Motifs in the James Bond film series that is central to the spy film genre. The gun barrel imagery sometimes carried over to the film posters used to promote Bond films, including as a familiarising element on the introduction of Timothy Dalton for "The Living Daylights". The sequence was traditionally placed at the start of each film until the 2006 instalment "Casino Royale", where it appears after the cold open and is incorporated into the plot; in the 2008 film, "Quantum of Solace", the sequence was placed at the end of the film and incorporates the film's title in its design. For Skyfall, director Sam Mendes had
Timothy Dalton Lord Asriel in the stage version of "His Dark Materials". Dalton played Simon Skinner, who ran the local supermarché, in the action/comedy film "Hot Fuzz", which was released in 2007. Dalton returned once again to British television in a guest role for the "Doctor Who" 2009–10 two-part special "The End of Time", playing Rassilon. He was first heard in the role narrating a preview clip shown at the 2009 Comic Convention. In 2010 and 2011, he starred in several episodes of the fourth season of the American spy comedy "Chuck" as Alexei Volkoff. Dalton voiced the character Mr. Pricklepants in