Actor Pierce Brosnan pleaded guilty on Thursday to walking off the designated path and into a dangerous thermal area during a November 2023 visit to Wyoming’s Yellowstone National Park.
Brosnan, 70, appeared at a court hearing in Mammoth, Wyo., on Thursday.
He was fined US$500 (nearly C$675) and was ordered to make a US$1,000 (about C$1,350) donation to the charity Yellowstone Forever, which helps fund the park. Brosnan has until April 1 to make the payments.
In December 2023, U.S. National Park Service rangers accused Brosnan of walking into an out-of-bounds thermal area at the Mammoth Hot Springs, near the Wyoming-Montana border.
Brosnan left the area’s boardwalk to cross onto the sensitive ground of the hot springs. He was officially charged with “foot travel in all thermal areas and w/in Yellowstone Canyon confined to trails” and “violating closures and use limits,” both of which are petty offences. The latter charge was dismissed by U.S. magistrate judge Stephanie Hambrick.
The charges could have resulted in considerable fines and up to six months of jail time.
The hot springs are some of Yellowstone’s most stunning visual features and include various high-temperature geysers, steam vents and mud pots along a mineral-encrusted hillside. The thermal activity in Yellowstone is widespread and has existed for thousands of years.
Brosnan was in the national park for a leisurely visit.
After entering his plea on Thursday, the actor published a statement to Instagram claiming he’d made “an impulsive mistake.”
“As an environmentalist I have the utmost respect for and love of our natural world,” Brosnan wrote. “However, I made an impulsive mistake – one that I do not take lightly – when entering a thermal area covered in snow in Yellowstone National Park to take a photograph.”
Brosnan wrote he did not see a “No Trespassing” sign posted on the path. He said he did not hike in the immediate area.
“I deeply regret my transgression and offer my heartfelt apologies to all for trespassing in this sensitive area.
“Yellowstone and all our National Parks are to be cared for and preserved for all to enjoy. #StayOnThePath.”
Despite the many warning signs seen in the region around Mammoth Hot Springs, many Yellowstone visitors have still been observed crossing into off-limits areas. Several tourists have been badly burned by hot springs, which can reach boiling temperatures.
The park has warned visitors about the thermal pools, emphasizing that “the ground in hydrothermal areas is fragile and thin, and there is scalding water just below the surface.”
Yellowstone said more than 20 people have died as a result of burns they suffered after entering or falling into the park’s hot springs.
Brosnan is best-known for his portrayal of English spy James Bond in four movies from 1995 to 2002.
While attending the annual Oscar Wilde Awards last week, Brosnan said he thinks recent Oscar winner Cillian Murphy would make a great James Bond.
Murphy, who has long since been a fan favourite casting choice for Bond, said he was “a bit old for that.”
“I think that ship has sailed,” the 47-year-old actor joked.
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