Smash hit

After drama school, Brosnan did his share of provincial theatre and television. In 1977, he’d married Australian actress Cassandra Harris and she encouraged him to try his luck in America. They took out a £2,000 loan against the mortgage - claiming it was for a new central heating system - and headed to LA. “Once I got there [I had] the most glorious feeling that anything could happen. I felt a sense of freedom about it and luckily I got work, because financially there was a lot at stake.”

Brosnan landed Remmington Steele almost immediately. High-profile, prime-time and relatively lucrative, the gamble had paid off. He had a family to look after - Cassie had two children from her first marriage, to Dermot Harris, brother of Richard, and their son, Sean - which suited him just fine. He’s never enjoyed being a bachelor. “Family is where I’m loved, and I can take care of those people that I love and make myself happy by caring for them. And, you know, to play that singles game is exhausting and ultimately very lonely.”

Cassie’s death, from ovarian cancer in December 1991, left him completely devastated. He’d nursed her at home, and she died in his arms, one day before their 14th wedding anniversary. For a long time afterwards, he said later, he cried every day. He legally adopted his two stepchildren and carried on working - there was still a family to look after. When he eventually met Keely Shaye Smith, a model and actress, in 1996, he fell in love a second time. “I was lucky. I found love twice.”

They have two children, seven-year-old Dylan Thomas and three-year-old Paris Beckett, and they married in 2001. Whenever possible, the family travel with him - the Bahamas for After the Sunset was a perfect location, and they rented a house next to Woody Harrelson and his two young children. “Dylan even has a little part in the film,” says Brosnan. “And now he’s got the bug and wants to be in movies all the time. What can you do?”

Directed by Brett Ratner, After the Sunset stars Brosnan as Max Burdett, a jewel thief who retires to the Bahamas with his lover and partner in crime, Lola (Hayek). But when his nemesis, FBI agent Stan Lloyd, tracks him down, he’s not entirely sure he’s suited to retirement, especially when there’s the tempting prospect of stealing one of the world’s most famous diamonds from under Lloyd’s nose. All in all, it’s an unashamed popcorn movie, fast-paced with great-looking actors, stunning locations and plenty of gags.

Life goes on, is the Brosnan philosophy. And it’s there to be enjoyed. “I’ve moved on from Bond. It’s over. You think you’re going in one direction and suddenly you’re going in another. But that’s happened to me many times. I have nothing but find memories.”

He recently became an American citizen. “I’ve lived in America for 23 years and it’s been a great country to me. I’m deeply proud to become an American.” A committed environmentalist who supports numerous green charities, Kerry got his vote. “Some of the things the Bush administration has done are disgraceful. I have children and I have to fight for their future and their children’s future. It’s pretty simple, really.” So Bond is no more - at least for Pierce Brosnan - and he no longer goes off to work to fight cartoon bad guys, but it’s nice for Paris to know that his dad is still trying to save the world - in his own way.

After the Sunset opens on Friday

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