If you want to believe in the fantasy on screen, then you have to believe in the characters and use them as a stepping-stone to lead you into this fantasy world.
— Timothy Dalton
Don't ask me about my career - I've forgotten most of it.
It's horrid to be called a Shakespearean actor because that's incredibly limiting, and we love acting. We like telling stories; anything that excites us we want to be a part of. Science fiction is fun, too!
I don't think anyone should grow up wanting to go around killing people. I don't think anyone should grow up wanting to be a secret agent.
Real courage is knowing what faces you and knowing how to face it.
On one level, I would prefer never to hear the words 'James Bond' again, but on another level, it is part of my blood and my life. And it's the only movie in the world that offers a British actor the chance of international recognition.
I don't think anyone except the few people who have played James Bond can tell you how strange and special it is and how much your life changes.
If you grow up in Britain, you just do Shakespeare. If you go and work in a theater once or twice or three times in your life, you're going to end up doing a Shakespeare, because he's obviously such a brilliant, brilliant writer.
'Gone With The Wind' is one of the all-time greats. Read Margaret Mitchell's book and watch the film again; it's a soap opera in all its glory. It is superb and memorable.
If you're a boy, you always want to be in a western; and any actor I know would like to be in a horror.
I can't think of anything worse than calling Shakespeare 'highbrow,' because on the one hand, it's brilliant writing. But his plays were popular. People went to see them.
I'm guessing the stress of having to write for a deadline can be inspiring. Sometimes, pressure is good.
You can't relate to a superhero, to a superman, but you can identify with a real man who in times of crisis draws forth some extraordinary quality from within himself and triumphs but only after a struggle.
