Charles Dance

This distinguished-looking, blond lead first established himself on stage as a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company. Charles Dance first garnered international attention in the highly acclaimed 15-part epic that became emblematic of English heritage TV, "The Jewel in the Crown" (1984-85). With his blanched foppish allure, he soon became a film actor, appearing as Meryl Streep's long-suffering husband in "Plenty" (1985) and later starred as a sexual rogue in Michael Radford's uneven "White Mischief" (1987). He also has portrayed a boobish archeologist in "Pascali's Island" (1988) and was quite effective as pioneering film director D W Griffith in the Taviani brothers' "Good Morning Babylon" (1986).

Dance has played class-act Brits in starring turns in several action pictures: "Alien 3" (1992), as the love interest of Sigourney Weaver, and "The Last Action Hero" (1993), as a villain with an explosive glass eye in that notorious flop. Dance next had a bit of a stretch, personifying a high-toned Southern wife batterer in the somewhat muddy noir, "China Moon" (1994). He won critical praise, however, for his performance as an upper-crust seducer in Philip Haas' anachronistic "The Blood Oranges" (1997). After returning to the stage in a 1999 revival of "Good", for which he earned widespread page, Dance returned to the small screen as co-star of the British telefilm "Murder Rooms: The Dark Beginnings of Sherlock Holmes" (2000) and was seen in the ensemble of "Gosford Park" (2001).

• Born:
  October 10, 1946 in Worcestershire, England, United Kingdom
• Job Titles:
  Actor, Stagehand

Family

• Daughter: Rebecca Dance. born c. 1980; mother, Joanna Dance
• Father: Walter Dance. died c. 1951 when Dance was four years old
• Mother: Eleanor Dance.
• Son: Oliver Dance. born c. 1975; mother, Joanna Dance

Education

• Leicester College of Art, Leicester, England, graphic design

Milestones

• 1968 Worked as stage hand in the West End (date approximate)
• 1970 Stage debut in It s a Two Foot Six Inches Above the Ground World
• 1974 TV acting debut in the ATV miniseries Edward VII
• 1981 Feature acting debut, For Your Eyes Only
• 1984 Had leading role in the Granda Television production The Jewel in the Crown
• 1985 First film starring role, Plenty
• 1986 Portrayed D W Griffith in the Taviani brothers film Good Morning, Babylon
• 1987 Co-starred opposite Shirley MacLaine in the ABC miniseries Out on a Limb
• 1987 Played leading role in Michael Radford s White Mischief
• 1993 Had villainous role in The Last Action Hero
• 1997 Starred in The Blood Oranges
• 1998 Played the patriarch of the du Pre family in HIlary and Jackie
• 1999 Appeared on the British stage to acclaim in a revival of the play Good
• 2000 Acted alongside Ian Richardson in the British telefilm Murder Rooms: The Dark Beginnings of Sherlock Holmes
• 2000 Starred as James Tyrone opposite Jessica Lange in a London production of Long Day s Journey Into Night
• 2001 Cast as Ralph Nickleby in the ITV adaptation of Dickens The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby
• 2001 Had featured role in the WWII drama Dark Blue World
• 2001 Portrayed a WWI veteran in Gosford Park , directed by Robert Altman
• 2002 Donned drag for a comic role in Ali G Indahouse
• 2006 Earned an Emmy nomination for Best Actor in a Miniseries or Movie for Bleak House (Masterpiece Theatre)
• 2007 Co-starred in the adaptation of the David Nicholls novel, Starter for Ten
• After father s death, moved with mother to Plymouth
• Member of the Royal Shakespeare Company; made London debut in 1975 in Hamlet