'I don't look at the cup as half full': Pierce Brosnan opens up about life after the devastating loss of his first wife and daughter to Ovarian cancer

Published: 11:41 BST, 6 April 2017 | Updated: 12:34 BST, 6 April 2017

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Pierce Brosnan has candidly opened up about life after the death of both his first wife and daughter.

Having dealt with the grief of losing his wife of 11 years Cassandra Harris in 1991 to Ovarian cancer aged 43, he then was dealt a cruel hand in 2013 when he subsequently lost his daughter Charlotte to the same disease aged 42.

Speaking to Esquire Magazine, the 63-year-old discussed how his life has forever been effected after losing the women dear to him.

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Candid: Pierce Brosnan has candidly opened up about life after the death of both his first wife and daughter to Esquire magazine

Opening up ahead of his new AMC series The Son, he explained: 'I don’t look at the cup as half full, believe me. The dark, melancholy Irish black dog sits beside me from time to time.'

In 2014, Pierce opened up on Stand Up For Cancer's LA telethon about the profound loss Cassandra and Charlotte had left after they lost their battles.

The Irish born star said on The Dolby Theatre stage: 'To watch someone you love have his or her life eaten away bit by bit by this insidious disease, that kind of sorrow becomes an indelible part of your psyche.

'I held the generous, strong, beautiful hand of my first wife Cassie as ovarian cancer took her life much too soon.

Loss: Pierce lost his wife of 11 years Cassandra Harris in 1991 to Ovarian cancer aged 43

Devastating: He was dealt a cruel hand in 2013 when he subsequently lost his daughter Charlotte to the same disease aged 42 (Pictured in 2006)

'And just last year, I held the hand of my funny, wonderful daughter Charlotte before she too died from this wretched, inherited disease.'

When the Hollywood actor - who also lost his producing partner Beau Marie St. Clair to the disease last year - previously discussed following Charlotte's death that he found strength in his faith to help him 'survive the pain'.

He explained to German newspaper Bild at the time: 'That's all you have left when your heart is just a dark hole at four in the morning and you have the weight of the world on your shoulders.

Doting father: Charlotte was nine years old when her mother Cassandra married Pierce at Chelsea registry office in 1980 while Chris was seven - the two children were from her previous relationship

'No one can escape life's pain. That's life.'

Now happily remarried to Keely Shaye Smith since 2001, the Remember Me star is father to four sons - Chris, 44, Sean, 33, from his first marriage as well as Dylan, 20, and Paris, 16, with Keely.

Although a proud dad, Pierce opened up about the difficult relationship he had with his own father - who abandoned the family shortly after he was born.

Happy: Now happily remarried to Keely Shaye Smith since 2001, the Remember Me star is father to four sons - Chris, 44, Sean, 33, from his first marriage as well as Dylan, 20, and Paris, 16, with Keely

He recalled that he only met Tom once as he filmed Remington Steele in Ireland in 1984.

Speaking to Esquire, he added: 'My fatherly instincts are purely my own. They relate back to no one, because there was no one.'

'I only met Tom the once, I had a Sunday afternoon with him. A story about this and that, had a few pints of Guinness, and we said goodbye. I would have loved to have known him. He was a good whistler and he had a good walk…That’s as much as I know about him.'

Father figure: Although a proud dad, Pierce opened up about the difficult relationship he had with his own father - who abandoned the family shortly after he was born