During the pivotal moment when Sean Connery was transitioning out of his iconic role as James Bond, actor Timothy Dalton was approached regarding the opportunity to take over the franchise. However, Dalton ultimately declined the offer, feeling that he was not the right fit at the time.

Timothy Dalton portrayed the legendary James Bond in the films The Living Daylights and Licence To Kill. Reflecting on his career, Dalton revealed in an interview with Vanity Fair that he had previously declined the chance to succeed Sean Connery following the film Diamonds Are Forever. He elaborated on this decision, stating, “There was a time when Sean Connery was leaving. I can’t say I was offered it, but I was asked if I’d like to do it or not.” He expressed a belief that the character of Bond should be portrayed with a level of maturity that he felt he did not possess at the age of 24 or 25.
Dalton does not harbor any regrets about his decision to turn down the role at that time, saying, “You don’t want to follow Sean Connery, who was truly, truly magnificent — and who I had been watching in the role since I was 13 or 14. No, don’t do that.” Following Dalton’s initial rejection, Roger Moore was cast as the next James Bond, starring in a total of seven films. When Moore eventually stepped down after A View to Kill in 1985, Dalton was finally ready to take on the iconic role.
“I was doing ‘The Taming of the Shrew’ and ‘Antony and Cleopatra’ at the Haymarket Theatre in the West End of London,” Dalton recounted. “I wasn’t chasing it. I remember being in a hotel room thinking, ‘What the f* am I going to do about this?’ And then I thought, ‘Well, it’s a once in a lifetime, isn’t it?’ Does good sense say, ‘Go and do something else,’ or does good sense say, ‘Take a once-in-a-lifetime and then go and do something else’? So you go and do it.“
The James Bond franchise currently finds itself in a complex situation. With Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli stepping back from their roles of leadership, control has now been handed over to Amazon MGM Studios, who reportedly invested around $1 billion for this opportunity. Dalton previously expressed surprise at this significant change, indicating he was “very surprised and shocked” that the longstanding guardians of the franchise had departed. Nonetheless, he remains optimistic that Amazon can revive the essence that made the series so beloved. “The movies have taken different courses over the years, but there is something very good about the original and I hope Amazon latch onto that and give us the kind of film that’s brought so much excitement and fun to so many people,” Dalton stated. “Anyway, good luck to them, I say. I do wish them all the very, very best. They’ll be doing their best to make a lot of money, so hopefully they will make good movies.“

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