Timothy
Peter Dalton (born 21 March 1946) is a British actor. He is known for
portraying James Bond in The Living Daylights (1987) and License to Kill
(1989), as well as Rhett Butler in the television miniseries Scarlett (1994)
and Sir Malcolm Murray on the television series Penny Dreadful 2014 - present
James Bond 1987–94
Dalton had been considered for the role of James Bond
several times. According to the documentary Inside The Living Daylights, the
producers first approached Dalton in 1968 for On Her Majesty's Secret Service
although Dalton himself in this same documentary claims the approach occurred
when he was either 24 or 25 and had already done the film Mary, Queen of Scots
(1971). Dalton told the producers that he was too young for the role. In a 1987
interview, Dalton said, "Originally I did not want to take over from Sean
Connery. He was far too good, he was wonderful. I was about 24 or 25, which is
too young. But when you've seen Bond from the beginning, you don't take over
from Sean Connery. In either 1979 or 1980, he was approached again, but did not
favour the direction the films were taking, nor did he think the producers were
seriously looking for a new 007. As he explained, his idea of Bond was
different. In a 1979 episode of the television series Charlie's Angels, Dalton
played the role of Damien Roth, a millionaire playboy described by David
Doyle's character as "almost James Bond-ian
In 1986, Dalton was approached to play Bond after Roger
Moore had retired, and Pierce Brosnan could not get out of contractual
commitments to the television series Remington Steele. Dalton would soon begin
filming Brenda Starr and could do The Living Daylights only if the Bond
producers waited six weeks
Dalton's first appearance as 007, The Living Daylights
(1987) was critically successful, and grossed more than either of the previous
two Bond films with Moore, as well as contemporary box-office rivals such as
Die Hard and Lethal Weapon. His second film, Licence to Kill (1989), although
almost as successful as its predecessor in most markets, did not perform as
well at the U.S. box office, in large part due to a lacklustre marketing
campaign, after the title of the film was abruptly changed from Licence
Revoked. The main factor for the lack of success in the U.S. was that it was
released at the same time as the hugely successful Indiana Jones and the Last
Crusade, Tim Burton's Batman, and Lethal Weapon 2, during the summer
blockbuster season. In the United Kingdom—one of its critical markets—the film
was also hampered by receiving a 15 certificate from the British Board of Film
Classification which severely affected its commercial success. Future Bond
films, following the resolution of legal and other issues, were all released
between 31 October and mid-December, in order to avoid the risk of a summer
failure, as had happened to Licence To Kill.
With a worldwide gross of $191 million, The Living Daylights
became the fourth most successful Bond film at the time of its release. In 1998
the second Deluxe Edition of Bond's soundtracks was released. The Living
Daylights was one of the first soundtracks to receive Deluxe treatment. The
booklet/poster of this CD contains MGM's quote about The Living Daylights being
the fourth most successful Bond film.
Since Dalton was contracted for three Bond films, the
pre-production of his third film began in 1990, in order to be released in
1991. What was confirmed is that the story would deal with the destruction of a
chemical weapons laboratory in Scotland, and the events would take place in London,
Tokyo and Hong Kong. The film was cancelled due to legal issues between UA/MGM
and Eon Productions, which lasted for four years
The legal battle ended in 1993, and Dalton was expected to
return as James Bond in the next Bond film, which later became GoldenEye.
Despite his contract having expired, negotiations with him to renew it took
place. Dalton surprised everyone on 12 April 1994 with the announcement that he
would not return as James Bond. At this time, he was shooting the mini-series
Scarlett. The announcement for the new Bond came two months later, with Pierce
Brosnan playing the role. Dalton reflected in 2007, "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
any more
Unlike Moore, who had played Bond as more of a light-hearted
playboy, Dalton's portrayal of Bond was darker and more serious. Dalton pushed
for renewed emphasis on the gritty realism of Ian Fleming's novels instead of
fantasy plots and humour.[18] Dalton stated in a 1989 interview:
"I think Roger was fine as Bond, but the films had
become too much techno-pop and had lost track of their sense of story. I mean,
every film seemed to have a villain who had to rule or destroy the world. If
you want to believe in the fantasy on screen, then you have to believe in the
characters and use them as a stepping-stone to lead you into this fantasy
world. That's a demand I made, and Albert Broccoli agreed with me
A fan of the literary character, often seen re-reading and
referencing the novels on set, Dalton determined to approach the role and play
truer to the original character described by Fleming. His 007, therefore, came
across as a reluctant agent who did not always enjoy the assignments he was
given, something seen on screen before, albeit obliquely, only in George
Lazenby's On Her Majesty's Secret Service. In The Living Daylights, for
example, Bond tells a critical colleague, "Stuff my orders! ... Tell M
what you want. If he fires me, I'll thank him for it." In Licence to Kill,
he resigns from the Secret Service in order to pursue his own agenda of
revenge. Steven Jay Rubin writes in The Complete James Bond Movie Encyclopaedia
(1995)
"Unlike Moore, who always seems to be in command,
Dalton's Bond sometimes looks like a candidate for the psychiatrist's couch – a
burned-out killer who may have just enough energy left for one final mission.
That was Fleming's Bond – a man who drank to diminish the poison in his system,
the poison of a violent world with impossible demands.... his is the suffering
Bond
This approach proved to be a double-edged sword. Film
critics and fans of Fleming's original novels welcomed a more serious
interpretation after more than a decade of Moore's approach. Dalton's films
were also criticised for their comparative lack of humour. Dalton’s serious
interpretation was not only in portraying the character, but also in performing
most of the stunts of the action scenes himself