Charles Dance was born on October 10, 1946 in Redditch, Worcestershire, England, UK. He is an English actor.

Dance made his screen debut in 1974, but his big break came ten years later when he played the major role of Guy Perron in The Jewel in the Crown.

He has appeared in numerous films, including Plenty (1985) with Meryl Streep, The Golden Child (1986) with Eddie Murphy, White Mischief with Greta Scacchi (1987), Good Morning Babylon (1987), Last Action Hero (1993), China Moon (1994), Kabloonak (1994, Paris Film Festival Award for Best Actor 1996), Century (1994), Space Trackers (1996), Michael Collins (1996), Hilary and Jackie (1998), Gosford Park (2001), Dark Blue World (2001), Black and White (2002), Swimming Pool with Charlotte Rampling (2002), Ali G In Da House (2002), Dolls (2006) and Woody Allen's Scoop.

He has also starred in several British television dramas such as Murder Rooms, Rebecca, The Phantom of the Opera, Fingersmith and Bleak House, and many Royal Shakespeare Company productions.

His debut film as a screenwriter and director was Ladies in Lavender (2004), which starred Dame Judi Dench and Dame Maggie Smith. Dance was created an Officer of the British Empire on 17 June 2006.

Filmography

• Intervention (2007)
• Consenting Adults (2007)
• The Contractor (2007)
• Fallen Angel (2007)
• Désaccord parfait (2006)
• Starter for 10 (2006)
• Scoop (2006)
• Dolls (2006)
• Marple: By the Pricking of My Thumbs (2006)
• "Bleak House" (12 episodes, 2005)
• "To the Ends of the Earth" (2005)
• Fingersmith (2005)
• Last Rights (2005)
• Don Bosco (2004)
• Labyrinth (2003)
• Henry VIII (2003)
• Looking for Victoria (2003)
• Trial & Retribution VII (2003)
• Swimming Pool (2003)
• City and Crimes (2003)
• "Foyle's War" (1 episode, 2002)
• Black and White (2002)
• Ali G Indahouse (2002)
• Gosford Park (2001)
• Tmavomodrý svet (2001)
• The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby (2001)
• Jurij (2001)
• "Randall & Hopkirk (Deceased)" (1 episode, 2000)
• Justice in Wonderland (2000)
• Murder Rooms: The Dark Beginnings of Sherlock Holmes (2000)
• Don't Go Breaking My Heart (1999)
• Chrono-Perambulator (1999)
• Hilary and Jackie (1998)
• What Rats Won't Do (1998)
• The Blood Oranges (1997)
• In the Presence of Mine Enemies (1997)
• Rebecca (1997)
• Space Truckers (1996)
• Michael Collins (1996)
• Undertow (1996)
• Potemkin: The Runner's Cut (1996)
• Exquisite Tenderness (1995)
• Kabloonak (1995)
• Desvío al paraíso (1994)
• China Moon (1994)
• Last Action Hero (1993)
• Century (1993)
• Alien³ (1992)
• Valle di pietra, La (1992)
• The Phantom of the Opera (1990)
• "The Lancaster Miller Affair" (1990)
• Goldeneye (1989)
• Hidden City (1988)
• "First Born" (1988)
• Out of the Shadows (1988)
• Pascali's Island (1988)
• "Tales of the Unexpected" (1 episode, 1987)
• Good Morning, Babylon (1987)
• Out on a Limb (1987)
• White Mischief (1987)
• The Golden Child (1986)
• The McGuffin (1986)
• Thunder Rock (1985)
• Plenty (1985)
• This Lightning Always Strikes Twice (1985)
• "The Secret Servant" (1984)
• "Play for Today" (2 episodes, 1980-1984)
• "The Jewel in the Crown" (1984)
• "The Professionals" (1 episode, 1983)
• The Last Day (1983)
• "Play of the Month" (1 episode, 1982)
• "Frost in May" (1982)
• "Nancy Astor" (1982)
• For Your Eyes Only (1981)
• "BBC2 Playhouse" (1 episode, 1980)
• Tales of the Unexpected (1979)
• "Raffles" (1 episode, 1977)
• "Edward the Seventh" (1975)
• "Father Brown" (1 episode, 1974)

Awards

• Broadcast Film Critics Association Award Best Acting Ensemble "Gosford Park" 2001
• Florida Film Critics Circle Award Best Ensemble "Gosford Park" 2001
• Online Film Critics Society Award Best Ensemble "Gosford Park" 2001
• The Actor Outstanding Performance by the Cast of a Theatrical Motion Picture "Gosford Park" 2001
• Scottish Academy of Television Arts Award Best Actor "The Secret Servant" 1984