Page 46 - Redditch People

Redditch People

and used to be a ‘nippy’ at a Lyons Corner House. Unfortunately his father died when he
was only 4 years old and when his mother remarried the family moved to Plymouth.

He was set for a career in graphic design after graduating from Plymouth College of Art,
until a meeting with two elderly actors led to private acting lessons and he trained his
voice to the cultured tones he is known for today.

Charles Dance joined the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1975 playing minor roles, whilst
he developed his craft. Whilst with the RSC in New York in 1975 he took over the role of
Henry V. His screen career started in 1974 in the BBC series Father Brown. His big break
came 10 years later in the role of Guy Perron in the Granada Television series The Jewel
in the Crown which was set in India, and made him a star.

He continued to star in many films and television dramas during the 1980’s including
White Mischief, Pascali’s Island, Goldeneye: The Secret Life of Ian Fleming and Rainy Day
Women.

In 1989 he returned to the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford upon Avon to play
the lead role in Coriolanus and later toured with the production.

During the 1990’s he continued to combine his acting between the screen and stage. This
includes roles in the films Alien 3 and The Last Action Hero, together with the role of
Vershinnin in The Three Sisters at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre. He also played
Maxim de Winter in the ITV production of Rebecca.

In 2001 he starred several times as Himself in The Play What I Wrote, directed by Kenneth
Branagh. He continued to have successful roles in television dramas including the BBC
dramas Fingersmith and as the lawyer Tulkinghorn in the production of Bleak House,
which earned him an Emmy nomination. He also appeared in films such as Gosford Park.

In 2004 he turned to screenwriting and producing with Ladies in Lavender, in which he
directed Judi Dench and Magi Smith.

On 17 June 2006 Charles Dance was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British
Empire (OBE) for his services to theatre and acting.

He received the Critics’ Circle Best Actor Award in 2007 for his role as C S Lewis in
Shadowlands at the Wyndham Theatre in London.

More recently he has been seen in the role of Lord Tywin Lannister in the popular
television series Game of Thrones. He also continues to star in films such as The Imitation
Game in 2014.

Page: 46 © RLHS 2015