Pierce Brosnan has faced intense criticism for his accent in new Paramount+ series, Mobland. While the actor is Irish, people on social media and TV critics alike have lambasted the actor for an inauthentic accent. The Irish Independent and the Irish Times both made Brosnan’s accent the focal point of their reviews, calling it “funny” and a “phonetic fumble.” Now, the star is addressing the backlash.

In a new interview with Radio Times, Brosnan explained how a dialect coach helped him channel a Kerry acent. “He gave me the name of a man and I googled the guy and that was it,” Brosnan said, adding, “It was a Kerry accent. And so, I just gave it full tilt.” While Brosnan is Irish himself, the actor was born in Drogheda and raised in Navan, County Meath, which is near Dublin on the eastern coast of Ireland. Kerry is on the western coast. Brosnan noted this physical distance in the interview as well. “My own accent is very soft,” he said, “Conrad’s accent is a million miles away from me.” In Mobland, Brosnan plays Conrad Harrigan, the head of a crime family.

This isn’t the first time Brosnan has addressed his accent abilities, with reference to Mobland in particular. The actor previously told Dave Moore on FM Today about a conversation with director Guy Ritchie. “Last summer, I spoke to Guy for the first time about it and having read the five episodes he said not to worry about it,” the actor said.