Esraa Mahmoud
The dashing Pierce Brosnan is back in business with a new hit-in-the-making, The Last Rifleman. The upcoming Irish film has been trending lately after new images of the celebrated actor went viral. As per what we have seen so far, it looks like we won’t be seeing the charmingly attractive Pierce Brosnan this time, as in The Last Rifleman, he is leaning on a cane, with a receding hairline, grey hair, wrinkles and a few extra pounds!
Inspired by true events, The Last Rifleman follows the World War II veteran Artie Crawford, who is living out his days in a nursing home, bereaved by the recent death of his beloved wife. On D-Day, the 75th anniversary of the Normandy landings, Artie escapes from home and travels to France to attend the celebrations in person.
His main goal is to meet his friend and fellow soldier whom he hasn’t seen in all these years, and to deal with the ghosts of his past. Rumore has it that The Last Rifleman will be released on n 6 October 2023, and while we wait to see it, here is everything we know so far!
The Last Rifleman Cast!
Directed by Terry Loane and written by Kevin Fitzpatrick, The Last Rifleman has such an impressive cast, setting high expectations for the upcoming film. The Last Rifleman is headlined by Pierce Brosnan, alongside Louis Gossett Jr., and Jürgen Prochnow. The cast of the film also includes Desmond Eastwood, Claire Rafferty, and John Amos.
Pierce Brosnan
The Last Rifleman is headline by many people’s favourite James Bond, Pierce Brosnan, who seems to be taking a new challenge in his career, stripping away from his famous bedazzling image as the WWII veteran, Artie Crawford, whose wife’s death triggers the trip of a lifetime as he escapes from his nursing home to head to France for the 75th celebration of the Normandy landings.
The challenges like this role for Brosnan, along with many others throughout his career, prove that the actor is much more than just one of the most stylish James Bonds. Of Irish origin, Brosnan has built a surprisingly diverse career, not only through action films and thrillers (for which he is best known) but also through various comedies and musicals. At 70, he can be satisfied that he has made his mark on the film industry in one way or another.
The Last Rifleman Brosnan made his debut in 1980 in John MacKenzie’s thriller The Long Good Friday. Subsequently, his career was limited to roles in low-budget films such as The Fourth Protocol (1987), The Sect of the Counterfeiters (1988), The Lawnmower (1992) and Deadly Thread (1992). However, he stood out a little more in the amusing Mrs. Doubtfire (1993) and in the romantic A Love Affair (1994).
Yet, it goes without saying that stardom came from the first of his James Bond films, GoldenEye (1995). Brosnan created a 007 agent with glamour and elegance not seen since Sean Connery. Brosnan has played the famous British agent three more times: Tomorrow Never Dies (1997), The World Is Never Enough (1999), and Die Another Day (2002).
Throughout his career, Brosnan has tried not to be typecast and has starred in other notable films, such as A Village Called Dante’s Peak (1997), Robinson Crusoe (1997), The Secret of Thomas Crown (1999), Grey Owl (1999), The Tailor of Panama (2001), Evelyn (2002) among many other films.
In addition to The Last Rifleman, Pierce has another coming-up film, Four Letters of Love, which he has also shot in the beautiful Ireland.
Louis Gossett Jr.
Another household name among the cast of The Last Rifleman is the star Louis Gossett Jr. Louis Gossett has a very long and prolific acting career in theatre, television and film, which continues well into his eighties, even though he was diagnosed with prostate cancer, which he seems to have overcome.
He has appeared in many sci-fi films and action films; his acting career has spanned over fifty years. He is best known for his role in the film An Officer and a Gentleman (1982), which earned him the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor and a Golden Globe Award, among many others.
His portrayal of Sergeant Emil Foley in An Officer and a Gentleman opened up the range of military roles for him, like the role of the popular Colonel Charles “Chappy” Sinclair in Steel Eagle (1986), which would go on to have three sequels.
Among his best-known films are The Abyss (1977), Enemy Mine (1985, nominated for a Saturn Award), Going Down in Flames (1986), Iron Eagle 1,2,3,4, The Punisher (1989), Jaws 3 (1983, nominated for a Golden Raspberry Award), Touched by an Angel (1997), and Watchmen (2019).
Gossett has been successful on television as well. In 1977, he won an Emmy Award for his role in the television series Roots, which brought him to the attention of viewers. In 1983, he played the lead role in the TV film Sadat, about the life and death of Anwar Sadat, for which he was nominated for a Golden Globe.
Jürgen Prochnow
Jürgen Prochnow is a German who gained international success for his role as the German U-boat captain in Wolfgang Petersen’s Das Boot (1981) and as Duke Leto Atreides in David Lynch’s Dune (1984). Afterwards, he has generally acted as the bad guy in productions in Hollywood and various European countries. Thanks to his striking appearance, convincing acting and excellent knowledge of English, Jürgen Prochnow became one of the most sought-after German actors in Hollywood.
His most successful films include Beverly Hills Cop II (starring Eddie Murphy), the Oscar-winning The English Patient, for which he was nominated with the rest of the cast of the film for the Screen Actors Guild Award in the category Best Actor, Air Force One (with Harrison Ford) and the mega-hit The Da Vinci Code, starring Tom Hanks. Interestingly, Prochnow had been one of the actors considered for the lead role in Terminator, which eventually went to Schwarzenegger. Ironically, years later, he had the opportunity to play Arnold Schwarzenegger in a film about the actor’s political career, See Arnold Run.
It is worth mentioning that before Das Boot and his international stage, Prochnow was already known in Germany for his work with director Wolfgang Petersen, such as in 1974’s Einer Von Uns Beiden (One or the Other of Us), in which he played the student Bernd Ziegenhals, or in 1977’s Die Konsequenz (The Consequence).
The Real Last Rifleman!
The Last Rifleman is based on the true story of the war veteran Bernard Jordan, whose thrilling adventure made the headlines a few years ago. For long hours, staff at the retirement home where Bernard Jordan lives feared the worst for the octogenarian. But the man was safe and sound: he had fled his retirement home to attend the commemorations of the 70th anniversary of the D-Day landings.
Jordan, who was almost 90 years old at the time, planned what many people called a “great escape” from his home care in Hove, East Sussex. On Thursday morning, this Second World War veteran left his room to attend the celebrations marking the 70th anniversary of D-Day. By the time his disappearance was reported, the veteran was already in a hotel in Ouistreham, where some of the ceremonies were taking place.
The story goes that the real Last Rifleman Jordan successfully crossed the English Channel and joined the 70th celebrations of the D-day landings on the Normandy shores. When Jordan returned home, he was shocked by the welcome he received. While he thought he would be met with a tell-off from the people at the nursing home, he was actually returned to a warm welcome from staff and residents, who sang “For he is a good comrade” with UK flags in hand.
Jordan has lived in Hove all his life and was even the mayor of his town between 1995 and 1996 after 30 years as a local councillor. Jordan’s story gained him some fans who were impressed by his adventures and showed their admiration by the tons of postcards that they sent him for his 90th birthday. Touched by his story, the ferry company Britanny Ferries has decided to offer him free Channel crossings to attend the forthcoming commemorations. In addition, Jordan was also honoured by the mayor of Brighton and Hove.
The Last Rifleman Shooting
The news about The Last Rifleman was first made public in 2020 when it was announced that Pierce Brosnan would headline in a new film about a WII veteran. The shooting of The Last Rifleman took the crew on a picturesque journey to France and Northern Ireland, where they filmed in beautiful Belfast, the county of Antrim and other locations.
The star Pierce Brosnan was so touched by the hospitality of the people of Belfast that he thanked them personally in his post on Instagram, where he also announced the wrapping of the film’s shooting in the city.
The Last Rifleman seems to have all the right ingredients for being a touching drama that we don’t want to miss. From the looks of it, Pierce Brosnan has brought his A-game, and we can’t wait to watch the brilliant actor posing as The Last Rifleman.