Pierce Brosnan says Guy Ritchie demanded he “go more Irish” on ‘Mobland’ set

Pierce Brosnan has revealed Guy Ritchie asked him to amp up his Irish accent while filming MobLand.

READ MORE: ‘MobLand’ review: Guy Ritchie goes lock stock for his own dated schtick

Executive produced by Ritchie, the series centres on the Harrigan crime family as they attempt to uphold their empire London, while also focusing on their fixer Harry Da Souza, played by Tom Hardy.

The first season, which also stars Pierce Brosnan and Helen Mirren, has generated a lot of buzz, although Brosnan’s turn as Conrad proved divisive, with many baffled by his take on an Irish accent.

The Paramount+ crime drama wrapped up its debut season last weekend (June 1), with viewers taking to social media to question his “utterly ridiculous” accent. “Pierce Brosnan’s accent almost makes MobLand unwatchable,” wrote one X user. “Surely they made him do that? And why? The bloke is Irish for fuck sake!

The James Bond star has since told IndieWire that he initially thought he’d be aiming for a north or south London accent, given that’s where the Harrigan’s are based in the show – but Ritchie had other, more last minute, plans.

“In his shoot-from-the-hip style, with great bravado, he said, ‘Go Irish. Don’t worry about it. We’ll sort it out on the day. Put it out of your mind,'” Brosnan explained. He worked with Mirren on Thursday Murder Club last summer, and recalled a conversation between the two where they both agreed to commit to the accent.

“She called me up, and she said, ‘I hear you’re doing an Irish accent.’ She was doing Irish on [Yellowstone prequel] 1923. Helen is very, very nimble on her feet, and she jumped in. We both flew together.”

“It was palpable on day one,” he continue. “I spoke to Ritchie last summer. Five weeks later, I show up on the set first day. We don’t have read-throughs. We had one rehearsal of the scene. It’s my first day. Tom Hardy, myself, and Guy said, ‘more Irish.’”

He settled on a Kerry accent inspired by his father, whom he never knew. “Guy just said, ‘Go mad. Got it?’ That was it,” he said. “And we took off from there, and everyone jumped in. It was the most incredible ensemble.

Conrad Harrigan (Pierce Brosnan and Harry Da Souza (Tom Hardy) in MobLand. CREDIT: Luke Varley/Paramount+

“Everyone knew what they wanted to do. Everyone was given free rein to just play, and we all knew each other’s style. Helen and I had worked together. Tom is one of those great charismatic presences on screen. We never discussed the parts. And I thought, ‘Fuck it. If you’re going to start working like this, then I’m free. I’m free. I can do anything I wish to do, whatever comes out of my mouth.’”

In NME‘s three-star review of the show, we said: “For all the laugh-out-loud moments and intriguing plot lines, it’s hard to believe Guy Ritchie is still rolling out the same old schtick. It’s as well made a version of this show as you could expect but it’s nothing to get excited about. Lock, Stock feels like a very long time ago indeed.”

It also nodded to Mirren’s accent work, adding: “There’s also been an attempt to create some compelling female characters this time around, even if it’s hard to tell exactly what accent Helen Mirren is attempting (we think it’s Irish).”

The post Pierce Brosnan says Guy Ritchie demanded he “go more Irish” on ‘Mobland’ set appeared first on NME.