express dec 4 2012
To most of us he will always be OO7. And one of the more interesting Bonds to boot, whose harder-edged, more realistic portrayal wasn’t universally admired back in the 80s. Although given what Daniel Craig has recently done with the role, Dalton was simply a few years ahead of his time.
“I was supposed to make one more Bond, but it was cancelled because MGM and the film’s producers got into a lawsuit that lasted for five years,” he says. “After that, I didn’t want to do it any more.”
But he will always have fond memories of his time as Britain’s hottest export, wrangling with all those supermodel femmes fatales in a franchise now celebrating its half century.
“I feel really proud that this is the 50th anniversary,” he says. “It’s fantastic when you think about it because the history of film is only about 100 years old. And for 50 years you have this extraordinary legacy with six actors playing the lead – and it’s still going strong.”
The actor treasures one particular keepsake from those days. “The crew gave me a lovely Walther PPK automatic with gold imitation bullets, which I will always cherish,” he says.
