Brosnan wins Bond fanatics' approval

THE NAME is Brosnan. Pierce Brosnan has taken over the part of the superspy 007 for the next James Bond film, Goldeneye, writes Glenda Cooper.

Tall, dark, handsome and bearded (for his present role as Robinson Crusoe) the former Remington Steele star promised to create a 'Bond for the Nineties' at a media launch in London yesterday.

'We want him to be more flinty with a little more humour,' said Mr Brosnan, the fifth actor to take on the role. 'We want to peel back some layers of his character and see what demons may lie there.' But the assembled observers were more interested in the Bond girls.

Would Mr Brosnan's Bond be less sexist? 'Possibly,' he said. 'He has to have a certain bite and edge - there are a few ladies there. With a piece like this it is pure fantasy and the political correctness has to be eased up a little.'

Mr Brosnan had wanted the role in 1986, when Roger Moore gave it up, but was unable to escape from his Remington Steele contract. Timothy Dalton won the part, also played by Sean Connery and George Lazenby.

Goldeneye, the 17th Bond film, is set in Russia with sequences in the Caribbean and Mexico. The story will deal with the Russian mafia.

Bond will be pitted against a villain called Trevelyan 'who is someone Bond knows', Mr Brosnan, 41, warned. 'There is an awful lot of psychological baggage and personal betrayal.'

Graham Rye, president of the James Bond Fan Club and Archives, was ecstatic. 'Pierce Brosnan is James Bond,' he enthused. 'He has all the physical attributes. He has the charm. He is right for the times.'

(Photograph omitted)