# Pierce Brosnan's accent... **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 8, 2004, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pierce-brosnans-accent/273566 "2004-11-08T00:48:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![pretend\_my\_name\_is\_witty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b9e5f3/32.png) [@pretend\_my\_name\_is\_witty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pretend_my_name_is_witty)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2004, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pierce-brosnans-accent/273566/1 "2004-11-08T00:48:03Z")
I was discussing this with some friends the other day (boring, I know!)… …but where has Pierce Brosnan’s Irish accent suddenly come from. I know he’s supposed to hail from Ireland, but he certainly never used to have a strong accent. Maybe I’m just confusing the Bond character, who’s very English with the actor, but it just seems to me like he’s developed the Irish accent over the last couple of years. Just to be interesting, I s’pose! Anyone got any ideas on this? Prove me wrong/agree with me…? ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2004, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pierce-brosnans-accent/273566/2 "2004-11-08T00:54:20Z")
Pierce Brosnan _ **is** _ Irish – always has been and always has had the accent. Remember Remington Steele?? It may be in some movies that he suppresses the accent, and in others it comes out more. But, this is nothing new… ---
**Author:** ![pretend\_my\_name\_is\_witty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b9e5f3/32.png) [@pretend\_my\_name\_is\_witty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pretend_my_name_is_witty)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2004, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pierce-brosnans-accent/273566/3 "2004-11-08T00:59:00Z")
OK, I know he **is** Irish, but he definately had a ‘normal’ (sorry) English accent in interviews I’ve seen of him earlier in his career. Just seems that lately his Irish accent has got stronger. I know if I had a respectable accent that I lost I’d try and ‘re-gain’ it. Well, I would if I weren’t from Somerset. Maybe I should start talking with an Irish accent! But you’re probably right. ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2004, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pierce-brosnans-accent/273566/4 "2004-11-08T01:03:13Z")
Could be that he’s spending more time in Ireland – that would re-strengthen the accent. Or it could be that he tried to tone it down before, but now he’s working it more. ---
**Author:** ![pretend\_my\_name\_is\_witty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b9e5f3/32.png) [@pretend\_my\_name\_is\_witty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pretend_my_name_is_witty)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2004, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pierce-brosnans-accent/273566/5 "2004-11-08T01:07:23Z")
That’s probably it. Maybe it wasn’t so great for an aspiring actor playing an English character to sound Irish in the 80’s/90’s. That could be a reason to try and ‘tone it down’. And in recent years, it’s not going to change anyone’s views, so it’s OK to bring back the strong accent. ---
**Author:** ![kittenblue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ba8739/32.png) [@kittenblue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kittenblue)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2004, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pierce-brosnans-accent/273566/6 "2004-11-08T03:31:44Z")
I don’t care what accent he’s using. He could be entirely mute for all I care. He’s just so nice to look at, the accent is a bonus. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2004, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pierce-brosnans-accent/273566/7 "2004-11-08T04:40:52Z")
> [@Pretend My Name Is Witty](#): > > Maybe I’m just confusing the Bond character, who’s very English Erm, actually Bond is Scottish. Or to be exact he had a Scots father, a Swiss mother\*, and grew up in Scotland. Though he was educated in English public schools. \*which makes him Swiss Cottage (old joke) ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2004, 7:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pierce-brosnans-accent/273566/8 "2004-11-08T07:38:09Z")
[Craig Ferguson](http://us.imdb.com/name/nm0272401/) played Englishman Nigel Wick on _The Drew Carey Show_, but out of character, when he was on talk shows, he had a strong Scottish accent. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2004, 9:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pierce-brosnans-accent/273566/9 "2004-11-08T09:00:35Z")
Pierce Brosnan not only has been making a few independent movies in ireland, but yes, he’s been spending more of his downtime there too. The accent often returns when you’re back amongst your past again. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2004, 9:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pierce-brosnans-accent/273566/10 "2004-11-08T09:25:28Z")
Brosnan is from Navan, Co. Meath, but he left a long long time ago. He spent time in England and then in LA. His accent is messed up. It may sound more Irish to you lately, but to me, immersed in Irish accents all the time, he still sounds mid-Atlantic. ---
**Author:** ![Futile\_Gesture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f05b48/32.png) [@Futile\_Gesture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Futile_Gesture)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2004, 11:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pierce-brosnans-accent/273566/11 "2004-11-08T11:40:25Z")
> [@Pretend My Name Is Witty](#): > > Maybe I’m just confusing the Bond character, who’s very English This will come as a great shock to Sean Connery. ---
**Author:** ![Cartooniverse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cartooniverse/32/3084_2.png) [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2004, 11:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pierce-brosnans-accent/273566/12 "2004-11-08T11:51:53Z")
You wanna listen to a distorted accent, try tracking the sounds coming out of Mel Gibson’s pharynx in the last 40-odd years. He is from New York, guys. Moved to Aussie as a wee lad. Hit it big, moved to L.A. If you watch " Tim ", one of his first ( if not his first ) feature project and then listen to " Lethal Weapon IV ", you will not be sure it’s the same guy. People can both consciously and unconsciously modify their speech patterns. Sometimes it’s quick work and sometimes it’s a slow progression that is largely unplanned. Ya gotta admit, many folks living in this country are the first or second generation born of immigrants whose accents were incredibly thick. Many of those accents were shed by intent when they arrived here. It doesn’t sound like he’s posing at all, just the normal progression of his Irish accent back and forth. I agree. He could be mute. The man was born to appear in evening wear. Cartooniverse ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2004, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pierce-brosnans-accent/273566/13 "2004-11-08T16:33:18Z")
> [@Cartooniverse](#): > > You wanna listen to a distorted accent, try tracking the sounds coming out of Mel Gibson’s pharynx in the last 40-odd years. He is from New York, guys. Moved to Aussie as a wee lad. Well, not so wee. He was eleven years old when the family moved to Australia in 1968. And his mother was Australian. ---
**Author:** ![ruadh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d2c977/32.png) [@ruadh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ruadh)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2004, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pierce-brosnans-accent/273566/14 "2004-11-08T16:40:33Z")
> [@Pretend My Name Is Witty](#): > > I know if I had a respectable accent that I lost I’d try and ‘re-gain’ it. Brosnan doesn’t have a respectable accent, he’s from Navan… ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2004, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pierce-brosnans-accent/273566/15 "2004-11-08T17:41:01Z")
> [@ruadh](#): > > Brosnan doesn’t have a respectable accent, he’s from Navan… Give **Pretend My Name Is Witty** a break! He/she is from Somerset and thinks any accent that doesn’t sound like you’ve got a mouth full of marbles is respectable. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2004, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pierce-brosnans-accent/273566/16 "2004-11-08T17:41:59Z")
> [@kittenblue](#): > > I don’t care what accent he’s using. He could be entirely mute for all I care. He’s just so nice to look at, the accent is a bonus. Preach it, sister. ---
**Author:** ![pretend\_my\_name\_is\_witty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b9e5f3/32.png) [@pretend\_my\_name\_is\_witty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pretend_my_name_is_witty)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2004, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pierce-brosnans-accent/273566/17 "2004-11-08T17:46:05Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > Give **Pretend My Name Is Witty** a break! He/she is from Somerset and thinks any accent that doesn’t sound like you’ve got a mouth full of marbles is respectable. 😉 Y’uuuuuuurrrr… **dropzone** ’s got it right, me own ahhhhfoooowl voice is making me jealous! Actually, I think I’ve 'Brosnan’ed it from a young age and have managed to never get the Somerset accent (I hope). For some reason I’ve got some hybrid Southern accent that makes me sound more like I come from Surrey. Ashamed of my native tongue, I guess! ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2004, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pierce-brosnans-accent/273566/18 "2004-11-08T17:48:26Z")
There, there. Don’t worry. We Yanks think you all sound like Cockneys, anyway. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![pretend\_my\_name\_is\_witty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b9e5f3/32.png) [@pretend\_my\_name\_is\_witty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pretend_my_name_is_witty)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2004, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pierce-brosnans-accent/273566/19 "2004-11-08T17:53:13Z")
It’s a good job we dont! If everyday life sounded like an episode of Eastenders (just the voices, not the material!), I’d break down and weep. How well known is the ‘lovely’ South-West farmers’ accent outside of the UK then? It’s a bugger (our word, really. I think.) when I visit other places in teh UK. Most jokes seem to involve tractors and cider. So do most games, around here. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Scrivener](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@The\_Scrivener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Scrivener)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2004, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pierce-brosnans-accent/273566/20 "2004-11-08T23:11:53Z")
> [@the OP](#): > > …it just seems to me like he’s developed the Irish accent over the last couple of years. Just to be interesting, I s’pose!.. That, and [he’d do anything to seduce Marge Simpson.](http://www.geos.tv/index.php/episode/sim/270)😉 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pierce-brosnans-accent/273566.md?page=2)