Charles Dance

This article is about the contemporary English actor. For other uses, see Charles Dance (disambiguation).

Charles Dance OBE
Dance at the July 2012 London Film and Comic Con
Born	Walter Charles Dance (1946-10-10) 10 October 1946 (age 72) Redditch, West Midlands, England
Nationality	English
Education	De Montfort University Plymouth College of Art
Occupation	Actor, screenwriter, film director
Years active	1971–present
Spouse(s)	Joanna Haythorn (m. 1970; div. 2004)
Children	3
Parent(s)	Walter Dance Eleanor Marion Perks

Walter Charles Dance, OBE (born 10 October 1946) is an English actor, screenwriter, and film director. Some of his highest profile roles are Tywin Lannister in HBO's Game of Thrones (2011–2015), Guy Perron in The Jewel in the Crown (1984), Sardo Numspa in The Golden Child (1986), Jonathan Clemens in Alien 3 (1992), Benedict in Last Action Hero (1993), the Master Vampire in Dracula Untold (2014), Lord Havelock Vetinari in Terry Pratchett's Going Postal (2010), Alastair Denniston in The Imitation Game (2014), and Emperor Emhyr var Emreis in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt (2015).

Contents

• 
  1 Early life
  


• 
  2 Career
  
  
  
  • 
    2.1 Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC)
    
  
  
  • 
    2.2 Television and film
    
  
  
  • 
    2.3 Screenwriting and directing
    
  
  
  
  


• 
  3 Personal life
  


• 
  4 Honours
  


• 
  5 Filmography
  
  
  
  • 
    5.1 Film
    
  
  
  • 
    5.2 Television
    
  
  
  • 
    5.3 Video games
    
  
  
  • 
    5.4 Audio Books
    
  
  
  
  


• 
  6 Theatre credits
  
  
  
  • 
    6.1 Stage
    
  
  
  
  


• 
  7 Further reading
  


• 
  8 References
  


• 
  9 External links
  

Early life

Charles Dance was born in Rednal, West Midlands, the son of Eleanor Marion (née Perks), a cook, and Walter Dance (1874–1949), an electrical engineer who had previously served during the Boer War in South Africa.^[1][2] Growing up in Plymouth, he attended Widey Technical School for Boys (it closed when known as Widey High School in 1988) in Crownhill. Dance later attended The Leicester College of Arts (now known as De Montfort University), where he studied Graphic Design and Photography.^[3]

When Dance was about 3 years old, his father died. He had always thought that his father had been in his early fifties when this happened, but discovered that Walter was actually born 26 years earlier in 1874. In 2016 during filming of an episode for the genealogical series Who Do You Think You Are?.^[4] Dance also discovered that through his maternal line, he is of partial Belgian ancestry, descended from a family whose roots lay in Spa. His immigrant ancestor Charles François Futvoye (1777-1847) had been a pioneer in the art of Japaning during the early half of the 19th century, and a resident of Marylebone in London.

Career

Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC)

Dance was a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company during the mid-to-late 1970s and was in many of their productions in London and Stratford-upon-Avon. Later he returned to the RSC to take the title role in Coriolanus at Stratford-upon-Avon and Newcastle in 1989, and at the Barbican Theatre in 1990. He received rave reviews and a Critics' Circle Best Actor award for his performance as the Oxford don C. S. Lewis in William Nicholson's Shadowlands, in the 2007 stage revival.^[5]

Television and film

Dance made his screen debut in 1974, in the ITV series Father Brown as Commandant Neil O'Brien in "The Secret Garden", but his big break came ten years later when he played the major role of Guy Perron in The Jewel in the Crown (Granada Television, Christopher Morahan 1984), an adaptation of Paul Scott's novels that also made stars of Geraldine James and Art Malik. He appeared in Paris Connections (2010) as the Russian oligarch Aleksandr Borinski. Dance made one of his earliest big screen appearances in the 1981 James Bond film For Your Eyes Only as evil henchman Claus. Though he turned down the opportunity to screen test for the James Bond role,^[6] in 1989 he played Bond creator Ian Fleming in Anglia Television's dramatised biography directed by Don Boyd, Goldeneye (the name of Fleming's estate in Jamaica and a title later used for a James Bond film).

He has also starred in many other British television dramas such as Edward the Seventh (as dissolute Prince Albert Victor, Duke of Clarence and Avondale, Edward VII's oldest son, and heir to the throne), Murder Rooms, Randall and Hopkirk, Rebecca, The Phantom of the Opera, Fingersmith and Bleak House (for which he received an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie). He was name-checked in the British comedy series Absolutely Fabulous, as being slated to play the title character in The Life of Jesus Christ 2, which was filming in Morocco at the same time as the main characters of the series were there for a photo shoot. He also played Guy Spencer, the pro-Hitler propagandist, in the second instalment of Foyle's War, and had an ongoing role as Dr. Maltravers in the ITV drama Trinity.^[7]

Dance made a guest appearance on the BBC drama series Merlin as the Witchfinder Aredian,^[8] and as a vainglorious version of himself in the third series of Jam & Jerusalem. He played Havelock Vetinari in the 2010 Sky adaptation of Terry Pratchett's Going Postal.^[9] He played the role of Tywin Lannister in HBO's Game of Thrones, based on the Song of Ice and Fire novels by George R. R. Martin. Dance was wooed for the role by the producers while filming Your Highness in Belfast.^[10] Dance also played Conrad Knox on the British television series Strike Back: Vengeance as the primary villain in the series.^[11]

On 30 June 2013, Dance appeared with other celebrities in an episode of the BBC's Top Gear as a "Star in a Reasonably Priced Car" for the debut of the Vauxhall Astra.^[12] In summer 2018, Dance narrated a documentary entitled "Spitfire", which featured the legendary Supermarine Spitfire and recounted the efforts of the RAF pilots who flew them during the Second World War.

Dance is represented by Tavistock Wood Management.^[13]

Screenwriting and directing

Dance's debut film as a writer and director was Ladies in Lavender (2004), which starred Judi Dench and Maggie Smith. In 2009, he directed his own adaptation of Alice Thomas Ellis's The Inn at the Edge of the World.

Personal life

Dance married Joanna Haythorn in 1970. They have two children.^[14][15] Haythorn and Dance divorced in 2004. He and Eleanor Boorman have a daughter, Rose Boorman, though the two subsequently

Honours

Dance was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) on 17 June 2006.^[16]

Filmography

Film

Title	Year	Role	Director(s)	Notes	Ref(s)
For Your Eyes Only	1981	Claus	John Glen
Plenty	1985	Raymond Brock	Fred Schepisi
The Golden Child	1986	Sardo Numspa	Michael Ritchie
White Mischief	1987	Josslyn Hay	Michael Radford
Good Morning, Babylon	1987	D.W. Griffith	Paolo and Vittorio Taviani
Hidden City	1987	James Richards	Stephen Poliakoff
Pascali's Island	1988	Anthony Bowles	James Dearden
Alien 3	1992	Clemens	David Fincher
Kalkstein	1992	Surveyor	Maurizio Zaccaro
Last Action Hero	1993	Benedict	John McTiernan
Century	1993	Professor Mandry	Stephen Poliakoff
China Moon	1994	Rupert Munro	John Bailey
Kabloonak	1994	Robert Flaherty	Claude Massot	Paris Film Festival Award for Best Actor
Shortcut to Paradise	1994	Quinn	Gerardo Herrero
The Surgeon	1995	Dr. Ed Mittlesbay	Carl Schenkel
Space Truckers	1996	Nabel / Macanudo	Stuart Gordon
Michael Collins	1996	Soames	Neil Jordan
The Blood Oranges	1997	Cyril	Philip Haas
What Rats Won't Do	1998	Gerald	Alastair Reid
Hilary and Jackie	1998	Derek Du Pré	Anand Tucker
Don't Go Breaking My Heart	1999	Frank	Willi Patterson
Gosford Park	2001	Raymond Stockbridge	Robert Altman
Jurij	2001	Padre di Jurij	Stefano Gabrini
Dark Blue World	2001	Wing Commander Bentley	Jan Svěrák
Black and White	2002	Roderic Chamberlain	Craig Lahiff
Ali G Indahouse	2002	David Carlton	Mark Mylod
Swimming Pool	2003	John Bosload	François Ozon
Labyrinth	2003	Charles Lushington	Lorne Thyssen
City and Crimes	2003	Cox William	Rod On, Jr.
Ladies in Lavender	2004	N/A	Himself	Also writer and executive producer
Dolls	2006	Narrator	Susan Luciani	Voice Short film
Scoop	2006	Mr. Malcolm	Woody Allen
Starter for 10	2006	Michael Harbinson	Tom Vaughan
The Contractor	2007	DCS Andrew Windsor	Josef Rusnak	Direct-to-DVD
Intervention	2007	Private Investigator	Mary McGuckian
Paris Connections	2010	Aleksandr Borinski	Harley Cokeliss
The Commuter	2010	Traffic Warden	Edward McHnery Rory McHenry	Short film
Ironclad	2011	Archbishop Langton	Jonathan English
Your Highness	2011	King Tallious	David Gordon Green
There Be Dragons	2011	Monsignor Solano	Roland Joffé
Midnight's Children	2012	William Methwold	Deepa Mehta
Underworld: Awakening	2012	Thomas	Måns Mårlind Björn Stein
St George's Day	2012	Trenchard	Frank Harper
Patrick	2013	Doctor Roget	Mark Hartley
Justin and the Knights of Valour	2013	Legantir	Manuel Sicilia	Voice	[17]
Viy	2014	Lord Dudley	Oleg Stepchenko	Credited as Charlz Dens
Dracula Untold	2014	Master Vampire	Gary Shore
The Imitation Game	2014	Commander Alastair Denniston	Morten Tyldum
Victor Frankenstein	2015	Frankenstein	Paul McGuigan
Michiel de Ruyter	2015	Charles II	Roel Reiné
Woman in Gold	2015	Sherman	Simon Curtis
Child 44	2015	Major Grachev	Daniel Espinosa
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies	2016	Mr. Bennet	Burr Steers
Me Before You	2016	Stephen Traynor	Thea Sharrock
Ghostbusters	2016	Harold Filmore	Paul Feig
Despite the Falling Snow	2016	Old Alexander	Shamim Sarif
Underworld: Blood Wars	2016	Thomas	Anna Foerster
Euphoria	2017	Mr. Daren	Lisa Langseth
That Good Night	2017	The Visitor	Eric Styles
Johnny English Strikes Again	2018	Agent Five	David Kerr	Cameo
Happy New Year, Colin Burstead	2018	Bertie	Ben Wheatley
Viy 2: Journey to China	2019	Lord Dudley	Oleg Stepchenko	Post-production
Godzilla: King of the Monsters	2019		Michael Dougherty	Post-production	[18]
Fanny Lye Deliver'd	2019	John Lye	Thomas Clay	Post-production

Denotes films that have not yet been released

Television

Title	Year(s)	Role	Network	Notes	Ref.
Father Brown	1974	Commandant Neil O'Brien	ITV	Episode: "The Secret Garden"
Edward the Seventh	1975	Prince Eddy	ITV	2 episodes
The Professionals	1983	Parker	LWT	Episode: "The Ojuka Situation"
The Jewel in the Crown	1984	Guy Perron	ITV	5 episodes
Out on a Limb	1987	Cpt. Truman	BBC	2 episodes
First Born	1988	Edward Forester	BBC	3 episodes
Goldeneye	1989	Ian Fleming	ITV	2 episodes
The Phantom of the Opera	1990	Erik/The Phantom	NBC	2 episodes
Rebecca	1997	Maxim de Winter	ITV	2 episodes
The Real Spartacus	2000	Narrator		Voice Documentary
Mysteries of the Real Sherlock Holmes	2000	Sir Henry Carlyle	BBC2
A History of Britain	2000	Winston Churchill	BBC	Voice Episode: "The Two Winstons"
The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby	2001	Ralph Nickleby		Television film
Foyle's War	2002	Guy Spencer	ITV	Episode: "The White Feather"
Henry VIII	2003	Duke of Buckingham	ITV	Television film
Saint John Bosco: Mission to Love	2004	Marquis Clementi		Television film
Fingersmith	2005	Mr. Lilly	BBC	2 episodes
Bleak House	2005	Mr. Tulkinghorn	BBC	12 episodes
To the Ends of the Earth	2005	Sir Henry Somerset	BBC	Episode: "Close Quarters"
Last Rights	2005	Richard Wheeler	Channel 4	3 episodes
Marple: By the Pricking of My Thumbs	2006	Septimus Bligh	ITV	Episode: "By the Pricking of My Thumbs"
Fallen Angel	2007	David Byfield	ITV	3 episodes
Consenting Adults	2007	John Wolfenden	BBC	Television film
Merlin	2009	Aredian	BBC	Episode: "The Witchfinder"
Trinity	2009	Dr. Edmund Maltraver	ITV2	8 episodes
Going Postal	2010	Havelock Vetinari	Sky 1	2 episodes
Rosamunde Pilchers's Shades of Love	2010–2011	Edmund Aird		4 episodes
Game of Thrones	2011–2015	Tywin Lannister	HBO	27 episodes	[19]
Neverland	2011	Dr. Richard Fludd	Syfy	Episode: "Part 1"
Secret State	2012	John Hodder	Channel 4	4 episodes
Strike Back: Vengeance	2012	Conrad Knox	Sky 1	10 episodes
Was It Something I Said?	2013	Narrator	Channel 4	Guest (one episode)
Bones of the Buddha	2013	Narrator	PBS	Voice Documentary
The Great Fire	2014	Lord Denton	ITV	4 episodes
Childhood's End	2015	Karellen	Syfy	3 episodes	[20]
Deadline Gallipoli	2015	General Ian Hamilton	Showcase	2 episodes
And Then There Were None	2015	Justice Lawrence Wargrave	BBC One	3 episodes
The Woman in White	2018	Mr. Fredrick Fairlie	BBC One	4 episodes
Hang Ups	2018	Jeremy Pitt	Channel 4	4 episodes
The Little Drummer Girl	2018	Commander Picton	BBC/AMC	2 episodes

Video games

Title	Year(s)	Voice role	Notes	Ref.
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	2015	Emperor Emhyr var Emreis	English Dub	[21][17]
Call of Duty: Black Ops 4	2018	The Butler	"Dead of the Night" Zombies Map	[22][23]

Audio Books

Title	Year(s)	Author	Voice role	ISBN	Notes	Ref.
The Fourth Protocol	1985	Frederick Forsyth	Narrator	0886461340	Voice	[24]

Theatre credits

Stage

• 
  Toad of Toad Hall as Badger (1971)


• 
  The Beggar's Opera as Wat Dreary (Chichester Festival Theatre, 1972)


• 
  The Taming of the Shrew as Philip (Chichester, 1972)


• 
  Three Sisters as Soliony (Greenwich Theatre, 1973)


• 
  Hans Kohlhaus as Meissen (Greenwich, 1973)


• 
  Born Yesterday as Hotel Manager (Greenwich, 1973)


• 
  Saint Joan as Baudricourt (Oxford Festival, 1974)


• 
  The Sleeping Beauty as Prince (1974)


• 
  Travesties as Henry Carr (Leeds Playhouse, 1977)


• 
  Hamlet as Fortinbras / Reynaldo / Player (RSC The Other Place 1975; The Roundhouse, 1976)


• 
  Perkin Warbeck as Hialas / Astley / Spanish Ambassador (RSC The Other Place, 1975)


• 
  Richard III as Catesby / Murderer (RSC The Other Place, 1975)


• 
  Henry V as Henry V (RSC Glasgow and New York, 1975)


• 
  Henry IV, Part One and Henry IV, Part Two as Prince John of Lancaster (RSC Stratford, 1975; Aldwych Theatre, 1976)


• 
  As You Like It as Oliver (RSC Stratford, 1977; Aldwych, 1978)


• 
  Henry V as Scroop / Williams (RSC Stratford, 1977)


• 
  Henry VI, Part 2 as Buckingham (RSC Stratford, 1977; Aldwych, 1978)


• 
  The Jail Diary of Albie Sachs as Whistling Guard / Freeman (RSC Donmar Warehouse, 1978; The Other Place, 1979)


• 
  Coriolanus as Volscian Lieutenant (RSC Stratford, 1977)


• 
  Coriolanus as Tullus Aufidius (Aldwych, 1978 and 1979)


• 
  The Women Pirates as Blackie / Vosquin (RSC Aldwych, 1978)


• 
  The Changeling as Tomazo (RSC Aldwych, 1978)


• 
  Irma la Douce as Nestor (Shaftesbury Theatre, 1979)


• 
  The Heiress as Morris Townsend (1980)


• 
  Turning Over as Frank (Bush Theatre, 1983)


• 
  Coriolanus as Coriolanus (RSC Stratford and Newcastle upon Tyne, 1989; Barbican Theatre, 1990)


• 
  Three Sisters as Vershinin (Birmingham Rep, 1998)


• 
  Good as John Halder (Donmar Warehouse, 1999)


• 
  Long Day's Journey into Night as James Tyrone (Lyric Theatre, 2000)


• 
  The Play What I Wrote as a guest star (Wyndham's Theatre, 2001–2002)


• 
  Celebration as Richard (Gate Theatre, Dublin; Albery Theatre, 2005)


• 
  The Exonerated (Riverside Studios, Hammersmith, London, 2006)


• 
  Eh Joe as Joe (Parade Theatre, Sydney, 2006)


• 
  Shadowlands as C. S. Lewis (Wyndham's Theatre, 2007 and Novello Theatre 2007–2008)

Further reading

• 
  Who's Who in the Theatre, 16th/17th editions, edited by Ian Herbert, Pitman/Gale 1977/1981


• 
  Theatre Record and Theatre Record Indexes


• 
  Halliwell's Who's Who in the Movies Fourth edition by John Walker, HarperCollins 2006 .mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit}.mw-parser-output q{quotes:"""""""'""'"}.mw-parser-output code.cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:inherit;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Lock-green.svg/9px-Lock-green.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-gray-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-red-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration{color:#555}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration span{border-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration,.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-right{padding-right:0.2em}
  ISBN 978-0-00-716957-3
  


• Charles Dance's own CVs in various theatre programmes

References

1. 
   ^ "Charles Dance Biography (1946–)". Filmreference.com. Retrieved 2012-11-12.
   


2. 
   ^ "Charles Dance - Biography". Yahoo! Movies. Archived from the original on 15 October 2012. Retrieved 12 November 2012.
   


3. 
   ^ http://www.dmu.ac.uk/about-dmu/news/2015/april/winter-is-coming-dmu-alumnus-is-back-on-our-screens-with-the-return-of-game-of-thrones.aspx
   


4. 
   ^ "TheGenealogist featured article on Charles Dance". TheGenealogist. Retrieved 13 July 2017.
   


5. 
   ^ Nicholas de Jongh (9 October 2007). "Dance is poignant perfection – Theatre & Dance – Arts – London Evening Standard". Thisislondon.co.uk. Retrieved 2012-11-12.
   


6. 
   ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 4 October 2015.CS1 maint: Archived copy as title (link)
   


7. 
   ^ Holmwood, Leigh (15 July 2008). "ITV2 plans 'sex, drugs and murder' drama to follow Billie Piper hit series". guardian.co.uk. London. Retrieved 2008-07-15.
   


8. 
   ^ 25 May 2009, 15:07 BST (25 May 2009). "Guest stars confirmed for 'Merlin' – Merlin News – Cult". Digital Spy. Retrieved 2012-11-12.
   


9. 
   ^ Gibson, Linda (2010-05-25). "Interview Extra". TV Choice Magazine.
   


10. 
    ^ "Game of Thrones: News – Charles Dance Cast as Tywin Lannister". Westeros.org. 29 July 2010. Retrieved 2012-11-12.
    


11. 
    ^ "Strike Back: Vengeance on Sky 1 HD". Skymedia.co.uk. 15 August 2012. Archived from the original on 21 April 2013. Retrieved 12 November 2012.
    


12. 
    ^ "Top Gear returns to BBC Two at 8pm, featuring Warwick Davis, Charles Dance and Joss Stone". TV Newsroom. 2013-06-30. Retrieved 2013-07-06.
    


13. 
    ^ "British Film Council: Charles Dance".
    


14. 
    ^ Riggs, Thomas (2006). Contemporary Theatre, Film and Television, Volume 67. Gale / Cengage Learning. pp. 66–67. ISBN 978-0-7876-9040-3.
    


15. 
    ^ Walker, Tim (24 September 2010). "Charles Dance is to marry his artist girlfriend". The Daily Telegraph. London: TMG. ISSN 0307-1235. OCLC 49632006. Retrieved 13 May 2011.
    


16. 
    ^ London Gazette issue 58014 17 June 2006 page 10
    


17. 
    ^ ^ab https://www.behindthevoiceactors.com/Charles-Dance/
    


18. 
    ^ N'Duka, Amanda (May 18, 2017). "'Game Of Thrones' Alum Charles Dance Joins 'Godzilla: King Of The Monsters'". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on May 18, 2017. Retrieved May 18, 2017.
    


19. 
    ^ "Game of Thrones: Cast". HBO. Archived from the original on September 1, 2016. Retrieved May 18, 2017.
    


20. 
    ^ "'Game of Thrones' actor to star in major Syfy miniseries". Entertainment Weekly's EW.com.
    


21. 
    ^ "The Witcher – News". CD Projekt Red. Retrieved 2016-07-18.
    


22. 
    ^ Wade, Jessie (12 December 2018). "Game of Thrones, Metal Gear Stars among Call of Duty: Black Ops 4's Zombies Mode Cast". IGN. Retrieved 13 December 2018.
    


23. 
    ^ McWhertor, Michael (13 December 2018). "Black Ops 4's new Zombies mode stars Kiefer Sutherland, Helena Bonham Carter". Polygon. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
    


24. 
    ^ "The Fourth Protocol". Dh Audio. 1985.
    

External links

• 
  Charles Dance on IMDb


• 
  Charles Dance at the BFI's Screenonline
  

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