Former Bond actor Pierce Brosnan will star in The Son, in Sam Neill's place

A toast, to Pierce Brosnan and Sam Neill crossing paths in Hollywood.

Pierce Brosnan has been cast to replace Sam Neill in upcoming television series The Son.

The GoldenEye star will return to the small screen for the first time in five years to star in the drama series, which is based on Philipp Meyer's book.

Neill was originally attached to the show in March, but left due to personal reasons, according to Deadline.

Pierce will play Eli McCullough, the patriarch of a Texas family, who was kidnapped and raised among the Comanche Native American tribe.

Henry Garrett, Zahn McClarnon, Paola Nunez and Sydney Lucas will also appear in the show, which will begin shooting in Austin, Texas later this month.

It is scheduled to premiere in 2017 on America's AMC network.

It's not the first time the pair have crossed paths in casting, Neill once auditioned for the role of James Bond in the mid-80s.

He told the Daily Mail last year that he auditioned "under great sufferance", and never actually wanted the part because he would never want to lose his "anonymity".

It was a role which Pierce Brosnan took up from 1995 to 2002.

- Wenn