It's official! Irish actor Pierce Brosnan is making a serious attempt to become Hollywood's hottest leading man this week. With no less than four high profile new films opening over the next four months, you could say in 2010 Brosnan's top of the heap.

When audiences start looking for substance over mere style, Brosnan's your leading man, as is his fellow Gael Gabriel Byrne. Byrne, the idolized Dublin-born actor, was recently hailed as one of the sexiest celebrities over 50 by Entertainment Weekly. He's also one of the hottest stars on TV, wowing critics with his role as therapist Dr Paul Westen in HBO's In Treatment.

Byrne's gritty performance as Dr Paul draws from a deep well of experience in his own life where he has battled abuse, addiction and depression to get to where he is today.

If you had to choose between him and the younger - and let's face it, fairly vapid new Hollywood set - there's no question that Byrne's experience and charm would win hands down.

But is our affection for older men a new thing? According to the dating website Parship.ie, more than half of Irish women look for a partner who offers the role of protector; 59 percent want a courageous go-getter; and 85 percent want a sense of security - who better embodies these traits than an experienced older man?

Having if experience; knowing where you've come from and where you're at, having made your mistakes and hopefully learned from them, your 50 something is man worth dating. Audiences at the box office are voting with their feet. On Friday Brosnan's new film The Ghost Writer opens and his performance is already winning high praise from the critics.