Timothy Dalton was born in North Wales on March 21st, 1946. He saw his first play aged 16, and from there he was determined to become an actor. After roles with The National Youth Theatre he followed in Roger Moore’s footsteps at RADA but claimed ‘I learnt nothing’. By the age of 25 Dalton was already a big star, following an important role in the Oscar-winning The Lion in Winter. Dalton’s first brush with 007 was in 1968 when he was offered the role ahead of Lazenby, but he turned it down saying ‘I considered myself too young and Connery too good’. Dalton appeared in many other TV and film parts, but aged 25 made a conscious move to develop his skills by continuing only on stage. His performance as Romeo for the Royal Shakespeare Company proved the opinion that a major new talent was developing.

Dalton had many Shakespeare lead-roles for big theatre companies, and by the mid-seventies he felt ready to return to film and TV, where his success continued. He was asked to replace Roger Moore after Octopussy but Dalton’s many and varied major commitments left him tied up. However when Brosnan was unable to star in The Living Daylights because of contractual obligations with Remington Steele, Dalton was offered the post for a third time. Only after insisting on reading the script did he eventually take up the role.

There is no doubt that Dalton is arguably the most skillful actor to have played James Bond. When he got the part, he re-read all the books and re-watched all the films. He commented ‘The books themselves are far more deeply interesting’ and he rightly chose to move away from Moore’s light-hearted approach into a serious, three-dimensional character. True Bond fans raved at Dalton’s approach.

Casual audiences, though, were less convinced. The Living Daylights out-grossed Moore’s previous three efforts, but Licence to Kill proved highly controversial. Bond was gritty and angry, like in the books and despite a good reception from the critics, who were refreshed by the change of tack, casual audiences did not like the small, realistic scale of the genuine thriller.

After Licence to Kill there was a big gap in Bond films because of the law-suit between MGM/UA and Eon, which was only finished when MGM/UA went under new management. As early preparations began for Goldeneye, Timothy Dalton resigned as 007. The producers were disappointed, as were the most Bond fans, but the door was finally opened for Pierce Brosnan. Nobody really knows why Timothy Dalton quit the hot-seat. Probably after the long lay-off Dalton simply felt that Bond wasn’t suited for him. Since then, Dalton has kept up his excellent reputation with some stage and TV work.