Charles Dance: card by card, from Game Of Thrones to For Your Eyes Only

If you need to add some seriousness to your project, or you have a villain who needs to be delightfully evil with just a hint of sparkle in his eye, there’s a fairly simple solution: hire Charles Dance. The legendary actor has graced the screen for decades, dominating Westeros in game of Thrones as Tywin Lannister, or menacing 007 as the mercenary Claus in Reserved. He’s busier than ever, appearing in both blockbusters and glossy series, and recently lent his voice to a scary, exciting Devil IV promotion video.for devil demons, the fourth installment in the hit game series is now available for pre-order, also giving you early access to the beta (find out more here).

What he said Empire the perfect opportunity to dance the prom with Dance himself, discussing his many memorable roles, from his experience learning of Tywin Lannister’s death from a fanatic book reader, to his… um… unusual situation doctor on the set of James Bond.

We have to start with Tywin Lannister. You didn’t choose to read the books, but those of us who had read them called it bad from minute one. Did you have a little more empathy for him?

I found it rather unpleasant. Even though it was fictional, it was based on fact. This world is feudal, so you have to behave in a particular way to maintain your position in a feudal society. And that’s what he did. He’s a misogynist, not very nice. But he did what he did for the good of his family. And finally, for the sake of your position.

So how long ago did you know the scene of your death?

I learned that quite late. I was walking down the street and a boy approached me. He recognized me. “game of ThronesI like it, you have this great death scene. I said, “Oh, right? | He told me. He was quite close to a Waterstones bookstore, so I went in and grabbed a copy of the book off the shelf and leafed through it until I found Tywin Lannister dead. Luckily for me, it wasn’t as drastic on screen as it was in the book; you who have read the books will know! But it’s still pretty spectacular. Ungrateful little bastard, after all she’s done for him. [laughs]. Of course it worked and it ended up being the most successful TV show ever made. Weren’t we lucky?

Going back, it was your first big experience in Hollywood. The Golden Child?

Yes, working in the US and that kind of fantasies. I did an American film first, a film adaptation of David Hare’s play. Abundance where I played with Meryl Streep, but it was filmed here. I honestly don’t remember [The Golden Child]. It’s been a while. This is my 47th year [in acting], I’m still waiting. You know, people mistakenly think there’s something vaguely aristocratic about me, but there isn’t. My mother was from the East End of London; he entered the service at the age of 13. There are thousands of people desperately looking for a job, or working and doing a job that is just a job. And here I am in a very fortunate position to do a job I love.

How do you remember Claus in Reserved? Would it be fair to say that this is the kind of movie where you stand up and frown a lot and then a stuntman takes on a large part of the role?

Yes, we were in Cortina, doing stuff in the snow, and I was supposed to argue with Roger Moore as we glided down a ski slope. There was a moment where something exploded near where I was, and I was kind of knocked over. I said to John Glen, the director, “Listen, I have to fall. I have worked in theater all my life; I can do it.” So we started rehearsing and I did something to my shoulder. Then of course we did a few more reps and then the take. When we shot, I was in terrible pain and I didn’t want anyone to know about it. Long story short, I had dislocated my shoulder.

[At the hospital] they gave me a strong painkiller and put my arm up, and I thought, “Okay, I’ll go back to the trailer, I’ll take another one of these painkillers, and then I can do my thing.” So I go to the trailer, open the pharmacy bag and it’s a suppository. I’m wearing a one piece zip up tight ski suit and I just dislocated my shoulder and somehow have to manage it. I did, but it was quite an exercise in logistics! So that’s the main thing I remember Reserved – that, and the delight of Roger Moore, who was a true gentleman and one of the nicest men I have ever had the good fortune to work with.

Have you been recently The Sandmanwhere you are some kind of wizard who dabbles in black magic.

I haven’t seen it yet, but I have to tell you it was one of the best shows I’ve ever done. It was during the pandemic, installed in Marseille in a studio. They hosted me in a villa, thank you very much, during the filming that started with 10 days of isolation. So every other day someone would call and say, “How is your food? Could you use a little more bread? And this would be brought. There was a swimming pool, God knows how many rooms; I don’t think I’ve found them all. It was fantastic! Do you know what I mean by lucky?

What is going on Godzilla: the king of monsters? How does it compare to thrones in terms of scale?

I’ve never had anything like it before. I’ve done a lot of blue screen and green screen work, but I’ve never worked with this type of 60 foot tall monster before. So we had this wonderful First AD and he helped us through the process. There was a big pink balloon hanging from the ceiling of the sound stage. He said, “Here’s the ball, it’s up there, it’s terrifying!” Break with fear! Now aim, aim to the right of the ball! So we spend all our time staring at this globe. One of the dumbest jobs he’s ever had.

A few years ago he played William Randolph Hearst in male, which was a reunion with David Fincher. How has it changed in the 30 years since you created alien 3?

It just got better. alien 3 it was his first film; I think she did a Madonna video and some Nike commercials. I met him then and thought, “My God, this guy is smart.” It was fantastic. I mean, what he can do now is because he’s more of a captain of his own ship than when he was making a franchise movie. He now he is able to string together a surprising number of takes. Very rarely is he below double digits when he’s working with David Fincher. The boy is a movie animal from the top of his head to the soles of his feet. He knows every aspect of the job, from the costumes to the sets, from the cinematography to the sound engineer, everything. And every detail he strives to get absolutely right. Even though it’s frustrating and exhausting, in the end it doesn’t matter to me and most of us because we know we’re working with a very smart guy and the end result is going to be a really good movie that I’m happy to be. part of.

You were disappointed that Clemens didn’t go through with it alien 3?

Yes, I was hoping!

It was nice to see you play a nice guy in there as well. You don’t get the chance as often as you should.

I used to play well a long time ago. I don’t know why I was suddenly full of shady characters, but there you have it.

Even if they say bad guys have more fun.

Most of the time, yes. You can say and do the most awful things that you wouldn’t even dream of doing in real life.

Another villain: you were Benoît ultimate action heroanother famous troubled production.

It wasn’t difficult when we were doing it. I think they just didn’t time the launch very well. It came out around the same time as something really big. [Jurassic Park]. But it was fun doing it.

You have to wear very nice clothes.

Yes! [laughs] I remember sitting in a make-up chair next to F. Murray Abraham, and we were having a rather pompous conversation about European cinema. And Arnold came in and said: [in perfect Schwarzenegger voice] “You know, you need the money you make from my films to make your arthouse films.” We said, “You’re absolutely right, Arnold.” He came out with this absolutely great line, he said, “I make people films out of polyester.” Arnold is a very intelligent man, oh yes. Certainly. And very funny and very aware.

review the Video of the Devil’s Cathedral here