Interview with Timothy Dalton talking about A Touch of the Poet and other projects

Question: Do you have any particular roles that you've always dreamed of doing?

Timothy: No, I'm sure some people do; but I think most actors probably don't, because what your dream is, what you want to do, your desire, your goal, your aim, is to play in wonderful pieces! I would hate to say wonderful parts, because a part doesn't exist in isolation, it exists as part of the play or movie script itself. I think if you just had one goal, it would be awfully limiting – what would you do once you'd done it? The goal should be in good work and hope to continue to be in good work, and continue to be able to improve within that and take on all those challenges.

Question: Do you have any favorite roles that you have done?

Timothy: Yeah I guess. It's difficult to distinguish between those that were successful and those that you liked. It's also difficult to distinguish, really, across a time span, because those you did ten, fifteen, twenty years ago obviously are now much more a part of one's own history. I can only talk in recent terms rather than overall terms. Certainly I loved doing the O'Neill play A Touch of the Poet. I'm very proud of that production.

Question: Are we going to get to see that over here in the States?

Timothy: I doubt it. There was a moment when we could have brought it. But you know, time, and other people's commitments. I wouldn't like to 're-do' it, I’d like to bring it here with the production we did. I think he's (Eugene O'Neill) the greatest modern writer – others would argue with that, but certainly one would agree he's one of the 20th century's greatest writers. It was a forgotten play, and the way we did it was, I think, right. And several of the critics said that this must now be regarded as one of his masterpieces. Well, if you can do that to a 'forgotten play' then that of course gives one tremendous satisfaction. So there's that part. I loved doing Petruchio in The Taming of the Shrew.

Question: I would have thought you could do Henry V really well.

Timothy: Well! It’s funny you should say that, because Taming of the Shrew was a great hit, again through luck and judgment, and was a great show. But, of course, its subject matter – I don’t think there's anything wrong with its subject matter at all, fundamentally; it's saying that true love exists when two people get to know each other. If they fall in love with each other superficially on surface appearances, it's going to fall apart. We see that story in Taming of the Shrew. The two people actually explore each other, get to know each other, struggle with each other, and end up truly loving each other. But, you know, a lot of people see it as a chauvinistic or anti-feminist play. And I remember one of the critics who happened to be hugely enjoying it, laughing all the way through, decided to write for his paper a sort of feminist review. His only comment about me was that I was the best Henry V of my generation! (Timothy laughs.) I don't know if you've seen Hawks, but I hope it will be out here soon. For some dumb reason, the Americans have decided to cut out the parents from the movie, and that I think is important because it gives the two guys their world of loneliness. I'm very proud of it – it's a wonderful film.

Question: I would have thought it would have been released here already.

Timothy: Well, you're talking about two guys who have cancer. It's not actually about death, it's in fact about life, how precious life is and how it should be seized and grasped and how. Why do we always take tomorrow for granted? Why does it always take a crisis like a war or some doctor telling you have a dicky heart or a cancer to make us value what it is we've got. The premise of that, of course, is death, so I'm sure people think it's not particularly a commercial subject, although it's relevant to every single human being on the face of this earth! We all know people, who have been affected by cancer, and we all have a life to live and we all waste a lot of it.