Pierce Brosnan has recently made a film that echoes a family tragedy he narrowly escaped from.

The former James Bond actor is making a film called 'The Greatest', which is about parents grieving for a son they have lost in a car accident - which he says he can relate to as it is close to a tragedy which nearly befell his own family after his son, Sean, was involved in a car crash.

He explained: "The phone rings at 04.30am and there's a man going, 'Pierce, Pierce, Pierce, please, we're really f***ed up. We've had an accident, we've gone off a mountain.

Pierce said he raced up the Pacific Coast highway in California, where the accident was, where he found the rescue operation and emergency services.

He added: "There's a helicopter in the sky and a man saying, 'we've got six victims, one critical', and up came my son, on a blackboard, straight into the helicopter, and I'm holding his hand hoping it's not his last breath."

Sean later recovered, and is now an actor, but Pierce, 65, says it more than prepared him for 'The Greatest'.

He added: "So yeah, no acting required. I love the film, but it's not for everyone, but I don't care. You make the pictures for yourself."

Pierce said he is planning for 'The Greatest', which also stars Susan Sarandon, to be released later this year.