Pierce Brosnan & Cigars

At the end of Die Another Day (2002), Pierce Brosnan lights a cigar. It’s a fitting gesture, a tribute of sorts to his last film as James Bond. The Irish actor first appeared as 007 in 1995’s GoldenEye, the first of four Bond movies. He would have been James Bond sooner, but he couldn’t get out of the contract that gave him the role that put him on the map for US audiences, the hit TV show Remington Steele (1982-1987). Brosnan was the second Bond actor to smoke cigars onscreen. Usually, only villains were seen puffing stogies. (Roger Moore was the first cigar-smoking Bond.)

Brosnan and Cigars

Brosnan, 70, has shared that he doesn’t have one preferred cigar. 

“I guess I don’t have a go-to cigar. Occasionally, when I’m at home, I’ll go to a nice mild Dominican,” Brosnan said. “Arturo Fuente is a cigar I used to like. My wife likes the smell; her granddaddy used to smoke them. You can’t beat a full smooth cigar for contentment. It’s a small luxury, not to be abused.”

Early on, on the set of movies between takes, Brosnan has been known to enjoy a Cuban El Rey del Mundo. He said he developed a taste for cigars during his third year on Remington Steele. 

“I know a good cigar when I see one. I enjoy them,” he told Cigar Aficionado. “People give me fine cigars and I enjoy sharing them with people who really appreciate a fine cigar. There have been times when I've gone out with business guys and smoked cigars, and they've been among the most pleasurable evenings I've had. Good cigars and good company. Hard to beat."

In 1997, when he made the disaster movie Dante’s Peak, Brosnan would use cigars to relax on location in Idaho.

"I had my fishing rod with me, I'd take a walkie-talkie with me, so the set could be in communication with me, and I would spend the morning fishing. Or sometimes I'd go out in the evenings. The cigar was always a great companion." 

Bond Movies and Cigars

As the first cigar-smoking Bond, Roger Moore lit a makeshift flame thrower with his cigar to take out a poisonous snake. Moore’s deal provided an endless supply of Montecristos. Sean Connery never smoked a cigar while playing James Bond, but he did turn down a Romeo y Julieta in favor of a cigarette. 

In a Cigar Factory

Much of Die Another Day takes place in Cuba. In one scene, Bond (Brosnan) visits a cigar factory to gather intelligence. He uses a discontinued cigar code to make contact with his sleeper agent in an employees-only part of the building. In fact, the scene was shot at a cigar factory in Spain as US laws prevented the shooting of the scene in Cuba.

Brosnan enjoys smoking cigars in his movies. In the very underrated A Long Way Down and in Love Punch (both 2014) Brosnan’s characters smoke cigars. He said he likes the image a cigar conveys. In many ways, Brosnan’s characters have come to epitomize a type of cigar smoker. 

 “Confidence, bonhomie, wealth—just the whole bravado of maleness.”

Yeah, we get it.