tavis: good evening. from los angeles, i am tavis smiley. tonight a conversation with pierce brosnan. the deathvie is about of a loved one, which imitates his own life. we are coming up on our 2000th thisode.>> there is a saying possible. not know why you are still here, but i am glad you still are. >> i have got bills. get paid.s, but we

when is prince coming back on? we will get him back. >> i am glad you joined us. a conversation with mr. pierce brosnan is coming up. >> there is a saying that dr. king had that said there is always the right time to do the right thing. i try to live my life every day by doing the right thing. we know that we are only halfway to completely eliminating hunger and we have work to do. walmart committed $2 billion to fighting hunger in the u.s. as we work together, we can stamp hunger out. >> and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you.

tavis: embracing new challenges keeps artists vibrant, and that is what here's brosnan has done with his new movie. -- pierce brosnan has done with his new movie. challengesr from the he met while playing james on. "love is all you need your quote -- all you need." an orange tree for ned years before it was prud like a lemon. most of these trees are oranges. they have to be nurtured so they do not grow back as oranges.

it is a time-consuming process. >> the tree can make both lemons and oranges? i like that. you know, lemons are my favorite fruit. i cannot imagine the world without them. >> no. knowing your story as relatively well as i do and being a fan of yours all these years and having had to on the you before, -- having had on the show before, when i saw this i was shocked you were doing this because of the parallel with your own life. my first thought, why does he want to go there? acutely aware of the similarities between my life and susanna isld, but such a wonderful director.

her work is so nuanced. it seemed like the right time in life to enter into this world. inost my wife to cancer 1991, so i knew something about that part of the heart, and i knew something about being a father, being a parent, and the script appealed to me, and i then when, not now and it is such a beautiful part of the world. i thought, if you get it right it might have healing qualities to people suffering the onslaught of cancer. tavis: it might have turned out to be healing for others who wriggling, -- struggling, but

are was no guarantee it would be good for you. >> it was great. this was a film about love. is not necessarily about cancer and dying. this is about love and hope in people's lives, and all the people in this film are mangled in their own way, searching in their own way, so there was no remorse. there was no sentimentality. this was purely for entertainment value. tavis: the process of you speaking english and everyone around you speaking danish. >> that was more troublesome than anything else. fit intoan irishman all this?

i do not want to stick out like a sore it am, and she said, everyone speaks english. we will look out for you. i said, fair enough, and i set sail for copenhagen. i was embraced i all these wonderful act ears. i all these wonderful actors. she made it work. i only say one line, you are beautiful. tavis: that is a good one. you said that a few times in your career given the are you out. --that worked given the character you played. that worked out. when i saw chris, chris is one of my producers who happens to be a male. chris and i looked at each other and the first thing we said was,

did you cry? scene.last without giving away the last scene, i think both of us are guilty of getting a little emotional. >> this is an unabashedly romantic movie. with the scenarios of the and the woman who played i'd -- her husband is cheating on her. her son is in the iraq war. tears in the film, particularly the ending. it is left on such a beautiful note. tavis: it is shot beautifully. beautiful place to be. i ended up staying on this villa. they day i would go up cobblestone streets to this

other location. i had to call my wife. is everything ok? yes, it is fine. speaking of locations, i am sure there are folks who would qualify for this list, but given the breadth of your work during the bond years, i do not know if there is an actor who can brag about filming more places, more exotic and beautiful places than you. >> i do not know. i just met sir ben kingsley in the dressing room. that is one of the joys of being an actor, to set sail, to go to glorious parts of the world. that is what i enjoy. when i pick up the script i wonder where next. i love to go, and i love to come home. i hope the check does not bounce and the movie gets made and people enjoy it, and you move on. factors youare the

igh when deciding what you want to do? it is not just about getting out of the house. what are you making your decisions on these days? >> always the scripts. and the people involved, the director. sometimes you have choices. sometimes you do not. i have been very fortunate that i have worked since i left drama school in 1976. i have made a living as an act or. -- actor. i do not necessarily go and seek projects. they find me. my agent calls up and says, somebody wants to work with you. this is a good text. you read

it, and if the timing is right you set sail and do it. i have been a journeyman act are all my life. i love the work. one gets better. hopefully there is some authenticity in the work and strength. tavis: i do not know if you have an authentic way of answering this question, but let me ask it anyway. for connery is now famous the crying what happened to him -- decrying what happened as a result of playing bond. there were some consequences that happened as a result of playing that character for the years he played it. on balance, i do not want to ask of the bond years were good or bad for you, but give me some sense of what you think opened

up playing bond as you did. higher ground.to gratitude. gratitude for playing a role that is so iconic. gratitude for bringing it back to the world stage after it had been dormant for six years. gratitude because it allowed me to make my own company, irish dreamtime, and go on and do the matador, thomas crown. inare about to set sail serbia. i am going to go back into the spy game. we have a series of books called "the november man" written by there isger, so yes, always the rejection, the suffering of any actor in any career, and that just makes you

tougher. you cannot get bitter. you have to have a certain grace under pressure, a sense of humor the family has been a powerful influence and force in my life. barbara broccoli was a friend of my late wife's and continues to be very gracious, so there you go. that's the way it is, and that's the way i look at it, because it such a hard game. tough to be an actor. if you take all the knives, this one belongs to you. this one belongs to you. if you take all that on, it is going to kick you down, and you get twisted and mangled. healthy way ofa

looking at it. >> it is the only way to look at and be strong and grateful for the work at hand. experience, those bond years allowed you to set up your own company and do what you want to do. how important has that been to be able to control what you want to do? >> it has been a joy. my producing partner we have been friends for 30 years now. we go from film to film. it allows me to find roles that would not come my way. the matador i do not inc. anyone would have given to me. you get pigeonholed.

it's a great partnership, a and my sonsship, are doing the same thing. i have three sons, and i was with my 16-year-old and my 29- year-old. i was in the movie, and i was at teamster and watching my sons make a movie. could not talk them out of this, knowing what this business is like? the want and desire is there. the only thing i ask is they get good grades and go to college. then they are free to do whatever they want to do. i am not going to try to dissuade them.

my 16-year-old is a gifted writer. the 12-year-old has talent and charisma. son, i give him poetry and literature. act or, strongl erformer, so it is great. tavis: since you mentioned poetry and literature, i am curious. what do you like to read? i am curious about what is on your bedside table or in your library. becket, of yeats, joyce. i was just talking to somebody the other day about some shakespeare, maybe doing shakespeare on film.

chekhov, i love checkoff. -- chekhov. you not?w could >> the filmmakers now are such powerful young people because they write, produce, direct. they do it all. we were talking about doing "waiting for godot" in the hills of malibu. tavis: i would come see that. >> to stay alive as an actor, reading scripts you fall off the twig pretty quickly, so try to stay in tune with the works that stuck to your own heart or tapestry in life as an act or. this. maybe i missed have you done shakespeare onstage before? >> never. had.: i did not think you

why not? >> it never showed it self. ien i came here to america steele, and everything took off. i did not have the desire to go back on stage. as i got older i watched people in productions. i go to the theater and see friends. tohink there might be a time get back up there and prove myself. it is a nagging it should -- itch to go back there. tavis: i am not an actor, but i have been reading about that ler and herette mid return to broadway. as i read about her and sicily now 88, they say

it does not necessarily get easier as you get older, so if you are going to do this, you might want to figure some out. you are still a young guy, but it does not get easier. you to get to the point where you regret you did not do it. >> that is true. 60 is knocking on the door. tavis: you do not look anything like it. >> i like taking movies, and i love the world of filmmaking. that is what really turns me on. it always has and still does, so we will see about the theater. tavis: where and how do you find love for doing stuff that is not lock buster blockbuster stuff when

you know what that kind of acclaim feels like? the project "all you need is love." rex this is not a blockbuster -- >> this is not a blockbuster. good question. i am not sure i can answer it correctly. the work is there. i do not look for block dusters. if someone were to give me a blockbuster and it was the correct one, i would say yes. i have always considered myself a working actor, and you have to find the best work for yourself and the most meaningful work, so there are three movies coming out this year. the next one is with emma thompson and the one after that with toni collette. there is a trifecta of small films. i love the world of independent filmmaking.

i have always felt a were outside the system. you outside the system? rex i would love to be making blockbusters all the time, but it does not happen like that. blockbusterbiggest in my life. then you have to figure out how do youfit in, and how stay relevant as an actor? as you get older, how do you duck and weave through the years to stay in shape, to keep the passion alive for acting? tavis: what is the secret? >> good wife. tavis: happy wife, happy life. thee have been together

last 19 years. we have a good relationship, and we have a good kindness and respect of each other. tavis: did you think that would not happen for you a second time ? have you decided you were not going to look for it, that you did not want it a second time? lose a partner to a disease such as cancer, you are in the wilderness for a while. you have to find yourself again. that takes trial and error. being aree years of the corner came this beautiful girl into my life, and we set sail. it just felt right. there was a happiness and an authenticity. here we are. that is part of the reason.

that is part of the reason i am still working. i was kind of chuckling at my house before i popped in the screener. started inking about 10 years and all the show here the movies that have a major part of the plot a wedding, and it occurred to me hollywood gets storyof mileage out of lines. that where this starts. the great literature of life you will see weddings. shakespeare did it. checkoff did it.

-- chekhov did it. there is something about coming together, the baggage they all bring. is part of the human race. the wine flows and the liquor flows. outcome the people. what are they doing here? platform for drama. tavis: my grandpa used to call that liquid courage. it what you want. a wedding is always a great base to start any yarn. measurementis your

for success of this project. it is a beautiful project, gorgeous to look at. it made us cry in the and. >> at the end of the year i can say it was a beautiful winner. you want to make material that s, that can be picked off- the-shelf late at night. tavis: and cry at the end. love is all you need is the project. i am always delighted to have you on this program.

are not aging at all. that is our show for tonight. until next time, thanks for watching and keep the faith. will not remember you being here. just by the card and get on the plane. are we good? thank you. >> i really do not understand why anybody will work with you and stupide so awful and not nice. >> i paid them good money. >> for more information on today's show, visit tavis smiley at pbs.org. tavis: hi, i'm tavis smiley. join me next time for a nowersation with snoop dogg

on about his life. >> there is a saying that dr. king had that said there is always the right time to do the right thing. i try to live my life every day by doing the right thing. we know that we are only halfway to completely eliminating hunger and we have work to do. walmart committed $2 billion to fighting hunger in the u.s. as we work together, we can stamp hunger out. >> and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you.@@

% . >> hello and welcome to this is us. this week we are at the tech b museum in downtown san jose. this celebrates science and invasion. it is a great place to explore and have fun. we are going to visit the seismic wave lab and take a ride on the earthquake machine. get a bird's eye view of the world by a google map and test a jet pack. we will also visit with matt west known for his development of the blogging platform. if you surf the web you have seen word press. more than 2.5 billion pages are seen each month. you will also hear from allen, he is the pioneering engineering computer scientists who came up with a first big video arcade