Brosnan entered show business as a teen runaway, working with the circus as a fire eater. He gained somewhat more conventional experience as a member of an experimental London theater workshop before making his stage debut in a 1976 production of "Wait Until Dark". Brosnan's theatrical breakthrough came from playwright Tennessee Williams who chose the handsome young actor to create the role of McCabe in the British premiere of his "Red Devil Battery Sign". Additional stage work followed before his film debut in a character turn in the well-received Brit gangster film, "The Long Good Friday" (1980).

America first discovered the slender, dark-haired performer on TV in the miniseries "The Manions of America" (ABC, 1981) as Rory O'Manion, an Irish immigrant who makes it big in 19th century America. This successful exposure lead to his being cast as Steele. Brosnan turned up on a number of specials during the series' run and one failed feature, "Nomads" (1985), in which he played a bedeviled French anthropologist. The transition to film actor proved difficult, but TV offered regular work in telefilms and miniseries. Brosnan was well cast as urbane eccentric Phineas Fogg in a miniseries adaptation of Jules Verne's novel "Around the World in 80 Days" (NBC, 1989). He became a familiar face in made-for-cable thrillers, notably playing special agent Mike Graham in "Alistair MacLean's Death Train" (USA, 1993) and "Alistair MacLean's Night Watch" (USA, 1995).

Brosnan initially found little success in features. He starred in the poorly received Ismail Merchant-produced adventure "The Deceivers" (1988) but received some positive notices for his portrayal of a Russian agent opposite Michael Caine in "The Fourth Protocol" (1987). He enjoyed a measure of popular success playing a scientist in the derivative special F/X fest, "The Lawnmower Man" (1992). Brosnan also played the supporting role of Stu, the other man, in the immensely successful if mild comedy "Mrs. Doubtfire" (1993).

It was until 1995 that Brosnan finally got his license to kill and landed the role that would be associated with him for the rest of his life, James Bond, in the film "Goldeneye." The 007 franchise was rebounding from some underperforming years during which action-heavy film series like "Lethal Weapon," "Die Hard" and "Batman" were out-Bonding the grandaddy of the genre, but Brosnan's long-awaited casting created a renewed buzz and his solid performance as an elegant-but-hard-edge 007 (combining the best elements of Sean Connery and Roger Moore's diverse appeals) revived the franchise. The actor returned for several more outings: "Tomorrow Never Dies" (1997) in which he displayed abundant charisma opposite Bond girl Michelle Yeoh; "The World is Not Enough" (2000) in which his command as an action hero and sparks with Sophie Marceau balanced his chemistry-impaired relationship with Bond girl Denise Richards; and the 20th Bond outing "Die Another Day," in which he and Bond girl Halle Berry delivered the most attractive pairing since the early days of the franchise. Shortly before the release of "Die Another Day," Brosnan announced his intention to star in a fifth outing as the suave secret agent.

His success as Bond also led to a renewed career in feature films as well, first in typically debonair supporting roles in films such as "The Mirror Has Two Faces" (1996) and "Mars Attacks" (1996), and then as a leading man in summer action fare like the volcano thriller "Dante's Peak" (1997). He also demonstrated a fondness for smaller films with an Anglo-Saxon bent such the Irish-themed "The Nephew" (1998) and the Scot-centric soccer comedy "The Match" (1999) - Brosnan also executive produced both films. He also received kudos for his performance as Archie Grey Owl, a 1930s Canadian fur trapper who adopts the ways of the Iroquois tribe in Sir Richard Attenborough's little-seen "Grey Owl" (1999). His most successful and delightful non-Bond outing came in 1999, when he played the title role of the millionaire art thief in director John McTiernan's classy remake of "The Thomas Crown Affair," a role in which he displayed considerable elegance, panache and palpable sex appeal opposite his age-appropriate leading lady Rene Russo-as he neared the age of 50 he was a bigger sex symbol than when he was in his 30s, and in 2001 People magazine named him the Sexiest Man Alive.

Other strong roles followed, included a well-received turn in the John Le Carre spy thriller "The Tailor of Panama" (2001) from director John Boorman and a robust performance in Bruce Bereford's "Evelyn" (2002), the true story of a working-class, pub-going, newly single Dublin dad who fights to regain custody of his children after his daughter and two sons are placed in Church-run orphanages by the Irish courts in the 1950s. Brosnan also produced the latter film under his Irish DreamTime production company.