Pierce Brosnan: Charity Work & Causes

Pierce Brosnan and his wife Keely Shaye are committed environmentalists, with interests that include clean air and water campaigns, marine mammal and wetland protection, and opposing environmentally disruptive projects such as the Cabrillo Port Liquefied Natural Gas facility being proposed off the coast of Malibu.

One of Pierce’s environmental passions has been working with the environmental advocacy group the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) in their efforts to stop the Navy deployment of sonar systems that have been shown to kill whales, dolphins, seals and other marine mammals.

The Brosnans also worked with the NRDC in the late 1990’s, and were successful in stopping a proposed salt factory at Laguna San Ignacio on Mexico’s Baja California peninsula. In doing so they protected the last pristine breeding ground for the Pacific gray whale.

Mikhail Gorbachev, acting as Green Cross International President, presented Pierce an Environmental Leadership Award in 1997, citing him as “a truly committed leader whose bold actions and clever voice have been instrumental in marine mammal protection, as well as that of fragile ecosystems.”

“If I hadn’t been an actor, I probably would have been a social worker,” says Brosnan. “Acting is great, but sometimes it can feel rather redundant in a world which is flying by the seat of its pants.”

Pierce and his wife, Keely, donated a large portion of the proceeds from their wedding coverage to help fund a Tibetan school. The funds built classes for children, where they now learn practical skills such as metalwork.

The profits from sales of his paintings are distributed to his favourite charities by the Brosnan Trust.

Brosnan and his wife donated $100,000 to replace playground equipment at a school near their home in Hawaii.

Pierce is a member of Oceana's Ocean Council and on the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society's Board of Advisors.