Early life and education
Dance was born in Redditch and raised largely in Plymouth, Devon. His father, Walter Dance, was an electrical engineer and former Royal Fusiliers sergeant who died when Charles was a small child; his mother, Eleanor, worked as a cook.1 He attended Widey Technical School for Boys, then studied graphic design and photography at the Plymouth College of Art (now Arts University Plymouth) and Leicester College of Art (now part of De Montfort University).1 He set out to become a graphic designer before turning decisively toward acting after meeting two former RADA actors who encouraged him onto the stage.1
Career
Dance began on stage in the mid-1970s with the Royal Shakespeare Company, appearing in productions in Stratford-upon-Avon, London, and on tour, including Henry V, Henry IV, As You Like It, Coriolanus, and Hamlet.1 He returned to the theatre throughout his career and won the Critics' Circle Theatre Award for Best Actor for playing C. S. Lewis in a 2007 to 2008 revival of Shadowlands.1
His screen debut came in 1974 in British television, and he made his feature film debut in the James Bond entry For Your Eyes Only (1981).1 His major breakthrough was the lead role of Guy Perron in the acclaimed Granada Television miniseries The Jewel in the Crown (1984).1 A long run of film and television work followed, frequently casting him as patricians, villains, and men of icy authority: Plenty (1985), White Mischief (1987), Alien 3 (1992) as the doctor Jonathan Clemens, Last Action Hero (1993) as the henchman Benedict, Michael Collins (1996), and Gosford Park (2001), whose ensemble shared a Screen Actors Guild Award.1
From 2011 to 2015 Dance played Tywin Lannister across Game of Thrones, the calculating head of House Lannister, a performance that brought him renewed worldwide recognition.1 His other prominent television roles include the lawyer Tulkinghorn in the BBC's Bleak House (2005), for which he received an Emmy nomination,1 Lord Mountbatten in The Crown (2019 to 2020), Roderick Burgess in The Sandman (2022), and a lead in The Day of the Jackal (2024).1 Later film credits include The Imitation Game (2014), Dracula Untold (2014), Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019), Mank (2020) as newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst, and The King's Man (2021) as Lord Kitchener.1 He has also lent his voice to video games, notably as Emperor Emhyr var Emreis in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt (2015).1
Dance made his feature directorial debut with Ladies in Lavender (2004), which he also wrote, starring Judi Dench and Maggie Smith.1 He was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for services to drama in 2006.1
Ghostbusters
Answer the Call (2016)
Dance played Dean Harold Filmore in Paul Feig's Ghostbusters: Answer the Call (2016). Filmore is the dean of Columbia University, where Erin Gilbert is an assistant physics professor pursuing tenure. When a video of Erin's paranormal investigation surfaces online and the university decides it does not reflect Columbia's standards, Filmore denies her tenure bid and fires her, the event that pushes Erin back toward ghost hunting and the formation of the team.2
Dance's casting was reported in December 2015.3 He described Filmore not as a hero or a villain but as a straight man to the Ghostbusters, an Englishman who simply does not understand or appreciate their work.4 The part is a brief but pivotal supporting role that sets the film's plot in motion.
Personal life
Dance married Joanna Haythorn in 1970; the couple had two children, Oliver and Rebecca, and divorced in 2004.1 He later had a daughter, Rose, born in 2012.1 As of the mid-2020s he has been in a relationship with the Italian production manager and former actress Alessandra Masi and lives in London.1 He remains active as an actor and director.
Charles Dance is a recognized face on the convention and autograph circuit, primarily through his Game of Thrones fame, and his Ghostbusters role makes him an occasional crossover signing for franchise collectors. GBFans.com members who pursue 2016-film autographs and memorabilia treat his Dean Filmore appearance as part of the Answer the Call cast lineup.
References
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"Charles Dance," Wikipedia, accessed 2026-06-13, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Dance.
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Ghostbusters: Answer the Call (2016). Directed by Paul Feig. Columbia Pictures / Sony Pictures Entertainment.
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Inverse, "Paul Feig's Ghostbusters Will Feature Tywin Lannister (a.k.a. Charles Dance)" (December 9, 2015), https://www.inverse.com/article/9018-paul-feig-s-ghostbusters-will-feature-tywin-lannister-a-k-a-charles-dance. Sony confirmed Dance's involvement to Inverse; his specific character was not disclosed at that time.
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"Ghostbusters Star Charles Dance Drops a Few Hints About His Mystery Role," KRFO Radio (January 12, 2016), citing a Radio Times interview (January 11, 2016), https://krforadio.com/ghostbusters-star-charles-dance-drops-a-few-hints-about-his-mystery-role/. Dance: "I'm a kind of straight man to a bunch of very funny ladies ... He's neither, really. He's not villainous, but he just doesn't understand and appreciate the whole ghostbusting thing. He is English as well."
