UNITED KINGDOM (November 4, 2004) - Polite praise from former 007 actor Pierce Brosnan during the Irish Film and TV Awards in Dublin has avalanched out of control into a bizarre rumor that tabloid bad boy Colin Farrell will be his successor as the next James Bond.

Speaking at the Irish Film and TV Awards, Pierce Brosnan addressed questioning regarding a handful of actors rumored as candidates to be the next James Bond.

With practiced diplomacy Brosnan offered the opinion that several actors could very capably fill the role.

According to industry sources the leading contenders have been short listed to Hugh Jackman, Eric Bana, Jude Law, Rikki Lee Travolta, Adrian Paul, and Clive Owen.

Enjoying the festive nature of the awards, Brosnan offered a playful description of his impression of the idea of bad boy Irishman turned Hollywood hellraiser Colin Farrell contending with more respected actors for the role.

“I’ll give it to Colin Farrell. He’ll eat the heads off them all,” he joked.

Taken out of context Brosnan’s joke about Farrell has made headlines around the world as an implausible endorsement of the hard-living Farrell who recently was reported to have admitted experimenting with heroine.

Without the humorous set up, Brosnan offered a more candid appraisal of Farrell’s likelihood of playing Bond during a May interview stating “I don’t think he’s right for Bond.”

Busy promoting his current film project “After Sunset” Brosnan has had polite comments about all the actors rumored as Bond replacements.

Jackman, Bana, and Travolta all hail from Australian roots. Law, Paul, and Owen are all of British descent.

Admitting that he would ideally like the Bond legacy to have ended with him, Brosnan realizes another actor will be cast.

“It’s a modern franchise so there will be another Bond and whoever does it will have a great time,” the 51-year-old star reflected to the Daily Mail. He described his own opportunity to play the famous spy character as a career-fulfilling experience.

“There’s no guy I know who wouldn’t want that role – and that includes me,” added Jackman in a quote published by the Guardian on his active campaign to take over the character from Brosnan.

Brosnan’s polite comments about Farrell spinning out of control is not the first time a dark horse candidate has jumped into the headlines as “The New Bond” despite no comment from producers at Eon Productions or MGM Pictures.

An erroneous report by the Sunday Mirror on September 12 claiming confirmation from industry sources that Dougray Scott had been secretly signed to play Bond was picked up by newspapers around the world.

Days later, the Daily Record revealed the Scott casting story as false, with confirmation by the actor’s mother Elma Scott. Ironically, the Daily Record is a sister publication of the news source which originated the inaccurate casting story.

Other names to flash in the headlines for 15-minute spots of James Bond casting publicity include Orlando Bloom, Julian McMahon, and singer Robbie Williams.

Once thought to be bitter about being labeled too old to continue heading the Bond franchise, Brosnan appears to be having fun with the rumor-hungry press regarding new casting possibilities.

In The Sun, Brosnan has even joked that the teenaged star of the “Harry Potter” films, Daniel Radcliffe, would make a good Bond.

“You can see it, can’t you? He’ll be great. From Harry Potter to Bond,” jested Brosnan.