Who did Timothy play in James Bond movies? Role explored as actor reportedly “sad” over Amazon creative control

Timothy Dalton, renowned for his appearances as James Bond, is reportedly “sad” and concerned after Amazon MGM Studios took creative control of the James Bond franchise in February 2025.

Timothy Dalton played the role of legendary James Bond multiple times. He portrayed the iconic character in The Living Daylights in 1987. Next, in 1989, Dalton was featured in another James Bond movie Licence to Kill.

Dalton spoke with The Daily Telegraph and shared his thoughts on the shift from the producers to Amazon. Emphasizing that Bond's character is British, he shared,

"It is one of the few wonderful stories we’ve got in film that is British. The leading character is British. We can call it our own."

He is sad to see the story based on a British character has now come under an American organization.

Everything we know about Timothy Dalton portraying James Bond on screen

Before the veteran star worked on The Living Daylights, Roger Moore played the world-famous 007 character from 1973 to 1985. However, in 1987, Dalton entered the franchise and wrote history with his flawless performance.

According to a Fandom report, stuntmen BJ Worth, Paul Weston, Rémy Julienne, and Simon Crane often assisted Timothy with his stunts. After 1987, the world witnessed the actor as Bond two years later.

Despite receiving accolades from movie fans, his third adventure as the legendary Secret Service agent never came to fruition. A legal standoff about distribution rights between the producers and the studio ultimately shut down the project.

In 2015, Dalton had a conversation with The Week and shed light on the reason behind scraping off the third movie where he was signed to play the MI6 agent character. He shared:

"Because of the lawsuit, I was free of the contract. And producer, who I really respected as a producer and as a friend, asked me what I was going to do when it was resolved."

Dalton further continued:

"I said, 'Look, in all honesty, I don't think that I will continue.' He asked me for my support during that time, which of course, I gave him."

More about the Amazon MGM Studios taking over the James Bond franchise

According to a February 20 Reuters report, Amazon MGM Studios is set to assume creative control of the classic movie franchise. It signed a joint venture with producers Michael Wilson and Barbara Broccoli marking a new beginning.

Before this new venture, Amazon purchased MGM Studios in 2022. During that time, the company did not own the legal creative control. However, this new association changes that with Amazon getting complete creative control over the franchise.