A cameraman with the best sense of humour made sure to reveal Pierce Brosnan onscreen during the US Open on Sunday at just the right time.
The 73-year-old MobLand actor was sat watching the action of the men’s singles final unfold between German number one seed Alexander Zverev and homegrown US tennis star Ben Shelton.
Wearing a dark blue linen jacket over an unbuttoned white shirt with a blue pendant necklace and tinted sunglasses, the star kept a serious face as he was filmed early in the match.
But what had fans chuckling at home and online was the camera dissolving to reveal him just after the giant Rolex court clock, whichshowed the digital timer on 0:07.
Brosnan’s most famous role is, of course, that of British MI6 agent James Bond in four films from 1995 to 2002, whose identifying code number is 007.
The US Open’s X account highlighted the tongue-in-cheek clip from its broadcast coverage, sharing it online with the remark: ‘The camera panning from the clock at 0:07 to Pierce Brosnan. Absolute cinema.’
‘Give the camera operator a raise and give it to them by end of business day today,’ joked @MissSassbox on X, while Franklin Leonard added: ‘My compliments to the production team.’
‘Genius, both the camera operator and the director,’ insisted Irene Gómez while football correspondent Sid Lowe tweeted: ‘Well played, sir.’
‘This was so cool. Legendary cameraman!!’ posted Juanita Broaddrick.
However others were keen to point out that it was, in fact, a dissolve to show Brosnan and not a pan of the camera.
There were also compliments for Brosnan’s appearance and vibes, with Lon Harris tweeting: ‘Anyone who has ever played Bond gets an aura about them that never fades away. Dalton only made two films and still every time I see him, my brain goes, “That’s James Bond.”’
Brosnan dismissed rumours last week of any kind of feud or drama with MobLand co-star Tom Hardy as Guy Ritchie’s crime drama returned to our screens.
The second series had made headlines during filming after reports of tension behind the scenes, with Hardy at the centre of the speculation – although co-star Dame Helen Mirren had also sought to quell them at the time.
Hardy, who plays fixer Harry Da Souza, was reportedly accused of keeping his co-stars waiting on set and clashing with showrunner Jez Butterworth and David Glasser over script disagreements.
Speaking to press on Thursday night at the premiere, Brosnan stated: ‘Oh my God, it was a storm in a teacup, really.
‘I love the dude. I love Tom Hardy. I’m a massive fan of the man’s work. Truly.’
Insisting that the cast and crew remained close, he described them as ‘rock solid as a company, as a family’.
‘Everyone shows up for work, and everybody’s just there on the spot,’ he added.
‘It moves very fast so it’s not like we go out and socialise and go to the pub or anything like that.
‘Everyone goes home to their families and before you know it, you’ve done 10 episodes.’
Hardy also praised Brosnan and Dame Helen, who play mob boss Conrad Harrigan and his formidable wife Maeve, saying it was a ‘privilege’ to work alongside the veteran stars.
Brosnan has also praised CIA actor Tom Ellis as ‘a good James Bond’, the TV star recently revealed, after the pair starred together in Richard Osman’s Netflix film The Thursday Murder Club, which came out last year.
And, while at 47 Ellis reckons he’s too old, he was happy to take the compliment from Brosnan – a man who knows more than most about what it takes.