Profile of Timothy Dalton on Famous Like Me

Timothy Peter Dalton (born March 21, 1946) is a Welsh-born English actor of stage and screen most famous as the fourth official James Bond.

Biography

Born in Colwyn Bay, Wales, UK, Timothy Dalton is of mixed English and Italian-Irish ancestry; soon after his birth, the family moved to Belper, Derbyshire, England, UK. In youth, he became interested in acting, and left school, in 1964, to enrol in the RADA and tour with the National Youth Theatre in the summers. He did not complete his RADA studies, leaving, in 1966, to work professionally in the Birmingham Repertory Theatre. He quickly moved to television, mainly with BBC, and, in 1968, appeared in The Lion in Winter, his first film, and the first of several period dramas.

After more films, he took a break, 1971–75, concentrating on theatre, performing with the Royal Shakespeare Company, and other troupes, throughout the world. After briefly returning to the cinema, he again concentrated in the theatre until 1978, when he made his first film in the United States and first appeared in US television. In the US, he most worked in television, but he did make some European films, and gave notable performances for the BBC.

After his Bond films, Dalton's career entered an uncertain period, successes on stage and television were balanced by indifferent films. He also endured the thankless assignment of playing Rhett Butler in a television movie sequel to Gone with the Wind.

Note: There is dispute on whether Timothy Dalton was born in 1946 or 1944.

James Bond

In 1986, after Roger Moore's final, definitive retirement from the James Bond role, Dalton was approached to replace him, but obligations to the film Brenda Starr kept him from accepting the role. Sam Neill was then screentested for the part of Bond but was ulimately rejected by Cubby Broccoli. Pierce Brosnan was then approached for the role. Brosnan was forced to relinquish the role due to television commitments with the revival of Remington Steele.

Previously, Dalton had been offered the role several times before, as early as 1968, to replace Sean Connery, but had turned down the role each time, feeling he was too young for it. Work commitments made him again refuse the role in 1986, but when asked a second time, he agreed to appear in three James Bond films. The first, The Living Daylights (1987) was successful and grossed more than the previous two Roger Moore Bond films as well as contemporary box office rivals such as Die Hard and Lethal Weapon.

The second film, Licence to Kill (1989) did less well at the box office, particularly in the US, in part due to a lacklustre marketing campaign. Licence to Kill was relatively successful compared to previous Bond films such as 1985's A View to a Kill however, and was one of the most profitable of the series thanks to its relatively small budget, a mere $25 million.

Dalton's third Bond film (rumoured title: The Property of a Lady) was slated for a 1991 release, but its production was scuttled by internecine corporate litigation between EON Productions and Danjaq, L.L.C.. In 1994, Dalton officially dropped the James Bond role, re-opening the door for Pierce Brosnan.

Dalton's portrayal of Bond - darker, more grittily realistic, and truer to the original character as portrayed in Fleming's novels - was something of a double-edged sword. Critics welcomed a more serious interpretation after more than a decade of Roger Moore's lighthearted approach, but the reaction of aficionados and the general public, many of whom were unfamiliar with Ian Fleming's original novels, was mixed.

Selected filmography

• Hercules (movie), (2005)
• Looney Tunes: Back in Action (2003)
• American Outlaws (2001)
• Cleopatra (movie) (TV) (1999)
• Made Men (1999)
• Stories of My Childhood (1998)
• The Beautician and the Beast (1997)
• Salt Water Moose (1996)
• Naked in New York (1994)
• Last Action Hero, cameo role (1993)
• Framed (1992) (TV series)
• The Rocketeer (1991)
• The King's Whore (1990)
• Licence to Kill (1989)
• Hawks (1988)
• The Living Daylights (1987)
• The Doctor and the Devils (1985)
• Jane Eyre (1983 BBC)
• Flash Gordon (1980)
• Centennial (TV) (1978)
• Cromwell (1970)
• The Lion in Winter (1968)

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