The former James Bond on new film A Long Way Down, talking to strangers at bus stops and his admiration for Richard Madeley

Hello, Pierce. Are you at home in Hawaii?

No, I'm in Paris.

Your character in A Long Way Down, Martin Sharp, asks the others (1) what their three wishes would be. How about yours?

I would wish for a healthier planet. A cure for cancer. Let me see … ooh, a fuller bank account. That's alright, isn't it?

Sure! So do you share any of Martin's feelings towards fame (2)?

No – I'm not as narcissistic or idiotic, thank God. I do understand where he's coming from: fame is a very seductive thing, and it can turn around and bite you on the ass as quickly as walk in the door. Martin is a kind of lost soul. I don't think he was a very good actor or talkshow host; he just wanted the glory of it all. He was not a very sound fellow. He learns a little bit of grace and humility as the story goes on.

I read that you partly based him on Richard Madeley.

I looked at many [hosts], but Richard came through. I like Richard; he does such a good job with people and communicating. Ironically, I was in France while I was on another film but about to set forth with this picture. I was by myself having lunch and looking at the script and wondering who this character was and all of a sudden there was Richard, sitting with his wife, this lovely lady, Judy. And I did chuckle to myself. I thought: should I tell them? And I thought: no, that doesn't bear talking about, really.

Paul, Poots, Collette and Brosnan in A Long Way Down

What quality do you think the best talkshow hosts have?

They've good listeners. They have the common touch. An accessibility to one's own self-deprecation. But it was the inner pluck of the fellow that I was interested in. Where his head was at. I do believe he was very much in pain from the deep humiliation of which he speaks. That was the point for me with which I could really connect. The real bravado of showing yourself every day on TV and being completely disconnected and lost within who you are.

Do you find humiliation an especially galling emotion, too (3)?

Oh, humiliation is poisonous. It's one of the deepest pains of being human. When you lose yourself. And then, being an artist, you're constantly dealing with the self – as an artist, actor, painter (4), writer. You're always constructing and destroying something within you. So when you do show it all and it doesn't fly … [Laughs] It can come with a burning sting of being not worthy. It's a potent brew and you have to learn how to deal with it. So I could identify with that.

Sorry to hear; you've kept that quite well-hidden.

[Laughs] Oh, it runs parallel with every other emotion as well. It's not that I go around feeling humiliated.

Martin has an impulse for revenge on the press; he wants to own his own story. Do you identify with that?

I've never been in the position he's been in and my relationship with the press has I think always been fairly open and honest – inasmuch as one can be open and honest with any member of the press. But the job I do is fairly straightforward, fairly simple; I'm an entertainer and actor and you try to keep a public profile that is open to the people and share part of your life with them because they want to know. It's also very hard to manipulate the press. It can backfire. [Laughs] If you find yourself in a sticky situation, you either have to own up or ignore it.

Do you think the film might help combat any taboos that still exist around depression and suicide?

I don't know if it's going to combat the trauma and deep suffering of those who find themselves at the end of their tether. I'd like to think, perhaps, that somebody will see it or read about it having found themselves in deep despair and think: God, dash, darn it – brand new day, let's pick myself up here and sort out this problem and get on with my life; it's not worth creating such sorrow for my family and friends.

It's a film that puts a lot of stock in the comfort of strangers.

That is very powerful; when you meet somebody on your travels in life, standing at a bus stop and you just find the person open and pleasant to be with and you share whatever's on your mind on the day.

But your fame and profile must make this kind of random connection less likely.

I've travelled a lot. He precedes me, really, the man that I've become, the actor that I've become. Having played the James Bond role does put you on an international stage like no other role, really. And so it's somewhat a gift that keeps giving – I like to look at it like that, to embrace it. It allows me to make my own films, to work. It's such a capricious game. I only accentuate the positive of it all really. Anything else would just be ridiculously stupid. [Laughs] I've always been a jobbing actor and I hope to continue to be so.

Brosnan in A Long Way Down

Do you never wish you were back in Raynes Park? (5)

Oh, I'm quite content with Paris, London, Hawaii and Malibu. [Laughs] However, I have a deep fondness for Raynes Park and my mum is there still so I do go back.

But does your lack of invisibility make it harder to observe people for roles?

People forget. I mean, I have a recognisable mug and I'm quite tall but I stride out into life, I don't let it hang me up; wherever I am I walk about. I could walk to the Tuileries now and put a cap on and have a beer and watch the world go by. I get around. It's essential to being in the world.

Footnotes

(1) Toni Collette, Imogen Poots, Aaron Paul. They were all planning to jump off a London tower block on New Year's Eve, but instead make a pact to try and hang on until Valentine's Day.

(2) The wish of his character, former talkshow host Martin Sharp, is for his previous fame to be restored. He was disgraced, divorced and briefly imprisoned after a night with a 15-year-old (who he thought looked 25).

(3) It's a bit of a theme in the film.

(4) Brosnan studied at Central Saint Martins. He donates proceeds from the sale of his paintings to charity.

(5) South-west London. Brosnan lived there in the early 1980s, as did I. He worked for a while in a greengrocer's near the station and apparently used to mind me in my pram from time to time.

• A Long Way Down opens in the UK on 21 March.