Pierce Brosnan admits he lost his way with 007

Pierce Brosnan has admitted he “lost his way” during his stint as James Bond, saying the iconic role left him “tangled up in his ego” - reports the Express.

The Irish actor said it was not until he lost the part, later taken on and toughened up by Daniel Craig, that he felt he was able to act properly again.

And despite making no secret of the fact he’d like to play Bond again after 2002’s Die Another Day, Pierce says he felt restricted by the role that catapulted him to the top of Hollywood’s A-list.

“I felt very shackled by Bond and didn’t want to rock the boat,” he says.

“You get tangled up in your own ego of how you’re perceived. You can lose your way.”

Pierce, 57, says it took several years to find his feet again after Bond and credits the 2005 comedy drama The Matador with finally helping him to let go of his desire to play the leading man after he was replaced as 007.

“It was good to actually act,” he remembers.

“I have said to my agents, ‘I want to work. I want to play character roles.’

“You can be a leading man for so long and it’s wonderful but there comes a time when you have to deal with life and move over on the stage.

“The Matador was a great confidence booster. I really felt like I got a transformation there of some sort.”

Perhaps it is a good job Pierce is over his desire to portray dashing heroes – his recent outing in Roman Polanski-directed The Ghost saw him play Adam Lang, a British prime minister accused of war crimes, whose story features many uncanny parallels to the premiership of Tony Blair.

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