Pierce Brosnan’s career has really taken off in the last couple of years — since being named the new James Bond and playing 007 in the hugely successful Goldeneye, Brosnan went on to star opposite Barbra Streisand in The Mirror Has Two Faces and, most recently, in the action thriller Dante’s Peak. His new film production company, Irish Dreamtime, completed filming in December on The Nephew, which stars Brosnan, Donal McCann and Sinead Cusack, and he is about to start work on a remake of the Steve McQueen/Faye Dunaway classic, The Thomas Crown Affair. After that, he will begin work on another Irish-based film, but not before work on the latest James Bond film, Shamelady, which is expected to be released in 1998.

The actor was born in Co. Meath in Ireland, and came to fame in the U.S. with his regular appearances on the hit show Remington Steele. He trained in both classical drama and character comedies honing his skills on the London stage and with BBC TV. He later earned a Golden Globe nomination for his work in the 13-part BBC mini-series, Nancy Astor.

Brosnan lost his wife, Cassandra Harris, to cancer and is very involved in the fight against the disease, serving as Ambassador for Women’s Health issues in the Permanent Charities Committee of the Entertainment Industries.

His girlfriend, Keely Shaye-Smith, gave birth to his fourth child on January 13, 1997, a boy named Dylan Thomas.