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PIERCE SURROUNDED BY FAMILY AT UK PREMIERE

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22 FEBRUARY 2006

He's made a career out of playing an unflappable killer, but off-screen family man Pierce Brosnan is something of a softie. Surrounded by members of his extensive brood, the suave Irish actor was in high spirits and clearly thrilled to have so many of his offspring on hand as he arrived at the UK premiere of Matador on Tuesday.



He was flanked by the two children of his beloved first wife Cassandra, 33-year-old Charlotte - who was his red-carpet companion at the Baftas - and Christopher, 32, as well as his and Cassie's 21-year-old son Sean.

Although not the natural father of Cassandra's older children, the actor adopted the siblings and helped comfort them after their mother's death from cancer. Contact with Christopher had recently been limited, however, because of his battle with drugs, which, Pierce said, left him "shockingly lost".

All appeared well at the screening, however, and completing the portrait of togetherness was the matriarch of the clan, the actor's mother, May. The Brosnans were not the only high-profile faces in London's Coronet cinema, however, as Kelly Osbourne and Strictly Come Dancing star Natasha Kaplinsky also made an appearance.

Since handing in his license to kill, the former secret agent has enjoyed getting his teeth into rather different fare. Julian, his hitman character in Matador, is a sleazy, washed-up outsider who suffers panic attacks. "I loved the twists and turns of vulgarian Julian," enthused the 52-year-old star. "I thought he had character."