Charles Dance
Actor
Biography
Walter Charles Dance OBE (born 10 October 1946) is an English actor, screenwriter, and director. He typically plays strict, authoritarian characters or villains. He is best known for his roles as Tywin Lannister in Game of Thrones, Kitchener in The King's Man, Martin Benson in Amazon Prime's The Widow, Lord Mountbatten in Netflix's The Crown (for which he was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series), Thomas in Underworld: Awakening and Underworld: Blood Wars, Harold Fillmore in Ghostbusters (2016), Mr. Bennet in Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, Frankenstein in Victor Frankenstein, Master Vampire in Dracula Untold, Conrad Knox in the Cinemax series Strike Back, Raymond Stockbridge in Gosford Park, one-eyed hitman Benedict in Last Action Hero, Clemens in Alien³, Sardo Numpsa in The Golden Child, and Guy Perron in The Jewel in the Crown.
He started his career on stage with the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) before appearing in film and television. For his services to drama, he was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) by Queen Elizabeth II in 2006.
He made his directorial film debut with the drama film Ladies in Lavender (2004), which he also wrote and executive produced.
As Director
Filmography
The Imitation Game
as Commander Denniston 2014
Me Before You
as Stephen Traynor 2016
Ghostbusters
as Harold Fillmore 2016
Godzilla: King of the Monsters
as Alan Jonah 2019
Dracula Untold
as Master Vampire 2014
Alien³
as Clemens 1992
The King's Man
as Kitchener 2021
Underworld: Awakening
as Thomas 2012
Underworld: Blood Wars
as Thomas 2016
Last Action Hero
as Benedict 1993
Frankenstein
as Leopold Frankenstein 2025
Johnny English Strikes Again
as Agent Seven 2018
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies
as Mr. Bennet 2016
Victor Frankenstein
as Frankenstein 2015
For Your Eyes Only
as Claus 1981
Child 44
as Major Grachev 2015
Mank
as William Randolph Hearst 2020