Thanks to his casual, off-hand charm and self-deprecating comic timing, British actor Pierce Brosnan firmly established himself as a commanding presence with his first introduction to American audiences as the sophisticated, but often inept con man-turned-private investigator, “Remington Steele” (NBC, 1982-87). Almost immediately, there were calls in the media for Brosnan to assume the mantle of James Bond from fading star Roger Moore.