Timothy Dalton in the film "Lady Caroline Lamb". The filmmakers replaced him with Jon Finch at the last moment; Dalton sued for breach of contract and won an out-of-court settlement. In 1985, Dalton was set to play Don Alfonso de la Torré in Roman Polanski's film "Pirates". The two men did not get along, so Polanski replaced Dalton with Damien Thomas. Dalton had been considered for the role of James Bond several times. According to the documentary "Inside The Living Daylights", the producers first approached Dalton in 1968 for "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" although Dalton himself in this same documentary claims
James Bond filmography him to Daniel Craig, stating that "Despite chronological placement, it was Dalton, not Brosnan, who proved to be the prototype for the 21st century Bond.". Although Bond screenwriter Richard Maibaum called Sean Connery the best Bond, he considered Dalton the best actor of the four he worked with.Tom Mankiewicz agreed with this view, praising Dalton's androgynous facets.His predecessor, Roger Moore also felt that Dalton was the best actor to play Bond. Director John Glen also felt that Dalton was the best actor that portrayed Bond, and that he was ahead of his time, noting the comparisons between Daniel Craig's incarnation