By; Andrew Fenton
Source: Adelaide Advertiser
He’s famous the world over as the murderous Tywin Lannister in Game of Thrones, but Charles Dance doesn’t know what to make of the show’s obsessive fans.
“It is difficult to understand,” the veteran actor says of fan conventions. “Because some of these people have plunged themselves fully into it with bags full of ephemera and photographs and documentation … and you think, ‘My God, is that the way you spend your life?’ But I suppose one should be glad of it.”
It’s a role that brought the star of classic films including The Golden Child and Alien 3 to a whole new audience.
Over the past few months, he’s been in Melbourne shooting epic six-hour miniseries Childhood’s End at Docklands Studios for the SyFy Channel, based on Arthur C Clarke’s novel.
He plays Karellen, the overlord of aliens who come to Earth with allegedly benevolent desires (not everyone’s convinced). Refreshingly honest, Dance admits he’s not a fan of sci-fi or fantasy television and had an ulterior motive for accepting the role.
“Funnily enough, I’m not drawn to it. I’ve never been drawn to science fiction particularly, but this piece is a classic of the genre and it’s well written and it gets me out of English winter and into the rather warmer climate of Australia.”
Rather ironically then, he suffered in the heat: “I’m stuffed into latex and silicone for this job and a lot of the time it’s not particularly comfortable.”
Dance has been a frequent visitor of late, filming horror film Patrick in Melbourne and Deadline Gallipoli in South Australia. In the
miniseries he plays General Hamilton, the ostensible villain to whom he brings humanity.
“He was well meaning but confused … The sheer carnage, the scale of the devastation was something he’d never experienced before. And, without making excuses for him, he was a servant working for masters.” Dance has played more than a few villains in his time. Do casting agents see an evil glint in his eye?
“No, well I hope not!” he laughs.“In this business, if you’re seen to be doing something relatively well, the odds are you’ll be asked to do it again. As any actor will tell you, they’re (villains) kind of more fun to play, really.”
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