WHO ARE YOU?

Sunday Mirror, Nov 10, 2002 by EAMON O'HANLON

PIERCE Brosnan let his suave James Bond image slip this week when he met one of America's best-known telly actresses and demanded: "Who are you?"

The 007 actor made the blunder as he stepped from a limo in New York's Times Square to hand out prizes in a celebrity Bond trivia contest.

First on stage in front of tens of thousands of fans was 21-year- old Jamie-Lynn Sigler, who plays mob boss Tony Soprano's daughter Meadow in TV's The Sopranos.

One on-looker said: "Pierce looked a bit puzzled. He had to ask Jamie-Lynn for her name.

"Maybe the guy has been too busy to watch TV, but everybody in New York knows Meadow Soprano."

Jamie-Lynn, who is also appearing on Broadway in Beauty And The Beast, beat a host of other celebs to win one of 007's famous Omega Seamaster watches, by answering questions about Bond movies.

Pierce's appearance was just one of hundreds of promotional appearances and interviews ahead of the release of the latest Bond blockbuster, Die Another Day, on November 22.

He later admitted in an interview with the New York Times that promoting the $100million all-action movie was even more gruelling than the rough and tumble of filming.

"This is the hard part.. the repetition, but it's what they pay me for," he said.

Navan man Pierce faces one of the biggest tests of his career when the movie - his fourth outing in the Bond role - is finally unveiled.

Some US critics have claimed the Bond format - with 20 movies in 40 years - is out of touch with the modern world, where viewers are weary of international intrigue following the September 11 terror attacks.

Bond is also facing intense competition from a new generation of Hollywood action heroes, headed by Vin Diesel in the spy thriller xXx.

But Pierce, 49, this week confirmed he would make at least one more appearance as James Bond for producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael Wilson.

"The invitation has been accepted," he told US showbiz bible the Daily Variety.

He told the paper the movie had not yet been written and probably would not start filming until 2005.

Meanwhile latest reports from Hollywood claim Die Another Day will end years of simmering sexual tension - as Bond finally shares a passionate moment with Miss Moneypenny.

Actress Samantha Bond, who plays the admiring secretary, revealed makers of the film got the pair together with a last-minute script change.

The embrace will be the first time 007 and Moneypenny have kissed in 20 films.