April 8, 2025: Pierce Brosnan, the iconic actor and film producer, recently shared a humorous and candid memory of his first day shooting as James Bond on the set of the 1995 spy film GoldenEye. Speaking to Stephen Colbert on The Late Show, Brosnan recounted the nerve-wracking experience of stepping into the legendary 007 role.
“All first days are terrifying,” Brosnan admitted, recalling the chaos of his first day. He mentioned that he had just undergone hand surgery after a tendon injury at home, which made the day even more challenging. “I had spent 12 weeks in a hand splint,” he said, adding that he could barely move his hand when filming began.
Despite his injury, the scene was set for an intense moment with Robbie Coltrane, who played the antagonist, and Minnie Driver, who was singing Stand by Your Man with a Russian accent. Brosnan’s very first shot required him to point a gun at Coltrane’s character, but his injured hand caused a mishap—his pinkie finger unexpectedly popped out during the shot, and it happened again in the second take.
“So, I got a Band-Aid and I stuck it to the gun,” Brosnan said, laughing at the memory. “And that was it. Problem solved. Got through the day’s work.”
Brosnan would go on to play 007 in three more films—Tomorrow Never Dies (1997), The World Is Not Enough (1999), and Die Another Day (2002)—before handing over the iconic role to Daniel Craig in Casino Royale (2006).