Charles Dance

Walter Charles Dance(born 10 October 1946) is an English actor. He is known for playing intimidating, authoritarian characters and villains. Dance started his career on stage with theRoyal Shakespeare Company(RSC) before appearing in film and television. For his services to drama he was appointed anOfficer of the Order of the British Empire(OBE) byQueen Elizabeth IIin 2006.
He made his feature film debut in theJames BondfilmFor Your Eyes Only(1981). He since acted in a string of critically acclaimed period films such asMichael Collins(1996),Gosford Park(2001),The Imitation Game(2014),Mank(2020), andThe King's Man(2021). He has also appeared in the filmsThe Golden Child(1986),Alien 3(1992),Last Action Hero(1993),Dracula Untold(2014), andGodzilla: King of the Monsters(2019). He made his directorial film debut with the drama filmLadies in Lavender(2004), which he also wrote and executive produced.
On television, Dance played Guy Perron inThe Jewel in the Crown(1984), Mr Tulkinghorn inBleak House(2005),Tywin LannisterinGame of Thrones(2011–2015), andLord Mountbattenin the third and fourth seasons ofThe Crown(2019–2020). For his role inThe Crown, he was nominated for aPrimetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series.
Walter Charles Dance was born inRedditch,Worcestershire, on 10 October 1946, the younger son of Eleanor Marion (néePerks; 1911–1984), a cook, and Walter Dance (1874–1949), an electrical engineer who served as asergeantin the 2nd Regular Battalion of theRoyal Fusiliersduring theSecond Boer War(having previously served in the 2nd Volunteer Battalion) and who was in his 70s when his younger son was born.By his father's previous marriage, Dance had two older half-sisters, Norah (1898–1993) and Mary (1903–1908).On his maternal side, he also has an elder half-brother, Michael (born 1936).
During filming of an episode for the genealogical seriesWho Do You Think You Are?in 2016, Dance discovered that his mother had Belgian ancestry, which traced back to the city ofSpa. His immigrant ancestor Charles François Futvoye (1777–1847) had been a pioneer in the art ofjapanningduring the early half of the 19th century.Growing up inPlymouth, Dance attended the now-defunct Widey Technical School for Boys (then known as Widey High School) inCrownhill.He later attended the Plymouth Drawing School (later renamed to Plymouth College of Art, and now known asArts University Plymouth) and Leicester College of Arts (now known asDe Montfort University), where he studied graphic design and photography.
Dance was a member of theRoyal Shakespeare Companyduring the mid-to-late 1970s and was in many of their productions in London andStratford-upon-Avon. Later he returned to the RSC to take the title role inCoriolanusat Stratford-upon-Avon andNewcastlein 1989, and at theBarbican Theatrein 1990. He received rave reviews and aCritics' CircleBest Actor award for his performance asC. S. LewisinWilliam Nicholson'sShadowlands, in the 2007 stage revival.
Dance made his screen debut in 1974, in the ITV seriesFather Brownas Commandant Neil O'Brien in "The Secret Garden". Other small parts followed, including a 1983 cameo as aSouth Africanassassin inThe Professionals, but his big break came the following year when he played Guy Perron inThe Jewel in the Crown(Granada Television, Christopher Morahan 1984), an adaptation ofPaul Scott's novels that also made stars ofGeraldine JamesandArt Malik. Dance made one of his earliest big-screen appearances in the 1981James BondfilmFor Your Eyes Onlyas evil henchman Claus.  Though he turned down the opportunity to screen test for the James Bond role,in 1989 he played Bond creatorIan FleminginAnglia Television's dramatised biography directed byDon Boyd,Goldeneye(the name ofFleming's estate in Jamaicaand a title later used for aJames Bondfilm).
He has also starred in many other British television dramas such asEdward the Seventh(asPrince 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,FingersmithandBleak House(for which he received anEmmynomination forOutstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie). He was name-checked in the British comedy seriesAbsolutely Fabulous, as being slated to play the title character inThe Life of Jesus Christ 2, which was filming inMoroccoat the same time as the main characters of the series were there for a photo shoot. He also played Guy Spencer, the pro-Hitlerpropagandist, in the second instalment ofFoyle's War, and had an ongoing role as Dr. Maltravers in the ITV dramaTrinity.
Dance made a guest appearance on the BBC drama seriesMerlinas the Witchfinder Aredian,and as a vainglorious version of himself in the third series ofJam & Jerusalem. He playedLord Vetinariin the 2010 Sky adaptation ofTerry Pratchett's Going Postal, and theRussian oligarchAleksandr Borinski inParis Connections.He played the role ofTywin LannisterinHBO'sGame of Thrones, based on theA Song of Ice and Firenovels byGeorge R. R. Martin. Dance was wooed for the role by the producers while filmingYour HighnessinBelfast.Dance also played Conrad Knox on the British television seriesStrike Back: Vengeanceas the primary villain in the series.
Since 2012, Dance has had a recurring role inThe Big Fat Quiz of the Yearreading excerpts from books, such asFifty Shades of Greyor the autobiographies of English media personalities, in a deadpan manner. On 30 June 2013, Dance appeared with other celebrities in an episode of the BBC'sTop Gearas a "Star in a Reasonably Priced Car" for the debut of theVauxhall Astra.In summer 2018, Dance narrated a documentary entitledSpitfire, which featured the legendary Supermarine Spitfire and recounted the efforts of the RAF pilots who flew them during the Second World War.
In 2019 he played an antagonist inGodzilla: King of the Monstersand appeared asLord Mountbattenin series 3 ofThe Crownin the same year. In 2020, Dance portrayedWilliam Randolph HearstinDavid Fincher'sMank, co-starring alongsideGary OldmanandAmanda Seyfried.In January 2021, Dance was cast in theNetflixadaptation ofThe Sandman.
In 2024 Dance starred asMichelangeloin the BBC docu-dramaRenaissance: The Blood and the Beauty.
Dance's debut film as a screenwriter and director wasLadies in Lavender(2004), which starredJudi DenchandMaggie Smith. In 2009, he directed his own adaptation ofAlice Thomas Ellis'sThe Inn at the Edge of the World.
Dance married Joanna Haythorn in 1970, and they had a son named Oliver (born 1974) and a daughter named Rebecca (born 1980) before divorcing in 2004.
He later dated Eleanor Boorman from 2008 to 2012, and they had a daughter named Rose (born 2012).
He is in a relationship with Italian production manager and former actress Alessandra Masi, whom he met inItalyin 2018.
As of 2018, Dance resides inKentish Town,London.
Dance has described his political views as "very left-of-centre"and "a bit left of centre-left". He supported the UK remaining in theEuropean Unionin the run-up to the2016 EU referendum, and expressed his wish for the country to be closer toEuropeto avoid "being a little satellite of America".
In a 2020 interview with theFinancial Times, he feltNHSworkers were not being offered a decent enough pay rise and labelledBoris Johnsona "bumbling buffoon".
In light of theIsrael–Hamas war, Dance was one of over two thousand to sign an Artists for Palestine letter calling for a ceasefire and accusing western governments of "not only tolerating war crimes but aiding and abetting them."Dance contributed to a video published by the Palestine Festival of Literature in support of South Africa'slegal motionaccusing Israel of genocide at theInternational Court of Justice(ICJ).
Dance was appointed anOfficer of the Order of the British Empire(OBE) on 17 June 2006.