text: Pierce Brosnan tells why he was reminded so much of his Irish roots while filming new TV series The Son
  Star's telly western role
  The Meath native plays violent father Eli McCullough who has lost three families and is prepared to go to any lengths to protect his land
  22:23, 28 Jan 2017
  LIFE has changed an awful lot for Pierce ­Brosnan since his days as a boy in Navan.
  Now a veteran Hollywood star, the Meath man has a happy family life and can pick and choose which roles interest him.
  Pierce plays oilman Eli McCullough who does everything he
  However the 63-year-old reckons his childhood days still influence his choices while the tough times made him who he is today.
  He is about to star in a new ten-episode TV Western on AMC called The Son — set in Texas — and he recalled how his earliest memories of the the movie world hark back to his youth in Navan.
  He said: "I grew up on the banks of the River Boyne and my connection to Texas was through cowboys and Indians.
  "We had two cinemas in the town. One was the Palace and one was the Lyric. The first real piece of cinema I was The Defiant Ones (about two convicts on the run in the American south) which was a great epic for a young lad to see in that cloistered kind of Catholic upbringing.
  "I didn't really have any perception of life in Texas."
  The James Bond star's latest role sees him play violent Eli McCullough, someone who has lost three families and is prepared to go to any lengths to protect his land.
  Eli's daughter Jeannie is played by Sydney Lucas
  The drama series is based on the book of the same name by Philipp Meyer and will air on US TV later this year.
  Apart from the extreme violence of his character, Pierce identifies with Eli's motivations.
  He said: "I come from a fractured home, the father left and I grew up with aunts and uncles in a lodging house in Navan.
  "I know what it's like to have that sense of displacement and aloneness in life and you draw from that.
  "I know what it's like to lose a loved one, a family member that is forever deep in your heart and psyche. So you bring that experience to a part like Eli."
  And he told how, on account of his Irish heritage, he is very connected to land.
  He and the family divide their time between Malibu and Hawaii.
  Pierce and wife Keely Shaye Smith pose on the red carpetCredit: Getty Images
  His wife Keely Shaye Smith Brosnan is a keen environmentalist who is now making documentaries and has stepped into the shoes of Pierce's late business partner Beau St Clair who died last year.
  Pierce said: "I love land. Land is very meaningful for me.
  "Maybe it's my Irish roots, but I think it's true for anyone in life.
  "It's home, it's security, it's a place where you can work from, dream from and there's nothing like owning a piece of raw earth that you can build on.
  "My wife Keely and I have a small place in Hawaii and the 15 years of working on it, dreaming on it and building a farm have been joyous."
  It's clear that family is a source of great pleasure for Pierce.
  He talks fondly of becoming a grandfather and how he feels he has been a big success as a Dad and now grandad.
  He said: "Having children and being a father is definitely the greatest thing that I have done, apart from my acting.
  "To be a father to my sons and to my late daughter and now to my granddaughter, who is such a deep joy in watching her grow up.
  Meath man Pierce Brosnan as Eli McCulloughCredit: Not known refer to copyright holder
  "I tried to be the best father I possibly can and so I give them too much and I spoil them too much and I don't discipline them enough. I shouldn't have tried to spoil them with love.
  "But luckily, I have a great wife in Keely and she is a wonderful, brilliant mother.
  "One of our sons, Dylan is at USC film school and she sat with him and did the school work and nurtured him along.
  "There's only so much I can teach, but she is a great educator. As a father and a man, I hope I have done something good with my life that they can understand and it's really all about dealing with people."
  It's just three years since the star buried his stepdaughter Charlotte.
  She died from the same ovarian cancer which killed her mother, Pierce's first wife, Cassandra.
  Despite the hardships in his life, Pierce is very much grateful for what he has with Keely and he speaks passionately about his admiration for his wife of 16 years.
  Pierce as James BondCredit: Getty Images
  He said: "God I love her! She's a Trojan woman, a saintly woman, Keely. When I met my late wife, Cassandra, she had two children, so I became a stepdad.
  "And then we had a son together and for sure there were trying moments when you take on a family and it was a big family, but gloriously so and happily.
  "Keely and I have gone through all those trials and tribulations and created a new life and a new family and this past Christmas, I had them all together at the same table."
  Having made his name in TV — on 1980s private eye classic Remington Steele — The Son marks Brosnan's first return to TV, right.
  And he told how he feels lucky to continue to get to work in an industry he loves.
  He said: "I think I try to remain optimistic and generous in spirit.
  "I have such gratitude for the job that I do and I love to do it and that I am still at the table and find employment as an actor.