Timothy Dalton

Timothy Dalton plays Donald Whitfield in 1923 and Sir Malcolm Murray in Penny Dreadful. His film roles include James Bond in The Living Daylights and Licence to Kill, Prince Barin in Flash Gordon and Simon Skinner in Hot Fuzz. He trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and has worked extensively in classical theatre.

Whitfield is a good example of how much Dalton can do with a measured delivery. His character's power comes from money and the freedom to wait. He doesn't need to share the Duttons' urgency, which makes him an unsettling presence in their world.

I like the contrast between that composure and the more immediate hostility elsewhere in 1923. Dalton gives the impression that Whitfield has considered a conversation before the other person realises what it is about.

Penny Dreadful offers a different use of his imposing presence, in the troubled explorer Sir Malcolm. Across these roles, he can make authority attractive and uncomfortable without losing the character beneath it.

Read my 1923 review for more on the series' competing kinds of power.