Former James Bond star Pierce Brosnan has said fellow Irishman and Oscar nominee Cillian Murphy would make a 'magnificent' 007. 'Cillian would do a magnificent job as James Bond on His Majesty's Secret Service,' Brosnan told the BBC at the annual Oscar Wilde awards in Los Angeles.
Murphy, who was also in attendance at the event at JJ Abrams's Bad Robot Productions in Santa Monica, is favourite to win best actor at the 96th Oscar awards on Sunday for his titular role in Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer. He said he had not heard the Bond rumours himself and also revealed that he had not really thought about possibly winning the Academy Award: 'I just want to go in and have a good time.'
Murphy also spoke about his son Aran, 16, who is making his film debut in Taika Waititi's Klara And The Sun. 'I'm very proud of him, he's a great actor,' he told reporters on the Irish-themed green carpet, adding that Aran didn't need his dad's advice.
Brosnan said he was 'greatly honoured' to be given an Oscar Wilde award for his contributions to the film and TV industry. He praised the 'kinship' between Ireland and America, adding that he came to the US in 1982 'on a wing and a prayer... and then got a job, [on drama series] Remington Steele'.
The other honourees this year were Irish visual effects supervisor Richie Baneham and Irish-American actress and comedian Molly Shannon. Two-time Oscar winner Baneham joked: 'People keep telling me I'm being upstaged by James Bond (Brosnan) - but truly, I know him as Remington Steele.'
Baneham is working on the third Avatar film, due for release in December 2025. Speaking about this year's Oscars crop, he said he had 'a soft spot' for visual effects nominee Godzilla Minus One 'because it's such a small movie'. He described Oppenheimer as 'a beast of a movie' and added: 'Hopefully Cillian does really well out of it.'
