Charles Dance smoldered and taunted his way through five seasons of Game of Thrones as Tywin Lannister.* Despite five decades in show business, Dance is most readily recognized for that role. “It’s a phenomenon and it’s shown all over the world,” he told Metro. “You travel a lot in this job, and here I am in Belgium – a whole load of troops came into this hotel I was staying in Brussels before, and they said: ‘Oh! Game Of Thrones!””
He ended up taking selfies with 10 of them. “I’ve become the forces sweetheart.”
But all the attention hasn’t dimmed his affection for the show. “I look back on it fondly,” he said. “Occasionally you have long days in the cold, the horse doesn’t behave properly, or the armour sticks in the back of your neck, but we’re not down in the mines digging for coal, we’re actors. We’re pretending for everything, and we’re very lucky to be able to do that.”
In fact, he enjoyed it so much that he says he would even come back to star in any Game of Thrones prequel that ends up getting made.
"If it was in the same calibre, yes. Because Game Of Thrones really was as good as it gets. It’s a fantastic series."
And given that HBO is currently working on five prequels, it might just be possible.
A young Tywin Lannister? As detailed in the Song of Ice and Fire novels, Tywin has a long history — he even knighted the future Mad King, Aerys Targaryen, who was then his friend. So that could be fun, although the more time passes, the less likely it becomes that Dance can play a younger version of the character.
Coming back to the show would also raise his profile again, which has pluses and minuses. One of the minuses: the constant requests for selfies. “It’s the age of the selfies so out comes the mobile phone: ‘Can I have a picture?’ Most of the time, yes, and then there are times when I think, ‘Oh **** it no, this is so boring.’ They pay the wages though, so it’s better to be charming.”
"It’s incredibly boring and so predictable. It really is. That’s what people do now [though], so as long as I’m in the right mood. If I’m standing in the checkout at Waitrose and somebody wants a bloody selfie, I’ll politely tell them to fuck off. There are times when you get people who are really offended if you say no, as if it’s obligatory. “What do you mean no, I’m your greatest fan!” Well, that’s very kind of you, I appreciate that, but I’d rather you didn’t take a selfie!"
I’ll be honest: if Dance told me to f*** off, it would be a thrill.
Incidentally, Dance was talking to Metro in the first place to promote Savage Kingdom: Uprising, a wildlife show for which he provides the narration. I think you’ll agree that he’s a good fit:
Always lions with this guy. “It’s called Savage Kingdom because it doesn’t turn away from the brutality of animals having to survive,” Dance said. “There’s some pretty gruesome things in this series, I can tell you.”
Elsewhere, another former Thrones star dazzled on The Graham Norton show. Watch Jason Momoa (Khal Drogo) as he effortlessly spouts off Dothraki years after needing it for any practical purpose.
That’s a great party trick there, Mr. Momoa. Wonder if he used it on the boys?
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*Yes, technically it was four seasons and then he was a dead body for one episode of a fifth. IT STILL COUNTS!