It may look to outsiders that Pierce Brosnan has enjoyed the dream screen career, effortlessly moving from TV success in the 1980s to film superstardom in the 1990s.
However, the Irish actor has now revealed a bump in the road where, he believes, a casual comment may have cost him a huge and returning role.
Brosnan was already the established star of TV detective show Remington Steele – and appeared in films including The Fourth Protocol and Mrs Doubtfire – when he auditioned for the role of Batman for the film to be directed by Tim Burton.
As he this week told The Tonight Show, Brosnan thought a light quip might help him secure the role.
“I remember saying something stupid to Tim Burton,” he told Jimmy Fallon. “I said, ‘You know I can’t understand [why] any man who would wear his underpants outside his trousers.’
“But there you go … the best man got the job.”
Michael Keaton ended up bagging the role, which he went on to play again in Batman Returns in 1992.
Things didn’t turn out too badly for Brosnan, either – instead of Batman he got James Bond, a role he played four times in total between 1995 and 2002, and in which – for some – he remains the ultimate 007.