Pierce Brosnan and his wife Keely Shaye Smith have announced they are moving out of their $100 million Malibu compound after 26 years there.
The former James Bond star, 73, and Smith, 62, have been married for 24 years and currently split their time between the Malibu property on the California coast and a second home in Kauai, Hawaii. Brosnan said the Malibu mansion has come close to burning down several times, most recently surviving the Los Angeles fires of early 2025.
"We've been spared by the fires a few times now. But I think it's time to move. Everything changes, everything falls apart," he told The Times.
"We live by this body of earth's water on a fault in a ring of earthquakes. That creates a fear," he said. "I think the two of us are somewhat reclusive. It's a long way into town. We have a small circle of friends here [but] people get divorced, they die, they move on. And we're still here."
Malibu was one of the areas devastated by wildfires in January 2025, with stars including Jeff Bridges, Mel Gibson and Paris Hilton all losing their homes in the fires that swept through Los Angeles.
The Broad Beach compound
Brosnan built the Southeast Asian-inspired compound after buying two adjacent properties for a combined $7.35 million in 2000, according to property records. The estate sits in upscale Broad Beach, where neighbors include Dustin Hoffman, Ray Romano, Valerie Bertinelli and Mindy Kaling.
Covering more than an acre, the property holds two residences with five bedrooms and 14 bathrooms between them.
The main house, known as the Orchid House, took over a decade to build and covers nearly 12,500 square feet. It has a theater, a climate-controlled wine cellar that holds roughly 200 bottles, a gym, a music room and a travertine-wall spa with two soaking tubs.
Wildfire risk
The 2025 fires were not the property's first brush with disaster. In 2015 a fire tore through the mansion and caused $1 million in damage. The blaze started in the garage while Brosnan and his family were home, and they called authorities and left the house after a smoke alarm alerted them.
The cost of keeping it
Brosnan also admitted that keeping the Malibu mansion has been expensive, forcing him to take acting jobs he was not passionate about to cover his bills and school fees for the couple's two sons, Paris and Dylan.
"There have been doldrums. I have this beautiful house in Malibu. I have to pay the mortgage. There are school fees. There are definite moments of, oh, this boat is not quite sinking, but [it might] if we don't get a job soon," he said.
Asked whether he had made the "occasional turkey," Brosnan replied, "Not many. But you make peace with that. You make the commitment because you need the money, then you show up on time and do good work."
Life by the sea
Brosnan said he loves living by the ocean and tries to stay fit, crediting his wife for keeping him disciplined. "Keely keeps me on track. I walk away from some of the great stuff in life: the cocktails or the beer. I stay away from the bread and the butter and the pasta," he said. "And I exercise: I walk the beach, go swimming, ride the bike, play tennis."
Neighbors and past sale attempts
Brosnan is a close neighbor of Nicolas Cage, whose own oceanfront home was rocked this week when a sinkhole swallowed his driveway.
Brosnan last tried to sell the Malibu compound in 2021 but pulled it off the market before finding a buyer. The couple have listed the home several times over the years, including advertising it as a $120,000-a-month rental back in 2004.
"I love Malibu," Brosnan previously told the Wall Street Journal. "It has my heart," he added, while noting that "home is very much here in the islands" now.
The Daily Mail has contacted representatives for Brosnan for further comment and has yet to hear back. Other actors who have left California in recent years include Dean Cain, Rod Stewart, Mark Wahlberg and Josh Brolin.
