Timothy Dalton was the fourth actor to play the fictional British Secret Service agent James Bond on the big screen.

Dalton’s career began in English repertory theatre before he moved to television and in 1968 he made his first film. Cementing his reputation in all three mediums over the ensuing decade, the actor’s output included several stage productions with the Royal Shakespeare Company. Dalton’s preference for gritty realism saw Bond’s cinema persona become more nuanced, aligning with what he said was Fleming’s “man of contradictions and opposites”.

The actor’s darker, more cold-hearted interpretation culminated in 1989’s Licence To Kill, which saw Bond defy spy agency MI5 to settle a personal vendetta. Dalton’s tenure was brief but pivotal, leaving 007 to enter the millennium’s final decade as a serious action hero.