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His portrayal as the suave 007 agent James Bond made him a global heartthrob.
But Pierce Brosnan has completely transformed himself for his latest role – boxing trainer Brendan Ingle for the biopic Giant, which follows Prince Naseem Hamed become a world champion.
The actor, 72, revealed he spent hours in the make-up chair having prosthetics applied and he still kept the iconic leopard print tracksuit.
Pierce appeared on The One Show on Tuesday to promote the film alongside Amir El-Masry, 35, who plays Prince Naseem.
Pierce said: ‘There was a transformation in this. I don’t look like Brendan and again when I read this text I thought: “My God, Rowan [Athale, the film’s director and screenwriter], you’ve given me a jewel here”. And so, there were prosthetics involved for me.’
Amir commented Pierce was in the special effects chair for hours as a team worked hard to transform him into Brendan. Pierce said: ‘It was a couple of hours. I had a bald cap and a nose.’
Pierce Brosnan has completely transformed himself for his latest role – boxing trainer Brendan Ingle for the biopic Giant, which follows Prince Naseem Hamed become a world champion
The actor, 72, revealed he spent hours in the make-up chair having prosthetics applied as he appeared on The One Show on Tuesday to promote the film
Whilst talking about what it was like taking on their roles, Angellica Bell asked Pierce: ‘What was it like donning the leopard print tracksuit? You did a bit of dancing in there as well…!’
The actor replied: ‘Well, you know, He was a showman. Brendan was a total showman. So was Naz, and it was created out of that flamboyance, and you know you want to grab the attention of the world and they did exactly that.
He then joked: ‘But yeah…the leopard skin… I kept the leopard skin! You never know….’
The film has been produced by Rocky star Sylvester Stallone and written and directed by Rowan Athale.
Giant tells the compelling true-life story of the British-Yemeni boxer and his rags to riches ascent in the tough working-class streets of Sheffield and his discovery by Brendan, himself a steel industry worker turned boxing trainer.
The film will see the boxer become a world champion under the management of the Irish-born boxing trainer.
Brendan and Prince Naseem’s unlikely partnership along with Naz’s unorthodox style, cocky persona and sheer dominance in the ring, propelled them to the top of boxing’s elite and unprecedented levels of stardom, all in the face of racism in the 80’s and 90’s in Britain.
Amir commented Pierce was in the special effects chair for hours as a team worked hard to transform him into Brendan (pictured right)
Giant tells the compelling true-life story of the British-Yemeni boxer and his rags to riches ascent in the tough working-class streets of Sheffield
Brendan and Prince Naseem’s unlikely partnership along with Naz’s unorthodox style, cocky persona and sheer dominance in the ring, propelled them to the top of boxing’s elite
Prince Naseem Hamed celebrates after his fight against Kevin Kelley at Madison Square Garden in New York City in 1997
AGC Studios Chairman and CEO Stuart Ford said in a statement: ‘Since commissioning Rowan to write the brilliant screenplay for ‘Giant’ several years ago, we’ve been passionate about bringing this extraordinary story to the big screen.
‘Amir and Pierce will make a powerful lead duo and it’s exciting that Zygi and his team at True Brit, with their outstanding career track record in launching the best of British film to audiences, believe as fervently as we do in ‘Giant’s cinematic potential.’
The film is scheduled for release in the UK and Ireland on January 9.
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Pierce Brosnan reveals he spent hours having prosthetics applied each day for his dramatic transformation into boxing trainer Brendan Ingle for biopic Giant