In ‘MobLand,’ Pierce Brosnan finds joy in playing a brute

Playing a gangster suits Pierce Brosnan. The actor, 71, is often best remembered for heroic characters like James Bond, but ruthless crime boss Conrad Harrigan on “MobLand” is quickly becoming a fan-favorite role. The series, created by Ronan Bennett and written with Jez Butterworth, follows Conrad and his fixer Harry Da Souza (Tom Hardy) as the Harrigan family becomes embroiled in a violent feud with the rival Stevensons. The first two episodes were directed by Guy Ritchie, who set the irreverent, fast-paced tone for the series.

“I read the first five episodes and just enjoyed it,” Brosnan says, speaking over Zoom from his home in Malibu. “I basically said, ‘I’m in.’ It was that easy.”

In the most recent episode, the clans form a temporary détente at the funeral of Tommy Stevenson (Felix Edwards), with Conrad’s devious wife Maeve (Helen Mirren) scheming to draw blood behind his back. Brosnan describes the tense scenes at the wake as “beautifully done,” both in the writing and the staging.

“The whole piece has a theatricality — it was like doing a play,” he says. “Helen made the choice of channeling Lady Macbeth, which was very appropriate. It has those Shakespearean undertones. But we had no idea where it was really going because the scripts were coming in at the 11th hour.”

Helen Mirren co-stars as Maeve Harrigan, Conrad’s wife. “Helen made the choice of channeling Lady Macbeth, which was very appropriate,” Pierce Brosnan says.

(Luke Varley / Paramount+)

Brosnan is already anticipating a second season of “MobLand” (it has yet to be greenlit) and finds it miraculous that he’s been given such a memorable part this late in his career.

“It’s been remarkable to see the impact it’s had on the audience,” he says. “People know me as James Bond and that will never go away, which is fine. But now it’s ‘MobLand.’ A long time ago, Sydney Pollack greeted me after a screening of ‘The Thomas Crown Affair.’ He said, ‘Congratulations. Enjoy it. They don’t come around that often.’ I’ve had a career and I’ve always managed to work and to enjoy the work. But every now and then you get a gift of gold dust like Conrad.”

Here, in a conversation edited for length and clarity, Brosnan discusses developing Conrad, returning to the spy genre in the Steven Soderbergh film “Black Bag” and why acting still thrills him.

What did you initially find attractive about Conrad as a character?

I love gangster movies. When I read [the script,] it wasn’t the Conrad we now see. But I enjoyed the writing and I enjoyed the family aspect of it, and it had meat on the bone. Then when Jez Butterworth came onboard, it transformed even into something more spectacular and it had a cohesion of characters that was very exciting. Conrad became more fleshed out when Jez began writing this outrageous character.

Was he written as Irish?

The Irish aspect of him happened on the day. I was going for a North London or South London accent. But on the very first day of shooting with Tom and myself, Guy said, “Go Irish.” I called up my dialect coach, Brendan Gunn, who I’ve worked with many, many times. I said, “Brendan, I’ve got 15 minutes. Give me a Kerry accent.” Brendan gave me a man who I based the voice on — he’s from Kerry and he’s a politician — and I jumped in with both feet. My own Irish accent is so diminished as an Englishman and a Californian. I wanted something that had a bite to it. I wanted something where you could take someone’s head off with the words.

Were you familiar with Guy Ritchie’s improvisational style before this show?

I’d heard about his style of working and it is very impromptu. You have to come prepared on any show. My teachers taught me you will never be directed, so you better come prepared knowing what to do and play it. Guy’s style is very loose, but he knows what he wants and he gives you great freedom. He gave me great freedom in finding Conrad in that he trusted me enormously with just my finding the character.

Did you know the complete arc of your character going in?

No, I was flying blind. Jez and I only had one conversation, really. I never spoke with Guy about the character — he just said, “Go Irish.” But I found it very exhilarating. It gave me freedom. And it was really fast. On that first day, it was a three-page scene outside my [character’s] country home, somewhat expositional, but also with great character nuance. We rehearsed it once and we shot it maybe two or three times. That’s how it started and that’s how it continued.

What did you discover about Conrad as you went along?

There’s a vulnerability to the character that I like. And there’s a great sense of humor to Conrad. He’s so brash and so bold and what he does is so audacious and he is quite terrifying and unhinged. He comes from a mangled life and he’s very cunning and very brutish. And he knows what’s going on. He knows what Maeve is doing and he loves her. She is his lifeline to some kind of sanity, but she is so damaged as well and he knows he’s been manipulated by her. That’s where the humor comes in for me because he doesn’t show all his cards. But after 10 episodes, I’m still finding out this man.

Helen Mirren, Pierce Brosnan and Anson Boon in Episode 5 of “MobLand.” “He comes from a mangled life and he’s very cunning and very brutish,” Brosnan says of his character.

(Luke Varley / Paramount+)

When you’re playing someone who does such bad things do you still need to find a way to humanize him?

That’s a really hard one to define when you’re playing someone this corrupt. You have to let the audience in. You have to do so in such a way that allows the audience to come in to you, to beguile them, to charm them. Then you pull out the stiletto. But that’s the joy of it.

You played another ambiguous character in “Black Bag.” What appealed to you about that role?

The play within the play — me being the head of the [spy] agency having been a former James Bond. The sheer delight of playing within that theatrical arena, just like when I was James Bond doing “The Tailor of Panama,” another film in the world of espionage. But it was tough because I was already on another movie called “Giant,” which is about the boxer Prince Naseem Hamed. I was five weeks into that movie, and I’d already said yes to Steven Soderbergh, so I had to do it. It was overwhelming because I had another week left on the boxer movie and the Soderbergh movie came in.

I got on the train down from Leeds on a Friday night and went to work with Steven Soderbergh on Monday morning, straight into a seven-page scene. It was a real shot in the arm and that week went by really fast, and I went back through Leeds and I finished off my boxing movie, and then went into “The Thursday Murder Club.” I finished that and went off to Munich for a remake of “Cliffhanger” with Lily James and then did “MobLand.”

That’s a lot.

It’s a lot of work, but it’s good. It’s exhilarating, especially when you have been on the other end, looking at a horizon which is rather flat and wondering what’s going to happen next. But I’ve always worked. I don’t like sitting around. I like to work. Once you commit to a project, you give it 100% and you honor the work no matter what.

Were you ever worried that if you returned to the espionage genre, you’d start getting a lot similar roles offered to you?

Oh no. That would be wonderful. I haven’t turned my back on that genre of work. There’s some classical piece I’d like to do. I’m not sure what shape or color that is, but something classical would be rather good to put in there at this point in the career.

Do you still feel a rush of excitement when you start a new project at this point in your career?

Yes. I love not knowing what’s going to happen next and then materializing something. Like with “MobLand,” it had all of the ingredients and then how do you do it? It gives you something to work on and you get away from yourself.

Pierce Brosnan, left, with Tom Hardy, who plays Conrad’s fixer, Harry Da Souza.

(Luke Varley / Paramount+)

Are you trying to get away from yourself?

Not necessarily, but it is a great contentment to have a character to work on, a script under your arm or script by the bed, sleeping with a great character, trying to figure [out how to] play him. Especially when you’re in the company of actors like Tom Hardy, Helen Mirren and Paddy Considine, and all the directors that we worked with. It was quite magical every day to see the work and to see the characters develop. That still excites me at 72. It still enthralls me and activates me. But there will be a time when I know enough is enough.

Are you someone who always wants to take big risks in your career?

“MobLand” definitely had its own strong sense of danger and required making choices that were shooting from the hip. But every job is always the same. There’s that wonderful exhilaration of being invited into a movie with a great director, great cast, great script and the euphoria of being asked to play in the company as an artist. And then the realization that you have do it. Then it becomes a very silent room of expectation within yourself: Can you do it? What form will it take?

How do you feel when a project is done?

I used to hold on. I now let go and I let go fast and I move on. However, with Conrad, having played him for five months and felt the resonance that it’s created, it makes me excited for more.

Is there anything you can tease about the rest of the season?

There’s a fair bit of blood. Not everyone is who they say they are. And there’s a particular rat in the pack. There’s quite a few surprises. All the scripts were consistent with what you’ve already seen. If anything, the writing gets stronger. And there’s an introduction of a particular character who alters the landscape. But don’t trust any of them.