George Baker

April 1, 1931 — Varna, Bulgaria

George Morris Baker (1 April 1931 – 7 October 2011) was an English actor and writer. He was best known for portraying Tiberius in I, Claudius, and Inspector Wexford in The Ruth Rendell Mysteries. Ian Fleming considered Baker to be the ideal candidate to play James Bond, but the role went to Sean Connery because Baker had prior commitments. Baker ended up appearing in different roles in the film series: he played Captain Benson in The Spy Who Loved Me, heraldry expert Sir Hilary Bray in On Her Majesty's Secret Service, and a NASA engineer in You Only Live Twice.