Want to know why Timothy Dalton left James Bond? No wonder, despite being a great Bond, his James Bond films didn’t achieve much success. Well, that was in comparison with how the studio expected or hoped for.
Timothy Dalton turned out to be the fourth actor to portray the character of the aforesaid fictional secret agent. That’s James Bond. To be more exact, those are titled as The Living Daylights and Licence to Kill. These aren’t new but were released back in 1987 and 1989, respectively.
Hailing from Denbighshire, Timothy Dalton is now 77 years old. Besides his brilliant performance in James Bond films, some of his other acting credits are The King’s Whore, American Outlaws, Permission to Kill, Doctor Who, Doom Patrol, The Crown, etc.
Being a huge fan of Timothy Dalton, you must be watching him in the ongoing series 1923. He is seen as Donald Whitfield.
Coming back to Timothy Dalton’s exit from James Bond after a couple of films was shocking to many. One must note that the actors do get the freedom to switch their plays. But everything should have a valid and understandable reason behind it.
When it comes to Timothy Dalton’s exit from James Bond, he did it after hearing a harsh truth. The actor gave it a thought and finally dropped his 007 role. What happened to him? Here is what we know.
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Reason Behind Timothy Dalton’s Departure From James Bond Revealed
Little did you know, Timothy Dalton got the opportunity to play in the third film of James Bond. But, it was he who turned it down. Why? The actor opened up about it back in 2015.
It was the James Bond boss, Albert Broccoli, majorly known as “Cubby,” who offered him the third film. Timothy Dalton initially agreed to it until he realized that it was supposed to release four to five years later.
Also, Cubby shared that he wanted Timothy to do more films and not come up with one in five long years. On this note, the boss said, “Look, Tim. You can’t do one. There is no way, after a five-year gap between movies, that you can come back and just do one. You’d have to plan on four or five.”
Timothy Dalton’s departure from the James Bond franchise had something to do with legal issues. It was beyond his control. You must be wondering the reason behind the delay in the third James Bond film release. So, it was because of the legal feud between Eon Productions and MGM regarding ownership. On this note, Timothy said, “Because of the lawsuit, I was free of the contract.”
Also, the actor felt like he would get bored playing the same 007 character for long years. No doubt, Timothy Dalton is a versatile actor. Knowing his worth, he always wanted diversified roles and had the willingness to explore new opportunities in the field.
After several years, more precisely in 1994, when the legal issue was resolved, Timothy Dalton again got the opportunity. The doors were kept open for him. He did accept the offer but agreed to do only one film, which the higher authority denied.
Even though Timothy Dalton turned down his James Bond role, he made it out of due respect. It was just like his outlook or decision didn’t match what the producer had at that time. Well, everything happens for good.
Best Wishes to Timothy Dalton for the upcoming days of his life. Make sure to follow this former James Bond on his social media account for more updates. Which one did you find better: Living Daylights or Licence to Kill?
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