1:31pm UK, Saturday July 19, 2003

James Bond star Pierce Brosnan has received an honorary OBE for his outstanding contribution to drama and the British film industry.

The 50-year-old Irishman, who has played 007 in the last four Bond movies, was presented with the accolade by the British Ambassador in Dublin, Stewart Eldon.

180 pierce brosnan obe Bond

Brosnan: Has come a long way

Brosnan said earlier this week that he was "deeply honoured" to be awarded an OBE, which recognises his achievements during a 27-year career in the industry.

The multi-millionaire actor, now widely regarded as the best Bond since Sean Connery, has come a long way since his troubled upbringing in Ireland.

He was born in Navan, County Meath, in 1953 - the same year the first Bond book, Casino Royale, was published.

Before his first birthday his father left his mother - who then moved to England to find work to support her son.

He was cared for by his mother's parents until he was six, when they both died.

He was reunited with his mother, May, in 1964 when she brought him to live with her in Putney, south-west London.

He left school at 16 and trained to be a commercial artist in a photographic studio, before quitting to pursue his acting dreams.

He was eventually spotted by legendary playwright Tennessee Williams who cast him in Red Devil Battery Sign.

His big break came in 1982, when he landed the part of an English private eye in American TV series Remington Steele, which made him a household name in the US.

His first Bond film, GoldenEye, in 1995 was a huge box-office hit and resurrected the British spy's popularity.

Brosnan's other films include The Lawnmower Man (1992) and Mrs Doubtfire (1993).