Charles Dance

"I don't think he's a bad guy at all. No. He's a man of principle. They may not be your principles or my principles, but he's quite principled... I'm attracted to characters that make you ask questions, or make an audience ask questions - why is he doing that, what is he really about? There's an ambiguity about him, you're never quite sure about which way he's going to go."

- Charles Dance on playing Tywin Lannister

Charles Dance (born 10 October 1946) is an English actor, screenwriter and director. He was set for a career in graphic design before switching to acting in the 1970s, when he joined the Royal Shakespeare Company. His television breakthrough came in the 1984 series The Jewel in the Crown.

In the United States, Dance became best known for playing villains, most notably in the films The Golden Child and Last Action Hero (where he acted against Eddie Murphy and Arnold Schwarznegger respectively). He also played a henchmen of the main villain in the James Bond movie For Your Eyes Only, where he met and acted alongside fellow Thrones actor Julian Glover. He also acted in 2011 in the medieval drama Ironcladas Archibishop Langton. Dance also had a rare "good guy" Hollywood role as Dr. Clemens in Alien 3. One of Charles Dance's more prominent film roles was as Soames, the MI5 agent who commanded the Cairo Gang during the Irish War of Independence, in the 1996 film Michael Collins.

Dance's most recent television appearances were as the Witchfinder in an episode of Merlin, as Havelock Vetinari in the Sky adaptation of Going Postaland as Dr. Maltravers in the ITV drama Trinity.

In Game of Thrones Dance plays Lord Tywin Lannister. He was confirmed in the role on 29 July 2010. He initially appeared as a guest star in the first season and joined the starring cast for the second season.