Pierce: Way Beyond Bond!

The Insider

July 19, 2006

Pierce: Way Beyond Bond!


PIERCE BROSNAN is going where no Bond has gone before in 'Butterfly on a Wheel,' a new thriller in which the usually charming, blue-eyed gent kidnaps a five-year-old girl and terrorizes her family.

"This character brutalizes them so badly," Pierce says. "He has a bit of a temper on him and he doesn't like being told what to do and he doesn't like being pushed around in any way."

The story revolves around MARIA BELLO and 'Phantom of the Opera''s GERARD BUTLER as a happily married couple whose lives unravel when their daughter is abducted. Over the course of a day, Pierce -- a cold and calculating sociopath -- dismantles the family members' lives with brutal efficiency.

"It's not a piece that you kind of pick up and enjoy working on because you have to dig in and go places that you don't really want to go to," the former 007 says.

The part may sound grisly but after eight years playing the white knight of Her Majesty's Secret Service, Pierce, 53, says he was happy to accept the challenge.

"Having been kept on a tight leash for a number of years, happily so in some respects, this is like being a working actor again without a safety net."

Just don't expect him to show his knickers like he did playing down-on-his-luck assassin Julian Noble in 'The Matador.'

"That was a one of, 'Let's not repeat it. No, keep your pants on,'" he jokes.

'Butterfly on a Wheel' is expected in theaters later this year. For more with Pierce, watch tonight's "Insider."

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