Pierce Brosnan wondered "where the time goes" as he reflected on turning 71

He wrote on Instagram: "Brand new day. Thank you one and all for your rewarding words of celebration for my work and my seventy first birthday last week. Where does the time go these days? It goes with the speed of flame. Love life, kindness and precious time be with us all. Peace."

Meanwhile, the 'Mamma Mia!' star recently revealed that he started painting an "essential" form of "therapy" after his first wife Cassandra Harris, died of cancer in 1991 and he's found it a great outlet for self-expression and a way of processing his thoughts and feelings ever since.

Asked how painting helped him, he told Sunday Times Style magazine: "That's a broad question to answer. I don't think I can be succinct.

"Art has been cathartic and continues to be therapy and self-expression when it comes to inner turmoil, grief or joy. Art has been essential as I have got older. For me it has been the most exciting aspect of my creative life over the past few years."

Pierce admitted he always dreamed of being a "famous" movie star, and though his ambitions are not as "intense" as they used to be, he still loves his job.

He said: "There always was a desire to be in movies. Movies captivated me and so I found a toehold in Los Angeles and grasped that with every energy I had. I came to America in 1982 with the intention of creating a life for myself.

"I wanted to be famous! A movie star. That was a dream. A romantic dream. A deep and burning ambition. And, of course, it doesn't have the same intensity now, but I enjoy making movies. I'm asked, 'You're still acting?' Yes! At 70!"

But Pierce - who had Sean, Chris, and the late Charlotte with Cassandra, and Paris and Dylan with wife Keely Shaye Smith - insisted he doesn't live a Hollywood lifestyle.

He said: "I get up and go to work as an actor.

"I open the suitcase, put the character on, finish work and go home. And then, of course, the movie comes out and the profile comes out, but we've long been in the spotlight and you learn to acquit yourself."