Helen Mirren and Pierce Brosnan Shut Down Retirement Talk: ‘You Keep Going’

Pierce Brosnan knows comedy better than you might think.

Back in 1993, when he played opposite Robin Williams in Mrs. Doubtfire, director Chris Columbus wanted him to have sharp comic timing. Brosnan, now 72, says he picked it up from “British comedies” and from learning to watch people closely.

“I love physical comedy,” he says. “The shadow moves people make when they’re listening.”

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A Quick Lesson in “Shadow Moves”

His co-star Helen Mirren, 80, wasn’t about to let that slide. “What are shadow moves?” she asked.

Brosnan demonstrated by moving his fingers up and down. “We talked about it in drama school,” he explained.

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Mirren quipped back, “Did we? I’ve never heard of shadow moves because I didn’t get to drama school.” Cue laughter from both.

Teaming Up in The Thursday Murder Club

The two reunite in Netflix’s upcoming crime comedy The Thursday Murder Club, directed by Columbus.

Brosnan plays Ron, a retired union activist, while Mirren plays Elizabeth, a mysterious retiree with hints of a past life in intelligence. Alongside Ben Kingsley and Celia Imrie, their characters investigate cold case murders and an unexplained death linked to their seniors’ residence.

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“Ron doesn’t really want to be there,” Brosnan explains. “But he finds contentment in Elizabeth, in the group, and in his son, who is his world.”

Fame, Fans and Modesty

In the film, Ron’s son Jason (Tom Ellis), a former pro fighter turned reality TV star, grabs attention everywhere he goes.

Brosnan says he understands that kind of star power in real life. “You want to entertain people, give them a great night in the cinema or theater. Job done, move on, do it again.”

Mirren insists she doesn’t see herself as a “star” the way Brosnan or Harrison Ford are. She recalls working with Ford on The Mosquito Coast, where a woman bluntly told him, “I suppose you think I know who you are? Well, I don’t.” Ford, she says, just smiled graciously.

No Plans to Retire

Both actors play retirees in the film, but neither is slowing down off-screen.

Mirren says Elizabeth still craves challenges even after stepping away from her old life. “The engine doesn’t stop,” she says. “The energy and intellectual drive don’t suddenly disappear when you retire.”

Mirren herself feels the same way. “We love our work. If you’re lucky enough to keep going, you keep going.”

Brosnan agrees wholeheartedly. “I’ve been an actor all my life. I don’t know what else to do. The doing of being an actor — the constant doing of it — is invigorating.”