Biography of Timothy Dalton

Timothy Dalton born as Timothy Peter Dalton on March 21st, 1946 in Colwyn Bay, Wales, which is located in the west of Great Britain is an outstanding English film and stage actor of Welsh origin. Timothy Dalton is best known for his Shakespearean plays and James Bond movies.

Timothy Dalton was born of an English father who is advertising executive and an American mother who is of English, Italian and Irish descent. At the age of four, his family relocated to Belper town in Derbyshire in England where he had his schooling at Herbert Strutt Grammar School. At the age of sixteen, Timothy Dalton after watching 'Macbeth' was so bitten by an acting bug that he left schooling to take acting lessons at Royal Academy of Dramatic Art where he studied for two years. But he quickly left RADA to join Birmingham Repertory Theatre in 1966.

The following year, Timothy Dalton landed a role in a television series, "Sat'day While Sunday" in 1967. He then made his motion picture debut with "The Lion in Winter" in 1968 playing the role of King Philip of France. During this very year, Timothy Dalton at 22 was offered the coveted role of James Bond by producer Albert Broccoli and was asked to take over from Sean Connery. But Dalton refused the offer on the ground that he was too young for the role. The role finally went to George Lazenby. Again in the late '70s and early '80s, Timothy Dalton was approached for the Bond role and each time he declined.

After acting in a string of movies until 1971, Timothy Dalton moved over to theater and began performing with the Royal Shakespeare Company and other troupes throughout the world. Again in 1978, Timothy Dalton moved back to films with a starring role in "Sextette". Ever since, Timothy Dalton went on to act in several films and made-for-television-movies.

Again in 1986, Timothy Dalton was asked to don the role of James Bond taking over from Roger Moore, but Dalton having committed himself to film "Brenda Starr" {1989}, and stage plays like 'Antony & Cleopatra' and 'The Taming of The Shrew' again refused the role. By the time Broccoli ended his search for James Bond; Timothy Dalton became free from his commitments and was ready for the role much to the delight of Albert Broccoli.

Thus Timothy Dalton became the James Bond 007 with "The Living Daylights" in 1987. The movie went on to become the biggest blockbuster of the year grossing even more than the previous two Roger Moore Bond films. His next James Bond movie "Licence to Kill" {1989} was also a blockbuster hit across the world. Timothy Dalton was supposed to act in the third James Bond movie "Golden Eye", but as the scripting and shooting got delayed Timothy Dalton suddenly announced that he would not play the James Bond roles anymore. Pierce Brosnan then stepped into the shoes of James Bond.

Timothy Dalton gave a new face to James Bond, that of a darker, serious, gritty and more realistic unlike Roger Moore, who portrayed James Bond as more of a lighthearted playboy. In the post James Bond era of his career, Timothy Dalton played various diverse characters and successfully shed the image of James Bond.

Timothy Dalton was romantically involved with stage actress Vanessa Redgrave for fourteen years from 1980 to 1994. He later married Ukrainian-born Oksana Grigorieva. The couple together has a son named Alexander Peter born 1997.