Q & A Pierce Brosnan

By Rebecca Winters

This summer Pierce Brosnan indulges nostalgists. He unveils a list of great movie quotes on CBS, and his show Remington Steele hits DVD stores in July.

Forget Clark Gable--what's the best line you've delivered?

"Do you want to dance, or do you want to dance?" from The Thomas Crown Affair. It has sentimental value for me since I produced the movie and it didn't fall on its face. There were many in the Bond movies, but most of them were embarrassing to say.

The worst?

There have been so many. I can't remember.

Congratulations on your recent U.S. citizenship. Why did you make it official?

I wanted a vote. After 23 years, three American sons, an American wife, I wanted to be able to have a voice.

Your resume lists fire eating as a skill. Has that helped you in Hollywood?

Sure. I used it on the Muppets once.

How do you feel saying goodbye to Bond?

A great sense of achievement, that a generation was introduced to Bond through my tenure. I feel liberation from it too. Creatively there are people who see you as more of a hindrance [to a movie] because you're Bond. And a disappointment in the way it was handled--to be invited back and then uninvited back. But that's the way it goes down. I've said more than enough.

Who should get the next license to kill?

Clive Owen would be a fantastic James Bond. Any man who does it will have to weigh his odds--whether he can get in and get out.

Have you watched Remington Steele recently?

Only because I had to. It was shocking. How did I get away with it?