Pierce Brosnan, whose fictitious movie character James Bond has been in hot water plenty of times, pleaded guilty Thursday to stepping off a trail in a thermal area during a November visit to Yellowstone National Park.
Brosnan, who called in to the court hearing, was fined $US500 ($754) and ordered to make a $US1,000 ($1,518 approx.) donation to Yellowstone Forever – a nonprofit organisation that supports the park – by April 1, court records said.
A second petty offense, for violating closures and use limits, was dismissed by U.S. Magistrate Judge Stephanie Hambrick.
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Brosnan’s attorney, Karl Knuchel, was not immediately available for comment.
Brosnan, 70, walked in an off-limits area at Mammoth Terraces, in the northern part of Yellowstone near the Wyoming-Montana line, on Nov. 1, according to the citations. He was in the park on a personal visit and not for film work, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for Wyoming has said.
Mammoth Terraces is a scenic spot of mineral-encrusted hot springs bubbling from a hillside. They are just some of the park’s hundreds of thermal features, which range from spouting geysers to gurgling mud pots, with water at or near the boiling point.
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Going out-of-bounds in such areas can be dangerous: Some of the millions of people who visit Yellowstone each year get badly burned by ignoring warnings not to stray off the trail.
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Getting caught can bring legal peril, too, with jail time, hefty fines and bans from the park handed down to trespassers regularly.
In addition to his four James Bond films, Brosnan starred in the 1980s TV series Remington Steele and is known for starring roles in the films Mrs. Doubtfire and The Thomas Crown Affair.
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The actor would hold the 007 role for four films from 1995 until 2002. The baton was then passed to Daniel Craig.
He previously told The Hollywood Reporter he thinks an actress should take over the role of 007.
“I think we’ve watched the guys do it for the last 40 years. Get out of the way, guys, and put a woman up there. I think it would be exhilarating, it would be exciting,” he told the publication.