He didn't get long as Bond - three years and two movies - but Timothy Dalton's progression into playing villains post-007 seemed natural, after Dalton made such an impression as a 'darker' version of the character. Dalton's Bond dropped enemies out of airplanes and plainly set them on fire, so it wasn't hugely surprising to see him fighting for the other side in some of his subsequent movies. One notable example came just two years after his last outing as 007, in Joe Johnston's 1940s movie serial-throwback The Rocketeer. Here, Dalton played the none-more-dastardly-sounding Neville Sinclair, who - in case the creepy-thin moustache didn't give his non-heroic allegiances away - is also a bloody Nazi. Playing a matinee idol moonlighting as a German secret agent, Dalton's turn as Sinclair isn't a million miles away from his Bond; he's slickly charming, naturally, but that undercurrent of danger remains, almost as though Dalton can't help but be a bit of a baddie at all times.
Lover of film, writer of words, pretentious beyond belief. Thinks Scorsese and Kubrick are the kings of cinema, but PT Anderson and David Fincher are the dashing young princes. Follow Brogan on twitter if you can take shameless self-promotion: @BroganMorris1
