United ArtistsPierce Brosnan was the fifth James Bond overall but he made history in his own way, becoming the first 007 of the 1990s and therefore turning a whole new generation onto Ian Fleming's suave secret agent.
GoldenEye, the first of the four Brosnan Bond films, came out 20 years ago today if you can believe it, and the fact that there's a Bond movie in theaters right this minute only hammers home just how unusually enduring (not to mention, hard to kill) the character remains.
While Brosnan's Bond reported for duty in the relatively evolved year that was 1995, he was still very much of the old-timey, bed-the-babes, not-a-hair-out-of-place Bonds that came before. But his in-on-the-joke version combined the debonairness of Sean Connery with the hungry-for-adventure vibe that Roger Moore brought to the table; and for now anyway, Brosnan also marked the last of the still-having-fun Bonds, because no matter how deftly Daniel Craig's 007 handles every obstacle in his way, he always looks like he's going to work.
Having the weight of the world on his shoulders does start to creep up on Bond by 2002's Die Another Day, which of course took place in a different kind of world than 1999's The World Is Not Enough, but overall Brosnan was an ideal choice to ferry Bond-as-we-knew-him into the 21st century.
So while Craig took over in 2006, this is a day for celebrating the deliciously coiffed, often smirking Pierce Brosnan, who presumably set off jackpot sirens among the Fleming heirs when he first broke through in Remington Steele (the very name of which suggested he was destined for MI-6 one day).
With that gleam in his eye, the Irish star was positively bred to deliver the one-liners that make James Bond the likable, rakish, untouchable (yet touched constantly), unflappable character he's supposed to be.
So we've taken the liberty of ranking Brosnan's best lines from all four of his Bond movies, starting—of course—with the classic GoldenEye (caution: spoilers ahead):
16. "Bond. James Bond." While no one Bond lays claim to this moment alone, Brosnan's first formal introduction in GoldenEye was actually followed immediately by him ordering a "vodka martini, shaken not stirred," so major points for getting that all out of the way in one cool breath.
15. "He caught a bullet instead of the plane." You get it, ultra-scary World Is Not Enough villain?! Davidov's dead!
14. Yes, he actually said that in Die Another Day, the script for which may have been generated by a machine.
13. "Well the fun is about to come to a dead end." In case that wasn't clear, Graves, I'm going to kill you. I, however, shall die another day.
12. A bit of a heavy-handed journalism lesson given to Jonathan Pryce's evil media mogul in Tomorrow Never Dies.
11. Sadly, Sophie Marceau's vixen in The World Is Not Enough turned out to be bad news and Brosnan has to do away with her.
10. "I have been known to keep my tip up." Just your average fencing lesson from Madonna in Die Another Day.
9. "Make sure they send me home first class." Jack's warning about other would-be heroes going home "in very small boxes" doesn't phase 007 in GoldenEye.
8. "Filthy habit." Tomorrow Never Dies kicks off with an aggressive anti-smoking campaign.
7. Really the franchise has been one long public service announcement.
6. "What, no small talk? No...chit-chat?" The best part is, it was all small talk and chit-chat! Except...
5. "Governments change. The lies stay the same." So a spot-on Bond reminded M and any remaining optimists watching GoldenEye.
4. "Sorry, forgot to knock." The first we hear of Pierce Brosnan's Bond in GoldenEye and what a way to make an entrance.
3. "That's one trick I've never learned." When asked in GoldenEye why he won't just "be a good boy and die."
2. "No, for me": No, not for England, Sean Bean. Ciao, you traitorous GoldenEye double agent.
1. "I thought Christmas only comes once a year." Actually said during a bedroom scene, perhaps the best and worst line Brosnan ever uttered.
Hugh Jackman's up for playing Bond—can't wait to collect his quotes!