18 Great Actors Totally Wasted In James Bond Movies
2. Timothy Dalton
Played: James Bond in The Living Daylights and Licence to Kill.
It might seem odd to put one of the James Bond actors as being wasted but yes, Timothy Dalton was squandered by the franchise.
Dalton is a very fine actor - in fact, aside from Daniel Craig, he's perhaps the most talented dramatic actor to take on the role of Bond - and his Bond was very good. Dalton's Bond was the closest to Ian Fleming's vision of the character and he brought a ton of darkness and pathos to Bond while also still retaining the character's charm and allure.
Unfortunately, Dalton only played Bond twice and ended up jumping ship during the six-year gap between Licence to Kill and Goldeneye. As such, he never got a chance to really make his mark and he wasn't lucky with his films either.
The Living Daylights is dreadful and while Licence to Kill is much better, it's still not a top-tier Bond film. So, since we barely got to know Dalton's Bond and since he wasn't given the great writing he so deserved, it's safe to say his tenure is one of the biggest missed opportunities in James Bond history... maybe even the biggest.