Pierce Brosnan: My 'tame' James Bond was 'never good enough'

The actor has confessed to his own insecurities in playing the secret agent

Pierce Brosnan as James Bond in 2002's Die Another Day (Rex Features)

Pierce Brosnan has bemoaned his time as James Bond, saying that he never felt “good enough” in the famous role.

The Irish actor, 60, starred as Ian Fleming’s secret service agent in four films – GoldenEye, Tomorrow Never Dies, The World Is Not Enough and Die Another Day – between 1995 and 2002.

But he never watches his own performances, something he describes as a “horrible feeling”.

“I felt I was caught in a time warp between Roger (Moore) and Sean (Connery). It was a very hard one to grasp the meaning of, for me,” he told The Telegraph.

“The violence was never real, the brute force of the man was never palpable. It was quite tame, and the characterisation didn’t have a follow-through of reality, it was surface. But then that might have had to do with my own insecurities in playing him as well.”

Despite Brosnan's self-doubt, his Bond was general well-received by movie-goers, with Die Another Day the highest-grossing instalment of the franchise at the time.

Daniel Craig’s take on 007 has won the films their most critical praise, however, with Sam Mendes’ Skyfall the first Bond movie to break the £1 billion barrier worldwide. Released in 2012, it remains the highest-grossing film in UK cinematic history.

Last month, Taken star Liam Neeson revealed he had been "heavily courted" for the role of James Bond but turned it down because his wife-to-be Natasha Richardson said she would not marry him if he took it.