Pierce Brosnan felt a personal connection to the story in his new film The Last Rifleman, in which he portrays a nearly 93-year-old World War II veteran grappling with the pain of his past.
“I thought it was such a heartfelt story, and it took me back to a part of Ireland that I didn’t know,” the Irish-born actor tells The Hollywood Reporter of the movie that filmed in Belfast. “My stepfather was in the Second World War. He was a Scotsman from Glasgow. He talked little of the war, but he was in the tank regiment, and he talked about a particular incident which haunted him.”
Loosely based on the true story of British D-Day veteran Bernard Jordan, The Last Rifleman is now available via on-demand platforms and includes a similarly haunting backstory for Artie Crawford (Brosnan). Following the death of his wife, Artie plans to escape out of his living facility and venture from Northern Ireland to France for the 75th anniversary of the Normandy landings on D-Day. Director Terry Loane’s drama also stars Clémence Poésy and Jürgen Prochnow, and it marks the final feature role for late actor John Amos.
Part of the process of transforming into the character for the 71-year-old Brosnan involved a physical change. The actor spent nearly two hours in the makeup chair to become Artie — thanks to the work of prosthetics and special makeup company Millennium FX — and then nearly an hour to remove it all at the end of each day. “It was a bit of an undertaking,” admits Brosnan. “There was a meditation each morning where you sit in the chair, and I had two wonderful artisans who would transform me into Artie.”
The former James Bond star was grateful to share the screen with Amos, the Good Times standout who died in August at age 84. “He’s a man that had lived a great life, who was a wonderful actor and entertainer,” says Brosnan. “He had the strongest and most courageous of hearts as an actor in his day.”
Brosnan remains as busy as ever, with his forthcoming projects including Steven Soderbergh’s spy thriller Black Bag with Cate Blanchett, Chris Columbus’ The Thursday Murder Club alongside Helen Mirren and Ben Kingsley and a recently announced role in the new Cliffhanger film.
“I’m at a point now where the roles are that of a mature man,” Brosnan says of his career path. “The roles are that of a father, a grandfather, a wise wizard. I’ve got four movies in the can. I’m at a very joyful time to be able to move around the stage and to be able to have choices and hopefully to be able to equip myself within the roles.”
One much-discussed possible part that is not yet in the can, but not for the lack of fans hoping that it soon will get there, is a return as Sam Carmichael in a third film for the Mamma Mia! franchise. With other co-stars from the first two movies having shared chatter about a potential third one, Brosnan says he doesn’t know too much about the status but has spoken to producer Judy Craymer in recent months.
“Judy Craymer is a dear friend, and we met during the summer, and I believe that my fellow thespians would all jump at the chance to go and do Mamma Mia 3,” he says. “I think it’s doable. Of course, it’s always the story. What is the story? I would definitely welcome the opportunity to go back into the world of Mamma Mia!, for sure.”