he explained. “I don’t think Barbara [Broccoli, Bond producer] would allow a gay Bond to happen in her lifetime. But it would certainly make for interesting viewing.”
“Let’s start with a great black actor being James Bond,” Brosnan continued. “Idris Elba certainly has the physicality, the charisma, the presence. But I think Daniel [Craig] will be there for a while yet.”
Of course, Brosnan is hardly the first person to call for Elba to replace Craig as the next Bond; in fact, he’s the odds-on favorite for the role at 5/2, ahead of other British actors like Tom Hardy, Henry Cavill and Michael Fassbender.
But Brosnan appears to be the only Bond actor who says he would be open to seeing a gay Bond.
When the latest 007 film, Skyfall, was released in 2012, some speculated that Bond could be bisexual because of a certain scene in which Javier Bardem’s villain character, Raoul Silva, interrogates Bond in a sexual way. With his hands on Bond’s legs, Silva says, “There’s a first time for everything,” to which Bond replies, “What makes you think this is my first time?”
Daniel Craig was forced to dispel the rumor about Bond’s bisexuality himself; he told E! in 2012 that he could never see a gay James Bond: “Because he’s not gay. And I don’t think Javier’s character is, either – I think he’d f*** anything.”
Brosnan also discusses being gifted a gun, his desire to work with Robert De Niro and turning down a role in Tim Burton’s Batman in the Details interview. Check out the rest here.