He’s the Irish-American heartthrob who sang ABBA’s “S.O.S.” alongside Meryl Streep in the 2008 film Mamma Mia!
And now Pierce Brosnan is taking his love of pop music even further by starring in Will Ferrell’s upcoming Netflix movie Eurovision.
As HN Entertainment reports, it’s not yet clear what role Brosnan will play and whether he’ll be dropping his dulcet tones as a fictional singer. Here in the House of Wiwi, we’ve imagined him portraying a sexier version of Eurovision boss Jon Ola Sand — albeit one who gets involved in far more drama and behind-the-scenes intrigue. On social media and in various fan groups, a lot of you have been whispering that he will actually portray the Russian contestant. So think: “Older version of Sergey”.
Brosnan, the fifth actor to play the secret agent James Bond in the blockbuster film series, is known for his willingness to throw himself into stunts and dangerous on-screen theatrics. We hope to see him lowered from the ceiling at least once.
What’s the plot of the Netflix Eurovision movie?
Details of the film are being kept tightly under wraps. So far we know actor and producer Will Ferrell (Anchorman, Talladega Nights, Get Hard) will star alongside Rachael McAdams, who famously gave life to Regina George in Mean Girls.
The film is being directed by David Dobkin, which completes a rather fabulous reunion. He directed Will and Rach in the 2005 romantic comedy Wedding Crashers.
Fans of Hatari, Greta Salome and Silvia Knight will be thrilled to hear that Iceland is given a starring role in the movie. Iceland Review reports that the film will see Will and Rachael play Icelanders — presumably hellbent on a song contest win. The paper speculates that the country may have been chosen because it’s never won in its 33 appearances. It’s not a bad theory: after all, Hollywood loves a good underdog story, right?
It’s well-known that Elf star Will is married to a Swede who introduced him to Eurovision, and that he was on-the-ground in Lisbon researching the event. Iceland Review reports that Rachel, who you’ll remember from The Notebook and The Time Traveler’s Wife, was present in Tel Aviv.
RUV, the Iceland broadcaster, has revealed that many of the characters will have Icelandic names. But apparently they will be deliberately silly and OTT. Local actors in the movie include Ólafur Darri Ólafsson, Björn Hlynur Haraldsson, Nína Dögg Filippusdóttir and Jóhannes Haukur Jóhannesson.
A number of sources report that filming will take place in London next week and also in the Icelandic town of Húsavík after that.
Húsavík is located on the northern coast of Iceland and is a centre of whale watching. Among its top attractions is a wooden church, and also a civic museum that features a stuffed polar bear.
Update on August 8, 2019
Netflix has sent us a press release revealing more details about the script.
Netflix’s #Eurovision plot: “When aspiring musicians Lars and Sigrit are given the opportunity of a lifetime to represent their country at the world’s biggest song competition, they finally have a chance to prove that any dream worth having is a dream worth fighting for.”
— wiwibloggs (@wiwibloggs) August 8, 2019
Will Ferrell and Rachel McAdams will play aspiring Icelandic musicians Lars Erickssong and Sigrit Ericksdottir. Pierce Brosnan will star as Erick Erickssong, Lars’ father and the most handsome man in Iceland. #Eurovision #Netflix pic.twitter.com/otTXdbLdUK
— wiwibloggs (@wiwibloggs) August 8, 2019
Are you excited to see Pierce Brosnan join the film? What other singing actors could you see co-starring in this? And what’s your best guess for the plot of the film? Let us know down below.
Oh no.
– an American
Pierce Brosnan will play “the most handsome man in Iceland”.
Is this some kind of The Expendables, musical version?
I can literally see Conchita play a rather hairy and muscular Bond type girl in this. What about brushing up a little Austrian, Mr Brosnan?
You do mean “brushing up a little German,” right? They speak German in Austria.
Why ICELAND???
Iceland have never won, so they’re an underdog – but mostly because it lends itself to crazy borderline offensive stereotypes in the name of comedy.
Maybe it’s like Borat. They’ll pick on some random country they don’t know about then throw some false stereotypes and other offensive jokes on them.
Is that actually true because when I was on holiday in Iceland the majority of the people I spoke to were very apathetic to the whole thing. I don’t have any figures but from my experience I think it’s like most countries where it’s a niche market. I would say Sweden are the biggest fans.
So it will be like ‘Dance with me’ 1998 with Vanessa Williams and Chayanne?
An actual competition?
But if it’s a comedy it will end bad for Eurovision.
I haven’t thought of Chayanne in years! Should I pull out one of his cds, though . . . . . .
Well this is probably going to piss off the Eurovision purists.We all know who they are -the prunefaced if I smile my face will crack types . I find Will Ferrells humour a bit hit and miss so that will upset them.But I see where this could go and it could be hilarious. I watch Eurovision not only for the song but for the weird,the wild and the insane stuff that goes on .I sit on my sofa at home laughing my head off year after year- wait , that might be because I have to get up at the… Read more »
So he wanted Russian flags. This is so cheap script. I bet we will hear the word ‘collusion’. The same rhetoric since ever. Will we see big fur hats like bad guys from 007?
Will Ferrell has a humor similar to Amy Schumer. They are both crass and unfunny.
Looking forward to this! It’s amazing how long it takes for people to make this into a comedy movie. The show is such a comedic goldmine.
Will Ferrell is probably my least favorite actor – he wasn’t good in anything and his segment almost destroyed “The Lego Movie”. I have no high hopes for this, other than wishful thinking that it won’t be embarrassing.
You do realize he was the bad guy in lego form as well, right? He was one of the main characters.
The bad guy….literally looks like a lego version of him….
After watching the horrendous Bewitched movie, my expectations with any Ferrell’s movie aren’t high at all. I guess this one might be full of stereotypes. I think I’ll pass too.
What do you mean, Rockfan? What’s your problem? Terrified to be associated with gay people? I thought so.
How do I have the feeling that this movie is gonna leave many Eurofans angry
Húsavík is actually the hometown of Birgitta Haukdal, representative of Iceland in ESC 2003!
“Open your heart, show me the pain, it’s all part of who you are…”
Ahhh, Pierce Brosnan and Meryl Streep! Sweet memories <3 Although the best is "The Winner Takes It All" when Donna sings her message to PB and then walks up the stairs. Epic!
In terms of Eurovision themed comedy show/movies I doubt anything’s gonna beat „Father Ted”’s episode „Song for Europe”, watch it if you haven’t already!
I know Ferrell is a fan of Eurovision, but I think I’ll pass.
I think this is going to be more like Blades of Glory, which I loved. I think the concept is hilarious. I can see Pierce playing a nefarious Russian but who knows. I just hope it piques people’s imaginations and sends them over to the real thing also on Netflix.
Pierce Brosnan as a sexier version of Jon Ola Sand?
Oh c’mon, Jon Ola is WAAAY sexier than Pierce!!!
I think we’re all best served keeping our expectations low for this one.
Before the semi-finals this year, the director told the crowd in the arena to dance along and wave our flags to the songs in the film that are ostensibly representing Russia and Iceland. Honestly? As facsimiles of 2000s-era Eurovision, they aren’t half bad (you could very easily compare the Icelandic one to something like “This is My Life” or “All Out of Luck”) – of course, Iceland’s song sounded very different this year, but Russia’s actually did sound a little like a more up-tempo “Scream” with some balalaikas thrown in here and there. This does get me worried that it’ll… Read more »
Also, to their credit, the “Icelandic” entry is so catchy I’m still humming it now. Helps that we all had to hear it twice in each semi.
And for all my ragging on Ferrell for his inconsistency, I will admit to watching Anchorman four times and Zoolander three.
Joe, I was in the golden ring for all three shows and did the same thing. When they told us ti dance, wave and enjoy I honestly thought the songs for “russia” & “iceland” could have been contenders in past years.
I don’t think they intend to.make fun of us or ESC but we will have some silly moments for sure.
As a cinephile I can tell this already looks bad.
Honestly, apart from Orange is the New Black which I was really into for the most part, all the other Netflix originals I came across were a big waste of time. I got a little curious since I love Iceland, but I’m guessing I don’t want to see this. Not really interested in two old American dudes trying to do Eurovision. On the other hand, if some real Icelandic singers were to perform in the movie with good original songs, then maybe it won’t be so bad.
Netflix is the opportunity that small movies find to get attention, they can’t compete against the new wave of blockbusters franchises anymore. So we should expect a lot of movies coming from Netflix and other platforms such as Hulu and Amazon.
Not arguing against that. I hardly ever watch movies. Just a few series. And out of those Netflix series I came across, I loved Orange and the other ones I found really bad. I am all for the concept of Netflix, though. As for the movie in discussion, as a non-cinephile, I can also tell that this already looks bad. 😉
Pierce Brosnan is Irish, born in the city of Drogheda, lives in the town of Navan.
He’s not American.
Not by birth, but he’s been a naturalized American citizen since 2004, is married to an American (journalist Keely Shaye Smith), and holds dual citizenship with both the United States and Ireland. In the legal sense, he is considered both Irish and American.
That’s why he was described as Irish American, not American.
I do like The Crown, but I am both a history buff and a massive Matt Smith’s fan
Yes, i am also a sucker for historical media and a Doctor Who fan as well, so I always get excited whenever I see a DW actor in other projects. I watched the crown with my mom and she thought Matt smith was a good prince Philip. Granted I haven’t finished watching the series, but I look forward to continuing it.
My current historical show obsession is hbo’s miniseries Chernobyl, an excellent and harrowing portrayal of the 1986 nuclear disaster. I can’t stop thinking about it and I would love to own a physical copy when it’s released soon.
As a cinephile I agree. Netflix for all it’s positivity(there are some) should stay away from producing original content movies because most of them suck. Shows too. The only movie they produced which did well was Roma..
Rest of it is mostly Adam Sandler comedies and forgettable dramas
So I unfortunately don’t have high hope. In fact all I can see is potential Razzie winner. The opposite Oscar for those wondering…
I have a feeling that he will just make fun of the show based on the negative stereotypes established in 2003-2007 (i.e. neighbour voting, trash pop songs, over the top costumes) and basically just treat it as a joke, which would be sad given that he could open the door for potential American fans.
It’ll probably depict Eurovision as silly and kitsch ?
What is kitsch?
Kitsch is like camp, but unintended, and ends up in bad taste.
Camp is intended.
Seeing how “well” he treated Sherlock Holmes, another thing he claimed to love, I dont hope for anything. Ferrell’s humour never worked here in Europe, and it looks like it’s not working in US anymore either.
And Pierce Brosnan too!. It’s Mamma Mia the mess all over again..
Atleast make it unpredictable as the contest itself!
This is going to be a mess, and not precisely a beautiful one. Still watching and as long as there’s at least five cameos from actual Eurovision people, I would consider it kinda acceptable.