Nobody can deny Pierce Brosnan‘s charm. He has been showcasing it on stage and screen for over 50 years. He has been a consistently working actor with some showstopping star roles, including playing the iconic role of James Bond in four films: Goldeneye, The World Is Not Enough, Die Another Day, and Tomorrow Never Dies.
While he showed off his suave nature and calm-under-pressure attitude in those films, he has also had success in other similar thrillers. He’s been known for his thriller and spy roles throughout much of his career. But he has also never taken himself too seriously and has been happy to turn in brilliant comedic performances. Whether he’s playing a goofy character or a straight-edge one in a comedy, he usually delivers in a way only he can.
Here are Pierce Brosnan’s greatest comedy movie roles, ranked.
10
Dan Day in ‘Salvation Boulevard’ (2011)
Brosnan has had a few quality roles alongside Greg Kinnear, and one of them is in Salvation Boulevard, a silly comedy about megachurches and cover-ups. Brosnan plays Dan Day, the pastor of a megachurch with Kinnear’s Carl as a member. An accidental shooting bonds the two, and they must try to get their story straight or risk taking down the expansion of Dan’s church.
Brosnan is, as usual, the straight man to Kinnear’s frenetic energy. There are many slapstick religious moments in the film, complete with an absurd way to get out of handcuffs. But it’s clear Kinnear and Brosnan were having fun. Jennifer Connelly, Jim Gaffigan, Isabelle Fuhrman, Ed Harris, and Marisa Tomei all costar in the film.
9
Erick Erickssong in ‘Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga’ (2020)
A hilarious look at an Icelandic duo’s quest to become famous through the Eurovision Song Contest, Eurovision stars Will Ferrell and Rachel McAdams as Lars and Sigrit, who make up the band Fire Saga. They are turned away by their country’s musical board to represent them in the contest. But unforeseen circumstances lead them to becoming the country’s entry into the contest anyway. Brosnan plays Ferrell’s father, Erick Erickssong.
Erick is a gruff Icelandic man who is frequently found in the pub and is embarrassed by his son’s yearning to be famous. He tends to hides their relationship from the public. But the place where they live is small, so people know the connection. He often looks at the antics of Lars with rolled eyes, adding to the comedy. The film has fantastic songs and even earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Song.
8
Daniel Rafferty in ‘Laws of Attraction’ (2004)
Showing off his immense charm, Brosnan stars opposite Julianne Moore in Laws of Attraction. The two play New York City divorce attorneys who are pitted against one another in a high-profile case featuring a wonderful Michael Sheen against a just-as-wonderful Parker Posey. They have to go to Ireland for depositions and experience a wild night in which they, unknowingly until the next morning, get married. While living this life of fighting attorneys in the public eye, they turn into a domestic couple at home.
When things go wrong, they must decide if they are really in love with one another or if they are just playing a part. It is an easily watchable film and Brosnan and Moore have good chemistry. But it pales in comparison to the movie it more or less copies, Adam’s Rib, which features real-life couple Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn.
7
Martin Sharp in ‘A Long Way Down’ (2014)
It might not be the funniest premise, but A Long Way Down has some dark comedy in it. It’s about four individuals who meet each other on the roof of a building in London on New Year’s Eve, each there to commit suicide. Brosnan plays Martin, a television personality who went to prison for a relationship with a girl who ended up being underage. The others recognize him, which frustrates him and makes him get off the roof. The others follow, and they build a pact to give it until Valentine’s Day to improve their lives.
Brosnan is joined by Toni Colette, Aaron Paul, and Imogen Poots in the film and the four have a good rapport with one another. While the film struggles with tone, there are some decent silly moments that make the subject matter lighter. Rosamund Pike, Sam Neill, and Tuppence Middleton also costar. Paul and Poots worked on two movies together in 2014, the other being Need for Speed.
6
Billy McDermott in ‘The Out-Laws’ (2023)
In The Out-Laws, Brosnan and Ellen Barkin play Billy and Lilly McDermott, a husband and wife who are actually famous criminals called The Ghost Bandits. They meet Adam Devine’s Owen, who is marrying their daughter, played by Nina Dobrev. They have been mostly absent from her life, but come into town for their wedding.
They take Owen out for the day and, while drunk, Owen tells them how to enter the vault of his bank. Unbeknownst to him, they are bank robbers, and this starts a wild chase as an enemy of the couple kidnaps Dobrev’s character. The movie has some hilarious moments with Billy and Owen having some great scenes together. It was released directly to Netflix in 2023.
5
Professor Donald Kessler in ‘Mars Attacks!’ (1996)
The first film after Goldeneye for Brosnan was Mars Attacks!, Tim Burton’s wild science fiction black comedy. The movie is set in a world where Martians come to the United States and immediately start killing people. Brosnan plays a professor who the president (Jack Nicholson) puts in charge of trying to negotiate with the Martians. Unfortunately for Brosnan, he ends up not doing that and getting himself brought onto the mothership, where things go even worse for him.
The film features an unbelievably loaded cast of Nicholson in two roles, Glenn Close, Annette Bening, Danny DeVito, Natalie Portman, Lukas Haas, Jim Brown, Martin Short, Sarah Jessica Parker, Michael J. Fox, Rod Steiger, Lisa Marie, and Tom Jones. It paid homage to the 1950s alien invasion films of Ed Wood, who was, of course, a near-and-dear topic for Burton.
4
Max Burdett in ‘After the Sunset’ (2004)
A classic cat-and-mouse game that features another great cast, After the Sunset is a Brett Ratner-directed crime comedy from the early 2000s. Brosnan plays the enigmatic Max Burdett, a career jewel thief who is chased by Woody Harrelson’s FBI Agent Stanley Lloyd. Salma Hayek plays Max’s girlfriend, Lola, who is his accomplice as a thief. The chemistry between Harrelson and Brosnan is hilarious, as Harrelson plays a great fish-out-of-water character when the movie shifts to the Bahamas.
The film also features Don Cheadle as a gangster and Naomie Harris as a local Bahamian woman who helps Harrelson. It’s a sexy and slick movie with some memorable set pieces that show how fun capers can be. Brosnan has been in a number of similar films, but this is probably the funniest of the bunch.
3
Sam Carmichael in ‘Mamma Mia!’ (2008) and ‘Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again’ (2018)
It was always going to be hard to bring the iconic Broadway musical Mamma Mia to the big screen, but the original film became a smash hit in 2008. The story follows Sophie (Amanda Seyfried), who invites three men who could all potentially be her father to her wedding. The three men, Sam, Bill, and Harry, are played by Brosnan, Stellan Skarsgård, and Colin Firth. Her mother, Donna, who is a hotel owner in Greece, is played by Meryl Streep, and Sophie surprises her with the three men from her past.
The followup, Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again, is both a prequel and a sequel that features Lily James as a young Donna and Cher as Donna’s mother, Ruby. Brosnan plays an Irish architect who meets Donna and never quite was able to make it happen between them for the long run, at least initially. Brosnan, Firth, Streep, and Skarsgard fully commit to their roles and even provide some solid singing in both films. They both made a ton of money and feature a lot of ABBA’s greatest hits. There is expected to be a third film in the series.
2
Stuart Dunmeyer in ‘Mrs. Doubtfire’ (1993)
Mrs. Doubtfire is probably the funniest movie that Pierce Brosnan has ever been in. But that is in large part because of Robin Williams’ star turn as the eponymous character. Brosnan is, unfortunately for his character, Stu Dunmeyer, the person who draws the most ire from Daniel Hillard, who disguises himself as a British nanny in order to see his kids after his divorce. Stu is the new man in Daniel’s ex-wife Miranda’s (Sally Field) life, as they start dating.
Dunmeyer is highly successful and has to deal with some great pranks from Hillard as Mrs. Doubtfire. The main one of overpowering his jambalaya turns out to be a huge change in the film. Brosnan ultimately plays the unassuming new boyfriend very well and gets some great line deliveries as he deals with Mrs. Doubtfire. Brosnan has often recounted how fond he was of working on the film with Williams.
1
Julian Noble in ‘The Matador’ (2005)
The first time Brosnan teamed up with Greg Kinnear was in The Matador. The role fit perfectly into Brosnan’s career, as he was able to use all of his talents, including his comedy and action skills. He plays Julian Noble, a drunken and unstable hitman who awkwardly meets Kinnear’s Danny Wright, a businessman trying to finish a deal in Mexico City. They start an awkward friendship that includes attending a bull fight together. Noble asks Wright to help him with a kill, but Wright refuses.
The movie uses an interesting storytelling plot device by flashing forward and not revealing what happened during a critical scene, building up the suspense for the characters’ meeting. Julian is crass and disheveled, but ultimately a professional with some heart. The movie features hilarious chemistry between the leads and they are perfectly cast in their roles. Brosnan was nominated for a Golden Globe for his performance, which was praised by critics.
This story originally appeared on Movieweb
