Former James Bond star Pierce Brosnan faces legal action over walk in Yellowstone Park
- Brosnan was strolling through the park on November 1 when he was given a ticket for ‘foot travel in a thermal area’, The Los Angeles Times reported
- The Irish actor, 70, is set for a mandatory court appearance on January 23 at Yellowstone Justice Centre
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Former James Bond actor Pierce Brosnan is in hot water with Yellowstone Park authorities after straying off the beaten path in a geothermal area of the famed national wilderness.
The Irish heartthrob and on-screen superspy was strolling through the sprawling national park on November 1 when he was given a ticket for “foot travel in a thermal area,” the Los Angeles Times newspaper reported, saying it had seen a copy of the citation.
Brosnan, 70, is expected to appear at Yellowstone Justice Centre for a mandatory appearance on January 23.
Visitors to the 3,500-square-mile (9,000-square km) park are warned to stay on specially designated boardwalks and trails to avoid the danger of slipping through a thin crust of ground and into the scalding waters below.
But it seems the former Remington Steele series leading man was not playing by the rules, and fell afoul of a park ranger.
“Foot travel in all thermal areas and within the Yellowstone Canyon between the Upper Falls and Inspiration Point must be confined to boardwalks or trails that are maintained for such travel and are marked by official signs,” regulations say.
There was no immediate comment from Brosnan or his representatives.
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Millions of people travel every year to Yellowstone, America’s first national park, which covers portions of Wyoming, Idaho and Montana.
It is home to thousands of geothermal features – hot springs, mudpots, steam vents and about half of the world’s active geysers, including Old Faithful.
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.
Getting caught can bring legal peril too, with prison time, hefty fines and bans from the park regularly handed down to trespassers.
Last year rangers found a bit of a human foot in one of the hot springs, where temperatures reach around 140 degrees Fahrenheit (60 degrees Celsius).
The body part was believed to have come from someone who slipped into the Abyss Pool a few months earlier.
In 2016 a young man died after coming off a boardwalk and falling into a hot spring at the Norris Geyser Basin.
The park was the inspiration for Jellystone Park, the home of beloved cartoon favourite Yogi Bear – an affable but permanently hungry character whose chief preoccupation was stealing picnic baskets and outwitting a park ranger.
In addition to his four James Bond films, Brosnan starred in the 1980s television series Remington Steele and is known for starring roles in the films Mrs Doubtfire and The Thomas Crown Affair.
Additional reporting by Associated Press
