Welsh actor Timothy Dalton — 007 to you! — born 74 years ago March 21.
In honor of his birthday weekend, feast your eyes on some of his hottest moments on TV and film over the years.
Dalton got into acting at 16, and he took it seriously, studying at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and working with the National Youth Theatre.
He wound up doing repertory theater and TV, debuting in film in 1968's The Lion in Winter. Yes, acting in a Kate Hepburn flick ... not bad for a first-timer!
Still, it would be quite a while before he could establish himself in the medium; he kept working in theater for most of the '70s, appearing only in Wuthering Heights (1970), Mary, Queen of Scots (1971) and Permission to Kill (1975) before a splashier return to film as Mae West's young hubby in the farcical (both accidentally and on purpose) Sextette (1978).
He was also Prince Barin in the camp classic Flash Gordon (1980) and appeared in the dud Brenda Starr (1986; released 1989), but balanced such fare with work in more serious efforts, like the BBC's Jane Eyre (1983) and the 1985 film The Doctor and the Devils.
Immediately afterward, Dalton was hired as James Bond. It wasn't his first time being considered, having been discussed for 1968's On Her Majesty's Secret Service, when he was thought to have been too young.
Dalton served as Bond twice, in the phenomenally successful The Living Daylights (1987) and the respectable hit License to Kill (1989). The third film in his contract, GoldenEye (1995) came so long after that his contract had expired — and he declined to renew it. Instead, Pierce Brosnan stepped in for a successful run.
Since shedding Bond, Dalton has had a varied a career in film and on TV, including appearing in the comedies The Beautician and the Beast (1997) and Hot Fuzz (2007), and doing voice-overs for several animated films, including the last two Toy Story installments.
He was delightful as Sir Malcolm on Penny Dreadful (2014-2016), and is currently Niles Caulder on Doom Patrol (2019-present).
He's never married, but was in long-term relationships with acting legend Vanessa Redgrave and musician Oksana Grigorieva.
I first became aware of Dalton in the campy Flash Gordon (1980). I had such a crush on him. He looked so fine in space-Robin Hood drag. There is a scene where he is chained to a dungeon wall and he quips so his Earthling co-prisoner, ” So, tell me again about this ‘Houdini’.”
Tim dalton is an actors actor. He always brings such depth to any character he plays. He literally steals the show in every scene. I’m 77 yrs old and am familiar with most of his movies, at least the ones I can find. I am so impressed with all of the cast of penny dreadful. I have never seen such acting from the entire cast. I’m in awe of all of them. To Tim I would shake his hand and say, BRAVO SIR!