Pierce Brosnan: ‘I felt no guilt gunning people down in most violent scene on TV’

Pierce Brosnan is no stranger to murder; after all, up until 2002 he had a license to kill.

Still, the 73-year-old’s latest TV show pushes the violence to levels that would leave even poor James Bond shaken (not stirred).

We’re talking, of course, about MobLand, a sensationally savage crime thriller created by Ronan Bennett.

The series stars Tom Hardy as the fixer for the anarchic but brutal Harrigan crime family, which is led by the deranged Conrad (Pierce Brosnan) and Maeve (Dame Helen Mirren).

Season one ended with Harry and the Harrigans triumphing over their enemies, but if you thought things would calm down in series two, we’ve got bad news for you: things are only going to get more chaotic.

And nothing proves this more than season two’s opening set piece, which might be one of the most violent spectacles you’ll see on television this year.

Pierce loved filming the carnage (Picture: Luke Varley/Paramount Plus)

And look, we don’t want to give the game away, but let’s just say it involves Conrad and Maeve using some intense negotiation techniques that may or may not involve putting hot lead in places you really don’t want hot lead.

And while the more squeamish among you may flinch at the idea of turning mobsters into human colanders, do you want to know who had an absolute ball filming the bloody carnage? Pierce!

‘No,’ he grinned when Metro asked if he felt any guilt gunning down so many extras. ‘Not at all. It was so much fun. It was the best.’

Dame Helen, meanwhile, said it was fgreat fun (Picture: Luke Varley/Paramount Plus)

‘That’s why people love the show. The violence is so over the top; it’s so ridiculous.

‘It’s Jacobean,’ added Helen. ‘I would say it’s like a Jacobean tragedy.

‘And we had fabulous extras in that scene as well,’ she added. ‘They were great, weren’t they?

‘Oh, they were superb,’ joked Pierce. ‘They died really well.’

In fact, the pair both agreed they had great fun filming MobLand’s spectacular scenes.

Neither Pierce nor Dame Helen would tell m e what the future holds (Picture: Luke Varley/Paramount Plus)

‘Guy directed that episode, and I have to say it’s so fun working with Guy because it’s so weirdly chaotic and improvisational,’ explained Dame Helen.

At the same time, he’s got an incredible eye for the visual and exactly where you should be standing within the shot. In the midst of what seems to be chaotic improvisational madness, there actually is a very sharp eye… It’s always super fun to shoot with Guy. He had a field day that day.’

‘He acted it out,’ Pierce added.

‘Yes, he did, that’s right,’ Dame Helen grinned in reply.

But I think we can expect more action (Picture: Luke Varley/Paramount Plus)

‘We came back from lunch, and we had to do the business with all these guys, and he said, Helen, let’s just stand over there.’

So what does the future hold for the heads of the Harrigan family, and can we expect things to get bloodier before season 2 is done?

Well, Pierce joked, ‘It’s a little bit more medieval in certain parts,’ but he and Dame Helen prefer spilling blood (on the show, of course), not secrets.

‘We’re not going to tell you that,’ said Dame Helen in mock scandalised tones. ‘You charmed us, but no, we want the audience to be on a journey of discovery.’

Pierce dismissed the rumours about a falling out with Tom Hardy(Picture: Luke Varley/Paramount Plus)

And what a journey it’s going to be. This season, the Harrigans have to contend with a powerful new threat, the unhinged Frankie Cooper, played by none other than Johnny Flynn.

Thankfully, they’ve got Harry on hand to deal with the crisis, although it did briefly seem like Hardy might be leaving before MobLand season three.

Pierce, however, put those rumours to bed at the MobLand red carpet, explaining the rumoured ruptures on set were a ‘storm in a teacup’.

Brosnan, 73, told the Press Association that rumours of on-set rifts were a ‘storm in a teacup’.

‘I love the dude. I love Tom Hardy. I’m a massive fan of the man’s work. Truly.’

‘We are rock solid as a company, as a family,’ Brosnan added.

MobLand season two begins today exclusively on Paramount Plus.

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