Youth and early career
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. He became interested in acting in his teenage years, and left school in 1964 to enrol in the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and tour with the National Youth Theatre in the summer. He did not complete his RADA studies, leaving the academy in 1966 to join the ensemble of the Birmingham Repertory Theatre. He quickly moved to television, working mainly with BBC, and in 1968 made his film debut in The Lion in Winter, the first of several period dramas.

After a few more films, Dalton took a break in 1971 to concentrate on the theatre, performing with the Royal Shakespeare Company and other troupes throughout the world. With the exception of the 1975 film Permission to Kill, he remained a theatre actor until 1978. That year he starred in Sextette, hailing his return to cinema and the beginning of his American career. While in the United States, Dalton worked mainly in television, although he starred in several European films and gave notable performances for the BBC.

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James Bond

Timothy Dalton as James BondIn 1986, after Roger Moore's 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 Pierce Brosnan was then approached for the role, but rescinded because of his commitment to the television revival of Remington Steele. In the ensuing time, Dalton had completed the filming of Brenda Starr and was now able to accept the role of Bond.

Previously, Dalton had been offered the role several times, 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) 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) 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. However, MGM reported a net profit of $28.2 million for the film.

Dalton's third Bond film (rumoured title: The Property of a Lady) was due for a 1991 release but its production was scuttled by internecine corporate litigation between Danjaq, LLC, the copyright holder of James Bond on screen and MGM/United Artists (Giancarlo Parretti), the financier and distributor of the series. 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 Moore aficionados and those who had grown up with Moore as their Bond during his 15 year tenure and were generally unfamiliar with Ian Fleming's original novels was mixed.

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 unenviable assignment of playing Rhett Butler in a television movie sequel to Gone with the Wind. In 2003, he played a parody of James Bond named Damian Drake in the film Looney Tunes: Back in Action.

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  "Hercules" (2005) (mini) TV Series .... Amphitryon
Dunkirk (2004) (TV) .... Narrator
Looney Tunes: Back in Action (2003) .... Damien Drake
... aka Looney Tunes Back in Action: The Movie (USA: DVD box title)
American Outlaws (2001) .... Allan Pinkerton
Possessed (2000) (TV) .... Fr. Willam Bowden
Time Share (2000) .... Matt
... aka Bitter Suite (UK)
... aka Time Share (Germany: DVD title)
... aka Time Share - Doppelpack im Ferienhaus (Germany: TV title)
... aka Timeshare (Germany)

The Reef (1999) .... George Darrow
... aka Passion's Way (USA)
... aka Riff, Das (Germany: TV title)
Made Men (1999) .... Sheriff Dex Drier
Cleopatra (1999) (TV) .... Julius Caesar
"Stories from My Childhood" (1998) TV Series (voice) .... Prince Guidon
... aka Mikhail Baryshnikov's Stories from My Childhood (USA: complete title)
The Informant (1997) .... DCI Rennie
The Beautician and the Beast (1997) .... Boris Pochenko
Salt Water Moose (1996) .... Lester Parnell
"Scarlett" (1994) (mini) TV Series .... Rhett Butler
Lie Down with Lions (1994) (TV) .... Jack Carver
... aka Red Eagle
Naked in New York (1993) .... Elliot Price
Framed (1992) (TV) .... Eddie Myers
The Rocketeer (1991) .... Neville Sinclair
Putain du roi, La (1990) .... Le Roi Vittorio Amadeo
... aka Donna del re, La (Italy)
... aka The King's Mistress
... aka The King's Whore (USA)

Brenda Starr (1989) .... Basil St. John
Licence to Kill (1989) .... James Bond
... aka Albert R. Broccoli's Licence to Kill (UK: complete title)
... aka License to Kill (USA)
Hawks (1988) .... Bancroft
The Living Daylights (1987) .... James Bond
... aka Ian Fleming's 'The Living Daylights' (UK: complete title)
"Sins" (1986) (mini) TV Series .... Edmund Junot
The Doctor and the Devils (1985) .... Doctor Thomas Rock
Florence Nightingale (1985) (TV) .... Richard Milnes
The Master of Ballantrae (1984) (TV) .... Col. Francis Burke
"Mistral's Daughter" (1984) (mini) TV Series .... Perry Kilkullen
"Jane Eyre" (1983) (mini) TV Series .... Edward Fairfax Rochester
Antony and Cleopatra (1983) (TV) .... Marc Antony
... aka The Tragedy of Antony & Cleopatra
Chanel Solitaire (1981) .... Boy Capel
Flash Gordon (1980) .... Prince Barin

The Flame Is Love (1979) (TV) .... Marquis de Guaita
Agatha (1979) .... Col. Archibald Christie
"Centennial" (1978) (mini) TV Series .... Oliver Seccombe
Hombre que supo amar, El (1978) .... Juan de Dios
... aka The Man Who Knew Love (International: English title)
Sextette (1978) .... Sir Michael Barrington
Permission to Kill (1975) .... Charles Lord
... aka The Executioner (USA)
Candida (1971) (TV)
... aka Play of the Month: Candida (UK)
Mary, Queen of Scots (1971) .... Lord Henry Darnley
Five Finger Exercise (1970) (TV)
... aka Play of the Month: Five Finger Exercise (UK)
Cromwell (1970) .... Prince Rupert
Wuthering Heights (1970) .... Heathcliff
Giochi particolari (1970) .... Mark
... aka The Voyeur (International: English title)
... aka Voyeur, Le (France)

The Three Princes (1968) (TV)
The Lion in Winter (1968) .... King Philip of France
"Sat'day While Sunday" (1967) TV Series .... Peter