‘Giant’ star Pierce Brosnan: ‘It’s such a capricious game to be an actor, you have to be as tough as old boots to be in it this long’

Irish star discusses self-belief, his new boxing biopic and why he’s not ready to retire

Pierce Brosnan, Amir El-Masry, ‘Prince’ Naseem Hamed and young actors Ghaith and Ali Saleh at a gala screening of ‘Giant’ in London. Photo: WireImage

Pierce Brosnan has what grandmothers might call a “twinkle”. Or at least the kind of face that would make ­cartoon animals hit themselves with enormous mallets while their eyes bulge out of their heads. And he knows this.

Obviously. You don’t play James Bond and get voted the Sexiest Man Alive at the relatively late age of 48 without cottoning on. And you can also tell because when I ask Brosnan about being a famously very good-looking dude, he barely blinks. There’s no faux ­modesty. No admonishing. Just a sharp nod of recognition. Water is wet. Climate change is real. Pierce Brosnan – then, now, and tomorrow – looks absolutely fantastic.