"Dante's Peak: it's a big movie. When the opportunity came I said, 'This is a great way to spend the summer.'"
Mr. Showbiz: You know that the whole world looks at you and thinks "007." Do you ever feel like James Bond?
Pierce Brosnan: That is me, yes--I'm the man! That is me. My shades, chicks, and my Beemer, driving down P.C.H. [the Pacific Coast Highway] . . . Ooooh, gosh I hope not, or else I'm a sick human being! No, he's over there; I'm over here. James Bond and Pierce Brosnan are two different and very separate people, thank you.
And now you're trying to branch out with a lot of very different types of roles so that people don't forget that. Dante's Peak is a big step in that direction, isn't it?
This is a very important film at this point in my career. I want it to be a big success. I want to get as much work in the can between the last Bond and the next Bond, which is starting in April. Consequently, I did The Mirror Has Two Faces with Barbra, and had a great time. I like Barbra very much, despite what you may read. [Laughs.] We got along very, very well, and I ain't bullshitting you--I thought she was top-drawer. I had a great romp on that, and then Mars Attacks! was great. I was one of the first guys to sign on to that. Tim Burton is a unique man in the landscape of cinema. And then Dante's Peak: it's a big movie. I grew up on movies like The Towering Inferno and The Poseidon Adventure and I always wanted to do one. When the opportunity came I said "What a great way to spend the summer."
You were at the Dante's screening last weekend with Keeley and Dylan. Were you at all surprised by the audience's reactions? How about the point when the grandma died, and everyone laughed?
Well yes--when the grandma died! I'm glad they didn't do that in my scene. I'd say, "All right, stand up! Who's laughing!?" I don't know why they laughed. I don't know, maybe it was so schmaltzy, or maybe it was from tension, I don't know. It didn't bother me. If they laughed at the claustrophobic scene, with the car on top of me at the end, maybe then I'd have been a bit upset.
What did you think of the audience's overall reaction to the movie?
I thought the reaction was good. When you say yes to a film, you are always a bit nervous about the end result, because you are at the mercy of the director and you are at the mercy of the special effects people. I thought [director] Roger [Donaldson] made a very tight movie, at least not a lot of breathing space, and the pressure was on right from the beginning.
I thought the human story worked. I was nervous about that, it was pretty thin at the beginning when I came on to it, but we worked on it. I think there was flesh and blood in it--I think you care for these people. You care for the children, hopefully for Harry Dalton, this man and this woman, the townspeople, the grandma.
And the dog--
The dog! Yes, that damn dog!
What were some of the things you developed for your character?
We were allowed to ad-lib a lot. That whole scene with the children--the trick with the handkerchief--was all mine. I remembered my grandfather doing that trick with the handkerchief. I also brought in the song, "Row, row, row, your boat" on the water. Why are you laughing? Did you think that was rather schmaltzy? Maybe. Maybe.
I didn't have a problem with that, but the part where grandma jumps into the acidic lake that's eating away at the hull of the boat, and pulls the boat twenty feet--that might be a little much.
I know, I know, but little kids are going to go home and say, "My grandma could do better than that!" It is what it is. I was concerned--it stretched reality to the limits. But somehow I bought it. I bought it. I was nervous about the whole song and I thought, "Oh God, I laid an egg here." I have to tip my hat to Roger, who went in there with the scissors and the cutting and made it work.
Linda Hamilton told me that one of the reasons you and she got along so well during the filming of Dante's Peak was that you're both from Malibu. She thinks that if you're living in Malibu, you're a very "real" person. Do you agree with that?
I love Linda; she has become a really good friend. But Malibu? I mean, if you'd said Ireland, maybe. But real in Malibu? No, no, no! It's time to move. No, Linda and I get along really well; I wish this woman all the greatest success in life; I'm very fond of her. I've always liked her work. We had a very nice relationship. Good laughs.
Does that kind of a joking relationship make it difficult to do kissing scenes?
Oh no--she's got great lips.
Congratulations on becoming a father again. How is it having a baby in the house again?
Oh, it's nice. It's exciting, it's a rich experience. There's the dreams you have and the expectations for a newborn. There's much more patience in my being, and a sense of wonderment of life and how precious it is. He was great until about two nights ago, when we were sleeping, but Keeley took a lot of Vitamin C, and that may have affected him.
Is there any chance you and Keeley will be getting married?
No, not at all. We have been happy for three years, we are very content. I don't feel the urge to get married, nor does Keeley. We've had a wonderful three years of being together and traveling together, and the baby has been a great joy to us.
How did you decide on the name Dylan Thomas?
We didn't name him after the poet. We both liked the name Dylan and we had girls' names and boys' names [picked out], and Dylan was on the top of the list for boys. Just before the baby was born, we wanted to find out if it was a boy or girl. We found out it was a boy and as we were driving home from the hospital, we were starting to think of middle names. My father was Thomas and Keeley's father is a Thomas, and we said, "Dylan Thomas!" Uh-oh. Oops. Why not? It's a lyrical name, and he's a great poet.
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