IN the 80s he took on arguably the biggest role in British film: James Bond.
At the time, his brooding approach to the charismatic spy divided fans who had familiarised themselves with Roger Moore’s tongue-in-cheek 007.
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But now Timothy Dalton’s turns in A Licence To Kill and The Living Daylights are viewed fondly as classics in the Bond canon.
The actor, 78, is still going strong some 35 years since his final outing as the mercurial ladies’ man, and was pictured arriving in LA yesterday with specs perched on the end of his nose.
Timothy was slightly more casual than suited and booted Bond, wearing a zip-up jacket, a dark jumper and trousers as he pulled his luggage behind him.
In recent years, the star’s notable roles include a supermarket manager in Hot Fuzz, a chief inspector in The Tourist, alongside Johnny Depp, an explorer in horror series Penny Dreadful and as equerry to Queen Elizabeth II and King George VI, Peter Townsend, in season five of Netflix‘s The Crown.
Timothy cut his teeth on stage in the 60s, before making his name in a number of historical films including Cromwell, Wuthering Heights and Mary, Queen of Scots.
He would go on to star in popular sci-fi flick Flash Gordon before being cast as Bond, which allegedly came as a bit of a shock to the man himself.
Casting director Debbie McWilliams told Radio Times in 2022: “To be honest with you, I don’t think he ever felt quite comfortable. It was so different from anything he’d ever done.
“The way he was cast was a very sudden event, because we had Pierce Brosnan lined up. I mean, obviously, you always have to have somebody up your sleeve, whatever happened. So he [Dalton] was kind of standing by in the wings.
“Quite literally over the weekend he was cast and I think it was all a bit of a shock for him.”
Having been tapped up in the 80s, Brosnan would go on to secure the role in the 90s, making his debut in box office smash GoldenEye.
Suave Pierce also starred in Tomorrow Never Dies, The World is Not Enough and Die Another Day, leaving the franchise behind in 2002.
Timothy managed to escape being pigeon-holed as Bond, with his broad list of acting credits testament to his range.
And he’s been candid over the years about the response to his tenure as the spy.
In 2020, he told Entertainment Weekly: “[Sean] Connery was very tough. And I think Moore, when he first took it over was tough, as well, but then he moved into that area that he was probably most comfortable with, having done The Saint.
“We wanted to take it back to that earlier toughness. But, of course, it’s got to be funny. It should be funny. Out of great danger often comes great humor. But when we made The Living Daylights and Licence to Kill, everybody by then was so used to something else. I think people like to stay with what they’re comfortable.”
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