Charles Dance
He first came to public attention as the decent but dashing Sergeant Guy Perron in television's The Jewel in the Crown. After that on film he played the dastardly Lord Errol in White Mischief, the clueless Lord Stockbridge in Gosford Park, and the stoic Lord Kitchener in The King's Man. Back on television he was the suave but misguided scientist Edward Forester who fathered in more ways than one a child that was half gorilla-half man, the cruel Tywin Lannister in Game of Thrones, and most recently Lord Louis Mountbatten in The Crown.
With a name like a cavalier and a face like a noble Roman, it is not surprising he became known as "the thinking woman's crumpet."
Let's discuss the great British character actor Charles Dance.
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 75 | March 3, 2025 4:21 PM
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He was also sexy as hell as Julian Glover's German henchman in For Your Eyes Only opposite Roger Moore.
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 1 | July 7, 2024 10:24 PM
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[quote] The Jewel in the Crown
Also starring Eric Porter.
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 3 | July 7, 2024 10:28 PM
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I think the first time I consciously saw him was in The Golden Child. I rewatched it a couple of weeks ago and it held up quite well. He's a wonderful villain.
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 5 | July 7, 2024 10:39 PM
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Loved him in White Mischief.
by Anonymous | reply 7 | July 7, 2024 10:53 PM
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I always felt he should've played Magneto in the X-Men movies than Ian McKellen.
by Anonymous | reply 8 | July 7, 2024 10:55 PM
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A tremendous talent and a delight to work with.
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 9 | July 7, 2024 10:57 PM
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He is really tall, like 6'4 or 6'5
by Anonymous | reply 10 | July 7, 2024 11:05 PM
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Wasn't he in that B.A.P.S. movie that Halli Berry starred in?
by Anonymous | reply 11 | July 7, 2024 11:13 PM
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I truly would listen to this man read a phone book. Fabulous voice, wonderful presence. Love him.
by Anonymous | reply 12 | July 7, 2024 11:16 PM
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I was just going to bring up Tracey Ullman and Meryl Streep. That’s the consensus on who the person is who the two of them couldn’t stand working with. Tracey is a sweetheart and cuts people a lot of slack. If she says he was a nightmare, he was a nightmare.
by Anonymous | reply 15 | July 7, 2024 11:46 PM
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When he talks ruefully about cheating on his ex-wife it sounds very practiced.
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 16 | July 7, 2024 11:50 PM
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The first time I really noticed him was in Alien3. Great presence and calm intensity, great voice.
Chomped by an alien, shot by a crossbow wielding dwarf on the toilet, he has some creative deaths under his belt
by Anonymous | reply 17 | July 8, 2024 12:03 AM
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R15 When did they both say he was terrible to work with? I always heard/thought he was a professional, like most British men of his pedigree and how he carries himself.
by Anonymous | reply 18 | July 8, 2024 12:12 AM
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He seems to die in a lot of projects. Must have a Sean Bean thing going.
by Anonymous | reply 19 | July 8, 2024 12:17 AM
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He was great as Justice Wargrave in And Then There Were None (2016).
The rest of the cast list included Maeve Dermody, Aidan Turner, Burn Gorman, Toby Stephens, Miranda Richardson, Noah Taylor, Douglas Booth, Anna Maxwell Martin, and Sam Neill as General McArthur
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 21 | July 8, 2024 12:20 AM
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Does anyone else love Desert Island Discs?
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 22 | July 8, 2024 12:29 AM
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I was going to ask what his body was like, but not now…
by Anonymous | reply 23 | July 8, 2024 12:31 AM
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Great body even today, but especially when he was younger. He's really gorgeous in "White Mischief."
I think he's from a working-class background, which is surprising given how often he's been typecast as an aristocrat.
by Anonymous | reply 24 | July 8, 2024 12:33 AM
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Didn’t Meryl hate him on “Plenty”? I recall the only thing he said was “we got along when our characters got along.”
by Anonymous | reply 25 | July 8, 2024 12:38 AM
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He jumped off the screen for me in Alien 3, too, R17. I’m sorry to hear he’s been considered a jerk.
I love one exchange he has with his wife as they’re going down to dinner in Gosford Park.
Wife: “It’ll be a relief to me to talk to someone who isn’t deaf in one ear.”
Him: “Excuse me?”
by Anonymous | reply 26 | July 8, 2024 12:44 AM
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I loved him in Game of Thrones. I forgot he was in Alien 3.
by Anonymous | reply 27 | July 8, 2024 12:49 AM
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He should have been cast as Prince Philip in the last two seasons of The Crown.
by Anonymous | reply 28 | July 8, 2024 12:49 AM
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He directed Judi and Maggie in Ladies in Lavender.
by Anonymous | reply 29 | July 8, 2024 12:56 AM
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They should have saved him to play Philip in the last two seasons of The Crown, instead of casting him as Mountbatten.
by Anonymous | reply 30 | July 8, 2024 1:02 AM
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He would have been great as both
by Anonymous | reply 31 | July 8, 2024 1:05 AM
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I can't believe he played Stan in Childhood's End
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 32 | July 8, 2024 4:16 AM
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*Satan
Sorry, I posted before finishing my thought. That show felt like a fever dream, but in a good way.
by Anonymous | reply 33 | July 8, 2024 4:17 AM
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Guy Perron was a great Bond audition.
Bond needs to carry himself credibly in a white suit snarking at an arms dealer as he is in a fist fight with a hired thug.
Dance's performance as Perron was charismatic, likeable and debonair, with an pragmatic edge underneath.
I especially liked his sarcasm at Merrick being consistently promoted.
That cynicism was pure Bond.
He was also very good looking. He and Greta Scacchi were one of the sexiest on-screen couples of the '80s. No way they weren't fucking during "White Mischief".
by Anonymous | reply 34 | July 8, 2024 6:43 AM
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They made a Childhood's End adaptation? Is it any good?
by Anonymous | reply 35 | July 8, 2024 6:46 AM
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Oh Meryl did not like him? Who fucking cares. Charles is touchable.
by Anonymous | reply 36 | July 8, 2024 7:08 AM
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He looks like one of the aristocracy.
by Anonymous | reply 37 | July 8, 2024 9:31 AM
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Criminy! Is DL crawling with pedos?
by Anonymous | reply 38 | July 8, 2024 9:51 AM
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I loved him in Last Action Hero. He was the only saving grace in that one.
by Anonymous | reply 39 | July 8, 2024 9:59 AM
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[quote] I’m sorry to hear he’s been considered a jerk.
He's a typical luvvy.
An open letter by over 2,000 celebrities criticised Israel but failed to condemn Hamas
The letter, signed by celebrities such as Steve Coogan, Tilda Swinton and Charles Dance, accuses the Government of “not only tolerating war crimes but aiding and abetting them”.
In particular the letter condemns Israel’s actions in retaliation against terrorist group Hamas, opening with: “We are witnessing a crime and a catastrophe. Israel has reduced much of Gaza to rubble, and cut off the supply of water, power, food and medicine to 2.3 million Palestinians.”
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 40 | July 8, 2024 11:20 AM
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Meryl expected to have an on-set affair with him and he demurred. That is why she found him “difficult”
by Anonymous | reply 43 | July 8, 2024 1:52 PM
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Bullshit, R43. It was Tracey Ullman who made a thinly veiled reference to him at Meryl’s AFI Tribute. Meryl’s never commented on him as a professional or otherwise.
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 44 | July 8, 2024 2:32 PM
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Starting with Guy Perron….was not interested in Game of Thrones until I heard he and Diana Rigg were in it. The pros showing the pretty people how it’s done.
by Anonymous | reply 45 | July 8, 2024 5:49 PM
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He reminds me of Ryan Corr, just a little.
by Anonymous | reply 46 | July 8, 2024 6:26 PM
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You're right R44. It might be impossible, however, to say she "never" commented on him. She let her mask slip a bit when she laughed and nodded vigorously when TU talks about how there's always that one actor on every set who no one likes.
by Anonymous | reply 47 | July 8, 2024 6:32 PM
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Why does Meryl have to fuck all of her leading men?
by Anonymous | reply 48 | July 8, 2024 6:36 PM
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De Niro, Grant, Nicholson, Irons, Redford (?), Brandauer, Kline, Quaid, Eastwood, Brosnan, Russell, Scheider, Begley, Bacon, DiCaprio, Neeson, Firth, Skarsgård, Hurt, Cooper, Pacino/Kirk/Wilson, Hanks, Washington, Tucci, Cruise, Chalamet, McGregor, Garcia. I mean, not exactly starving for choice.
by Anonymous | reply 49 | July 8, 2024 6:56 PM
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[quote] De Niro, Grant, Nicholson, Irons, Redford (?), Brandauer, Kline, Quaid, Eastwood, Brosnan, Russell, Scheider, Begley, Bacon, DiCaprio, Neeson, Firth, Skarsgård, Hurt, Cooper, Pacino/Kirk/Wilson, Hanks, Washington, Tucci, Cruise, Chalamet, McGregor, Garcia.
Meryl's an amateur.
by Anonymous | reply 50 | July 8, 2024 7:03 PM
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Joan was fucking Ty and much younger Ty
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 51 | July 8, 2024 7:17 PM
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[quote]He directed Judi and Maggie in Ladies in Lavender.
There was a story on Popbitch that he was fucking Judi around that time. She would have been in her mid 60s and her husband Michael Williams had died recently.
Not long after that he dated Sophia Myles when she was in her early 20s and he was mid 50s.
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 52 | July 8, 2024 7:27 PM
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He was beautiful in "The Jewel in the Crown."
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 53 | July 8, 2024 7:28 PM
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He was excellent as the lawyer Tulkinghorn in the BBC's adaptation of Bleak House, orchestrating Honoria Dedlock's downfall.
And he got to bang Ripley (one of the most bangin' heroines in film history) in Alien 3.
by Anonymous | reply 54 | July 8, 2024 7:33 PM
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He had a small role in late 90s Brit rom com What Rats Won't Do, from the writer of Stop! My Mom Will Shoot! and Dr. Jekyll and Ms. Hyde.
Dance appears in his underwear at 1.34 and clearly had a personal trainer for the shoot but be careful, he'll have your eye out.
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 55 | July 8, 2024 7:34 PM
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[quote]He's a typical luvvy. An open letter by over 2,000 celebrities criticised Israel but failed to condemn Hamas. The letter, signed by celebrities such as Steve Coogan, Tilda Swinton and Charles Dance, accuses the Government of “not only tolerating war crimes but aiding and abetting them”.
I had the misfortune to see an Artists Against Israel video where Dance and his friends were acting out South Africa's Iran funded submission to the International Court of Justice. Imagine a bunch of am dram enthusiasts high on cocaine and you get the vibe. Lena Headley or whatever her name is from Game Of Thrones read it like she was auditioning for Sarah Tobias in The Accused.
by Anonymous | reply 56 | July 8, 2024 7:37 PM
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R52 They met on the set of The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby, the 2001 miniseries, not the film.
Dance was Uncle Ralph and Sophie Myles was Kate.
He was 55 and she was 19.
by Anonymous | reply 57 | July 8, 2024 7:39 PM
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He played a hit and run killer in a Tales of the Unexpected.
by Anonymous | reply 58 | July 8, 2024 7:42 PM
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He was also in China Moon, a knock off of Body Heat. Dance played the rich husband. Ed Harris is the fool cop, Benicio del Toro is his partner, and Madeleine Stowe is the vixen.
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 59 | July 8, 2024 7:47 PM
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I have a China Moon rental coming. I can just feel it!
by Anonymous | reply 60 | July 8, 2024 7:49 PM
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[quote] He's a typical luvvy. An open letter by over 2,000 celebrities criticised Israel but failed to condemn Hamas
How dare he not have the exact political opinions as you do!
There's only ONE opinion to have on this matter, which is yours, and it completely overrides any other discussion of any celebrity!
I do not find your bringing this up over and over again tedious or obsessive at all.
by Anonymous | reply 61 | July 8, 2024 8:14 PM
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Who was Brit psycho hottie in Jewel in the Crown? It wasn’t Dance.
by Anonymous | reply 62 | July 8, 2024 8:17 PM
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[quote]Why does Meryl have to fuck all of her leading men?
Because...
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 63 | July 8, 2024 8:34 PM
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R62: Tim Piggott-Smith played Sgt./Capt./Major Ronald Merrick.
by Anonymous | reply 64 | July 8, 2024 8:38 PM
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He said that Meryl was under a lot of pressure when they filmed "Plenty", that a lot of attention was given to how well her movies fared at the box office. He also said they got along when their characters did, and not so much when the characters didn't. He maybe pulled some method shit on set. Who knows. I doubt she hated him but it seems he didn't endear himself to the cast, who all had good things to say about working with La Streep.
R21 I came to post that, I thought he was wonderful in And Then There Were None, which was a terrific adaptation. The Phelps adaptations decreased in quality thereafter
by Anonymous | reply 65 | July 8, 2024 9:20 PM
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Apparently, he's a nasty piece of work - and not in the good way.
by Anonymous | reply 66 | July 8, 2024 9:35 PM
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[quote] He also said they got along when their characters did, and not so much when the characters didn't. He maybe pulled some method shit on set.
Dance seems too old school to be into Method Acting. I bet his opinion of it isn't that much different than Laurence Olivier's and Brian Cox's.
by Anonymous | reply 67 | July 8, 2024 10:29 PM
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R67, the Method is frequently a catch-all term used for any type of psychological approach to performance and does not necessarily mean a strict adherence to Stanislavky's approach. Things such as feeling closer to an actor you are supposed to be friends/lovers with onset and being distanced from those you are not frequently occur without any deliberate premeditation or as part of a larger system of acting technique, but can be referred to as 'method' in a casual way because they move offstage, so to speak. Whatever Dance, Olivier or Cox's view of the "Method" may be does not preclude them from consciously or unconsciouly practicing psychological performance techniques.
by Anonymous | reply 68 | July 9, 2024 2:55 AM
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R64 nobody ever described Tim Pigott-Smith as a hottie, even Mrs Pigott-Smith (should such a person exist)
by Anonymous | reply 69 | July 9, 2024 5:30 AM
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He was very sexy in China moon @R59
by Anonymous | reply 70 | March 3, 2025 6:06 AM
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I've had a thing for him since White Mischief. Who could blame Greta's character?
by Anonymous | reply 71 | March 3, 2025 3:08 PM
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I discovered him in Pascali's Island when a young Helen Mirren was hot for him. Wonderful movie starring Sir Ben Kingsley as Pascali. It's about Turkey. I think you can find it on You Tube.
by Anonymous | reply 73 | March 3, 2025 3:54 PM
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I've been thinking about actors who come across on screen as highly intelligent and thoughtful no matter the role, and he's top tier
by Anonymous | reply 75 | March 3, 2025 4:21 PM
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