![]() ![]() Dance appeared in Fincher’s first film, Alien 3, some three decades ago, but they’ve kept in touch over the years. Set in 1940 and shot like an Old Hollywood noir, in it Gary Oldman plays the titular Herman Mankiewicz, a prodigious but tempestuous screenwriter tasked by a 24-year-old Orson Welles (played by British actor Tom Burke) to pen his big picture debut.ĭance enters the fray at key moments as the imposing Hearst, whose life as a tyrannical press baron famously inspired the character of Kane. The latest on Charles Dance’s production line of memorable turns is as newspaper tycoon William Randolph Hearst in Mank, David Fincher’s Oscar-buzzy Netflix film about the making of Citizen Kane. As one US publication put it recently, ‘Instead of, “Hey, it’s that guy,” it’s, “Hey, it’s Charles f-king Dance.”’ From Game of Thrones, in which he was the scheming Lord Tywin Lannister, to The Crown, in which he was the scheming Earl Mountbatten, he’s never been more profligate in stealing scenes, and never more in-demand. She may be one reason for his contentment, but another might be the late-career flourish Dance is enjoying. Dance confirms that he and Masi, who moved in last year, have spent lockdown together. I’m going to do that a bit more efficiently.’Īs we began our call, an Italian accent could be heard off-camera (‘Check the volume on your computer!’ it implored, for which it was thanked). I grew a few potatoes, some carrots… The cabbages didn’t turn out too well. ‘What I plan to do is start a better vegetable garden than last year. ![]() ![]() The sun is shining, spring looks as if it’s finally here…’ He’s just been to the garden centre. As early spring sunshine pours through the gaps in a blackout blind, he rocks on a desk chair in front of a stack of old CDs, the light catching on his now-silvering locks. In his study at home in north London, Dance, now 74, is full of mirth, anecdote and wisdom. I shouldn’t have, the number of years I’ve been doing this job… But, you know, that terrible old cliché – it’s better to be looked-over than overlooked in our business.’ ‘Yes, let my guard drop a bit there, I just forgot. He emits a rasping, baritone laugh and squirms slightly. So, did he happen to catch that coverage? Some three decades after he turned down an audition to be James Bond on account of believing he was ‘too ginger’, here was Dance’s 007 moment at last. This paper was even moved to ask: ‘What is Charles Dance’s 70-something secret?’ ‘ Game of Thrones star Charles Dance shows off his buff physique,’ heaved another. ‘Charles Dance shows off his impressive beach body at 73,’ panted one. Photographs, lots of photographs, showed Dance and Masi, 53, canoodling in the surf, but the headlines all picked up the same theme. The next day, the tabloids, bless them, were ablaze. As it happened, he hadn’t gone far enough. But last September he dropped the ball, and boy, did he pay for it.ĭance was in Venice with his girlfriend, the Italian film producer Alessandra Masi, when he thought he’d found a quiet portion of beach, away from prying eyes and snapping lenses, to enjoy a splash. He doesn’t court publicity – ‘I don’t have a press agent,’ he says, ‘I’ve never understood why people do’ – and certainly doesn’t court the paparazzi. By his own admission, Charles Dance has always been more or less a private man. ![]()
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