Exclusive - Pierce Brosnan receives his US Citizenship - will he become the first American 007 in James Bond 21?

On September 23rd 2004, four-times James Bond actor Pierce Brosnan became an American Citizen.

Brosnan received his US Citizenship at a US District Court House. He was accompanied by his wife Keely Shaye-Smith. Manager of the Jury and Naturalization department, Frank Galvan, awarded Brosnan in the usual low-key ceremony.

In the past, he has changed his mind about American citizenship three times, opting each time to hold on to his Irish passport.

“I still haven’t gotten my American citizenship,” the Irish-born actor admitted a bit sheepishly in an interview last year. “I’ve kind of had this allergic reaction to tests and it goes back to school, and I never did well at tests in school. I didn’t show up for them. [To get my citizenship] I’ll have to know American history and they’ll ask me questions and suppose that I get them wrong and they say, ‘No, next!’ I can just see it: ‘After 22 years of living in America, three American sons, Pierce Brosnan fails miserably.’ So I put it off!”

At the time he said he was uncertain about losing his Irish passport. "Every time I come back to Ireland, I figure out more about who I am as a man, an artist, a human being. It's really just so instinctual.", he said back in 2001.

He is often mistakenly referenced as the "British actor Pierce Brosnan", but was born in Ireland and has lived in the US for more than 20 years.

But for Brosnan, at least, he's now settled a long running dilemma.

If Pierce Brosnan returns as James Bond for the 21st 007 film due out on November 18th 2005, it will be the first time an American Citizen has played Ian Fleming's hero in the history of the 42 year old series.

Thanks to `JP` for the alert.

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