“Hollywood Tried to Break Me” — Pierce Brosnan Reveals He Was Fired by Fax 1 Week Before Filming a $120 Million Bond Sequel
The world was shocked when Pierce Brosnan, the actor widely credited with reviving the James Bond franchise in the 1990s, was unceremoniously dismissed from the role of Agent 007. The stunning detail, however, is the alleged, impersonal method of his dismissal—a sudden fax notification from his agents just one week before he expected to begin work on his fifth, highly anticipated sequel. Brosnan’s own accounts highlight the brutal, corporate side of Hollywood, encapsulated in his later reflection, “Hollywood Tried to Break Me.”
While Brosnan later clarified that the official word was delivered during a brief, sudden phone call with the producers while he was filming After the Sunset in the Bahamas, the method was no less callous. After fulfilling his four-film contract and receiving an invitation from producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson to return for a fifth, his tenure was abruptly, and impersonally, ended.
The Success and The Cost: The Data Behind Brosnan’s Bond
Brosnan’s time as the iconic British spy was a massive financial success, making his sudden departure all the more bewildering at the time.
Financial Peak: Brosnan’s final film, Die Another Day (2002), directed by Lee Tamahori, was a box-office phenomenon.2 Produced on an estimated budget of $142 million (one of the largest in the franchise at the time), it went on to earn over $431 million worldwide, making it the highest-grossing James Bond film in the franchise’s history up to that point.
The Sequel’s Cost: The budget for Brosnan’s intended fifth sequel was widely expected to exceed the $120 million mark, with the actor reportedly seeking a substantial salary—rumors suggested a demand of around $20 million for his return. This high financial cost, coupled with a desire for a creative overhaul, sealed his fate.
The Reboot That Kicked Off an Era
The key factor defining Brosnan’s dismissal was the subsequent decision by Eon Productions to execute a complete, hard reboot of the series.
The Critical Pivot: Despite the box office success of Die Another Day, critics widely panned its reliance on outlandish gadgets (like the invisible car) and campy, over-the-top action, signaling that the traditional Bond formula had become stale.
The Successor: Brosnan’s planned fifth film was shelved in favor of a new, gritty origin story adaptation: Casino Royale (2006).
The Director: In a major move, producers Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli consciously sought a new direction. They hired Martin Campbell, the same director who had successfully launched Brosnan in GoldenEye (1995), to launch his successor, Daniel Craig, as a more emotionally vulnerable, less polished Agent 007.
The shift to Craig marked a direct response to the “campy” conclusion of the Brosnan era, with Casino Royale going on to gross over $594 million worldwide and earning widespread critical acclaim for its realistic action and character depth.
For Brosnan, the brutal method of his dismissal—the sudden shock after months of negotiation—felt like a profound betrayal of his decade of successful service, highlighting the impersonal ruthlessness that often characterizes high-stakes Hollywood franchise management. He was, as he put it, “kicked to the kerb.”