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Timothy Dalton (born March 21, 1946) is a
Wales|Welsh-born England|English actor of stage
and film|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,
1971–1975|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.

==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 in
film|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 in film|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 in film|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, the same as Moonraker had cost
ten years previously. 

Dalton's third Bond film (rumoured title:
Octopussy and The Living Daylights|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)
* Flash Gordon (1980)
* Centennial (miniseries)|Centennial (TV) (1978)
* Cromwell (1970)
* The Lion in Winter (1968)

==External links==
* http://www.timothydalton.com/ Timothy Dalton's
official website
* imdb name|id=0001096|name=Timothy Dalton