Pierce Brosnan: 5 Awesome Performances And 5 That Sucked

And 5 That Sucked...

5. Stuart 'Stu' Dunmire - Mrs. Doubtfire (1993)

Between leaving Remington Steele in 1987 and landing the part of Bond in 1994, Brosnan spent a lot of his time in TV movies and supporting parts in films. As we saw from Seraphim Falls, it's possible for an actor to put in a good performance even when the film around them isn't very good. Likewise, the opposite is true, and nowhere is this clearer in Brosnan's pre-Bond career than Mrs. Doubtfire. Mrs. Doubtfire stars Robin Williams as Daniel Hillard, a talented but unemployed voice actor whose wife files for divorce after their son's birthday party. Devoted to his children but unable to see them through the custody arrangements, Hillard learns that his ex-wife is looking to hire a housekeeper. With the help of his make-up artist brother (Harvey Fierstein), he transforms into Euphegenia Doubtfire, allowing him to see his children all the time without them even knowing it. Mrs. Doubtfire is one of Columbus' better films; provided you don't find the central conceit to be creepy, it's both funny and rather touching. But while most of the cast are very well-suited to their parts, Brosnan looks somewhat out of place. He's never been brilliant at out-and-out comedy, throwing away many of his lines in the pool scene and making the choking scene in the restaurant look very laboured. It's not enough to ruin the film, but it is a rather noticeable problem.