Pierce Brosnan admits doubts over Thursday Murder Club role amid casting backlash

Following the success of Richard Osman's novel, you could perhaps assume that Netflix's adaptation of the sleuth drama Thursday Murder Club would be an instant hit. But as soon as the cast was announced, it seems as though it left many fuming as they felt the drama had been wrongly cast.

And now, in a strange turn of events, it's not just fans who believe the Netflix TV show has been wrongly cast - so too does Pierce Brosnan, who plays Ron Ritchie. The 72-year-old actor had admitted that he thought Ray Winstone would have suited his character far more.

In a recent interview, he said: "I never asked Chris why he cast me. I thought: 'This is Ray Winstone, bro.'" But the former James Bond star did not voice his doubt to the director. It comes after Thursday Murder Club fans baffled by unrecognisable Inbetweeners star taking on major role.

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Pierce continued to tell the BBC: "(I remember thinking) 'Don't say anything Pierce, just keep going." The cast of the Thursday Murder Club include Dame Helen Mirren, Ben Kingsley, David Tenant and Celia Imrie.

The novel has been a huge hit worldwide and sold an estimated 10 million copies. And this explains why Pierce said that the cast felt a huge sense of responsibility to do the characters justice.

He added: "It's a huge responsibility when you have an audience and the world waiting to see these characters."

Dame Helen, who has been cast as Elizabeth said: "Embarrassingly, I did. When you read that book, you think immediately this could be a movie and then, if it is, I wonder if they'll ever approach me to play that role, because I'd love to play it."

She went on to say: "It was sort of a bit of a miracle for me when they did."

However Celia did not read the novel until she was cast for the role. The actress said: "You know, you'd be awfully good for this, but I'm quite superstitious."

She added: "I didn't want to spook things. The minute I was cast I ran down to the bookshop."

Soon after Netflix posted a trailer of the adaptation on its official Instagram account, fans were quick to comment.

One person said: "Ron is way hotter than I pictured him." Another fan added: "I had Ricky Tomlinson in my head when I read the books."

And a third person wrote: "I think Ron is incorrectly cast."

According to book review websites, Pierce's character Ron is an alpha-male former Trade Union leader.

Thursday Murder Club will stream on Netflix from August 28.

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