Dalton is famous for impersonating James Bond in “The Living Daylights” (1987) and “Licence to Kill” (1989), along with Rhett Butler in the television miniseries “Scarlett” (1994), an initial sequel to “Gone with the Wind”.
Dalton rapidly went to television, working primarily with BBC and, in 1968, made his movie debut as Philip II of France in The Lion in Winter. This is the first of several period plays, which contained a remake of Wuthering Heights in 1970 in which he impersonated Heathcliff. After having a couple more pictures, Dalton took a rest in 1971 to concentrate on the theater, performing together with the Royal Shakespeare Company along with other troupes around the planet. In 1975, Dalton and Vivien Merchant headed the cast of a resurrection of Nol Coward’s The Vortex. With two notable exceptions, the movies Mary, Queen of Scots (1971) and Permission to Kill (1975), he continued a theater performer until 1978. That year he starred in Sextette as the husband of 85-year old Mae West, hailing his return to film as well as the commencement of his American career. While in America, Dalton worked mostly in television, although he starred in a number of movies. Dalton starred alongside Jonathan Pryce in the 1985 movie The Doctor as well as the Devils. He also costarred with Joan Collins in the miniseries, Sins (1986). Dalton was likewise replaced in two movies he had been signed to appear in. Dalton was offered the purpose of real life British Prime Minister William Lamb in the movie Lady Caroline Lamb. But, the filmmakers replaced him with Jon Finch at the final minute. But, the two guys failed to get along, so Polanski replaced him with Damien Thomas.
Annabelle Dalton, Suzzane Dalton, Stephen Dalton, Mark Dalton
Partner
Oksana Grigorieva (1995–)
Nicknames
Timothy Peter Dalton , The Daltonator , Tim , Dalton
Movies
The Living Daylights, Licence to Kill, Hot Fuzz, Flash Gordon, The Rocketeer, The Lion in Winter, Looney Tunes: Back in Action, The Beautician and the Beast, Toy Story 3, Sextette, The Tourist, Agatha, American Outlaws, The Doctor and the Devils, The King's Whore, Wuthering Heights, Jane Eyre, Made ...
Richard Burton was Welsh; Tom Jones is Welsh, and we Welshmen like to think of ourselves as heroes - on screen and off!
2
[on GoldenEye (1995)] I was supposed to make one more but it was cancelled because MGM and the film's producers got into a lawsuit which lasted for five years. After that, I didn't want to do it anymore.
3
There was a time when Sean Connery gave up the role. I guess I, alongside quite a few other actors, was approached about the possibility of playing the part. That was for On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969). I was very flattered, but I think anybody would have been off their head to have taken over from Connery. I was also too young. Bond should be a man in his mid-thirties, at least - a mature adult who has been around. I was not approached for Live and Let Die (1973), but there was a time in the late 1970s, when Roger may not have done another one, for whatever reason. They were looking around then, and I went to see Mr. Broccoli in Los Angeles. At that time, they didn't have a script finished and also, the way the Bond movies had gone - although they were fun and entertaining - weren't my idea of Bond movies. They had become a completely different entity. I know Roger, and think he does a fantastic job, but they were different kinds of movies. Roger is one of the only people in the world who can be fun in the midst of all that gadgetry. But in truth my favorite Bond movies were always Dr. No (1962), From Russia with Love (1963), and Goldfinger (1964).
4
That's something I think about constantly because it has to be for a purpose, it's not just self-indulgence. People often say, "Well, it's just the way I express myself." That's no good, that's narcissistic, juvenile. You work to express the piece because you believe the piece has value and that can be communicated to other people who will see something new of life because of it. You must believe that it will in some small or big way make a difference to their lives.
5
He's terrific. I think Casino Royale (2006) is a huge step forward - a leap forward. It's great and Daniel's great. He got a lot of stick when he was doing it. There was a lot of negative press. He was criticized by people who didn't have a clue what was in the script or what he was going to look like in the film, which was deeply unfair. I said how wrong everyone was at the time because he's a very gifted actor. I'm pleased that the movie turned out as well as it did.
6
I think most people thought it was a pity I wasn't allowed to grapple so much with the ladies. And he wasn't allowed to smoke; I think I managed to get a few puffs in, which they then cut out.
7
Roger Moore was brilliant but the movies had gone a long way from their roots; they had drifted in a way that was chalk and cheese to Sean. And I think Daniel Craig will work well. I think he's going to be terrific, he's got danger and vulnerability.
8
I don't think that Bond is a role model or that he should be a role model. He's only part of a particular kind of story. I don't think anyone should grow up wanting to go around killing people. I don't think anyone should grow up wanting to be a secret agent.
9
"When I saw those posters of Pierce standing there, I suddenly thought to myself, Jesus, I don't have to stand there with a gun to the side of my head anymore! I suddenly found the most tremendous sense of liberation, and I started to feel more like myself than I'd felt in years! I suddenly felt free!" (describing his feelings on whether or not in retrospect he made the right decision not to make the James Bond film GoldenEye (1995))
10
"It's very important to make the man believable so that you can stretch the fantasy. Whether people like this kind of Bond is another question." (on his approach to the role of James Bond)
"I don't think I've drunk one since I've left the Bond movies. Every bar you go in, there's always some wisecrack, 'Oh, yours will be a Martini, shaken, not stirred!' You get sick and tired of that." - talking about all of the vodka martinis he would get whenever he walked into a bar, while he was playing Bond.
13
On playing a character: "You can't relate to a superhero, to a superman, but you can identify with a real man who in times of crisis draws forth some extraordinary quality from within himself and triumphs but only after a struggle. Real courage is knowing what faces you and knowing how to face it." (source: "The Making of LICENCE TO KILL" by Sally Hibbin. Eon Productions Ltd. and Glidrose Publications Ltd., 1989.)
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Fact
1
Was originally cast as Benedict in Last Action Hero (1993), but was replaced by Charles Dance. This would have been the second of two times that he would have been in a film with Frank McRae. The first (as it turns out, the only) film was Licence to Kill (1989).
Lives in London, England and Los Angeles, California.
4
He was born in Wales, to English parents, Dorothy (Scholes) and Peter Dalton-Leggett.
5
Attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts (RADA) but dropped out before he completed his studies.
6
Had been approached for the role of James Bond in 1968 when Sean Connery had left the franchise but turned it down as he felt he was too young. He was approached again in 1980 but refused because he did not like the lighthearted direction the film had been going in.
7
Initially agreed to play James Bond for a third time in GoldenEye (1995), but after a lengthy series of lawsuits between the studio and producers concerning the ownership of the character James Bond, and further script delays, he resigned from the role, believing that too much time had passed since Licence to Kill (1989).
8
Publicly announced he would not be returning as James Bond in GoldenEye (1995) on 12 April 1994. Two months later, Pierce Brosnan was revealed as his successor.
9
Has played Lord Asrail in a London stage adaptation of the His Dark Materials trilogy. In the film The Golden Compass (2007), this role is played by Daniel Craig, who also succeeded him in the role of James Bond.
10
Desmond Llewelyn claimed in an interview of Dalton that his portrayal of James Bond was closer to Ian Fleming's original novel version of the character than any other Bond actor.
His colder, grittier portrayal of James Bond is considered by many fans of the franchise to be the closest to the characterization of Bond from the original novels by Ian Fleming, but was greeted with a mixed reaction from the general public following twelve years of Roger Moore's much more lighthearted portrayal.
14
His partner, Oksana Grigorieva, gave birth in London to a boy, Alexander, on 7 August 1997.
15
According to the James Bond film tailors in London, at 6' 2" he is the tallest of all the Bond actors. The tailors who have fitted and measured each of the 5 Bonds over the years claim the following heights for each of the other Bond actors: Sean Connery 6' 1 1/2" without shoes, George Lazenby 6' 1 1/2" without shoes, Roger Moore 6' 1" without shoes and Pierce Brosnan 6' 1" without shoes.
In 1986, he and Sylvester McCoy were performing together with Vanessa Redgrave in a season of Shakespeare at the Theatre Royal, Haymarket. Dalton and McCoy sympathized with each other about the difficulty in finding good long-term acting jobs. A year later, McCoy was cast as the Seventh Doctor in Doctor Who (1963) and Dalton was cast as James Bond in The Living Daylights (1987).
18
Loves fishing, especially in the Pacific Ocean.
19
In the Charlie's Angels (1976) episode "Fallen Angel", Dalton's character, Damien Roth, is referred to as being like James Bond, which was 8 years before Dalton's first Bond outing.
$10 Million
$1 Million
