Timothy Dalton

Some Lesser Known Facts about Timothy Dalton

• Timothy Dalton’s family moved to Belper, England in Derbyshire before his fourth birthday.
• As a teenager, he was a member of the Air Training Corps at LXX (Croft & Culcheth) Squadron.

• He was fascinated with acting from a young age, perhaps due to the fact that both his grandfathers were vaudevillians.

• He decided to become an actor at 16 after seeing a production of Macbeth and got a role in a production of the play at The Old Vic.

• He left Herbert Strutt Grammar School at age 16 and toured as a leading member of Michael Croft’s National Youth Theater.

• He later joined the Birmingham Repertory theatre, where he played the lead in many productions under the direction of Peter Dews.

• Dalton took a break in 1971 to concentrate on the theatre and performed with the Royal Shakespeare Company along with other troupes throughout the world. He performed lead in playing the leads in Romeo and Juliet, King Lear, Henry V, Love’s Labours Lost and Henry IV – parts 1 and 2.

• With two exceptions, the films Mary, Queen of Scots (1971) and Permission to Kill (1975), he remained a theatre actor until 1978.

• In August 1986, Dalton was approached to play Bond after Roger Moore had retired.

• Dalton portrayed Bond in The Living Daylights (1987) and Licence to Kill (1989), the fifteenth and sixteenth entries in the franchise.

• Out of the six James Bond actors, he is the only one that has never married.

• He once shared that his favorite James Bond films are the first three Bond movies: Dr. No (1962), From Russia with Love (1963) and Goldfinger (1964) largely because they are the closest to the books they’re based on.

• He also appeared in notable television projects including Centennial (1978), Agatha (1978), Jane Eyre (1983), Anthony and Cleopatra (1983), The Master of Ballantrae (1984), and Mistral’s Daughter (1984).

• In 2014, Dalton made a return to television in the supernatural series Penny Dreadful, where he played the role of Sir Malcolm Murray. The show aired for three seasons and received critical acclaim.

• He voiced the character of Mr. Pricklypants in the film Toy story 3 (2010).

• Dalton is a Manchester City F.C. supporter and is often seen at the City of Manchester Stadium to watch the team play.

• He loves fishing, especially in the Pacific Ocean.