An interview from Telegraph about Got

As the third season of HBO’s fantasy epic Game of Thrones begins, James Lachno talks to Charles Dance about fanatical fans, apologising to Peter Dinklage, and what he thinks of his villainous character, Tywin Lannister. 

The battle is over ... we have won” proclaims Charles Dance in his contemptuous bellow at the end of the second season of HBO’s compulsive fantasy epic Game of Thrones.

His character, Tywin Lannister, had just ridden to victory at the Battle of Blackwater, keeping the Iron Throne securely in the brutal grip of his Lannister clan: spiteful, malevolent child King Joffrey, conniving Queen Regent Cersei, and their coterie of duplicitous advisers.

Adapted from novels by American writer George RR Martin, Game of Thrones has been a huge success around the world since it premiered in 2011. It’s secured two Emmys, a Golden Globe, wide critical acclaim, and a fanatical fan base hooked on its heady mix of gory battles, racy sex and slow-burning political manoeuvring.

Until now, 66-year-old Dance’s role in the series dubbed “the Sopranos of Middle Earth” had been an auxiliary one. But in the third season – which begins in the UK on Sky Atlantic on Monday 1 April – he’s to be far more crucial. As the newly-appointed “Hand of the King” – the King’s most important adviser – he'll assume the role of fearsome, all-powerful patriarch of a ruthless ruling family.

Dance is certainly well-equipped for the role. The British actor has the square-jaw and Received Pronunciation of strong aristocratic stock, and, from nefarious turns in the Last Action Hero (opposite Arnold Schwarzenegger) to Sky’s SAS drama Strike Back (via roles in Ali G Indahouse, Rebecca and Bleak House), he has had plenty of practice playing the villain.

As the third season of Game of Thrones gets under way, Dance spoke to Telegraph.co.uk about fanatical fans, why the series has been such a phenomenal success, and why he’s constantly apologising to Peter Dinklage (Tyrion Lannister) on set ...

Telegraph: How would you describe the role your character, Tywin Lannister?

Charles Dance: (Laughing). I have trouble enough remembering last week ... I don’t know. I sit around being mean to people and ordering their deaths.

Did your scenes with Arya Stark (Maisie Williams) show a softer side in season two?

CD: He’s a sweetheart really, beneath that granitelike exterior, he’s fudge-like in the middle (laughing). Softish ... but not too soft. He doesn’t want anything that will upset the status quo, or topple his position.

Do you like your own character?

CD: [Thinking] Hmmm, I spent a lot of time [between takes] apologising to Peter Dinklage [Dance’s on-screen son, Tyrion Lannister] because I treat him appallingly, I treat him like s---. But the quality of writing in the series is paramount. That’s probably why all of us are involved in this and all of us are quite so loyal to it, because we don’t have to expend a lot of energy trying to make a silk purse out of a pig’s ear. The quality of the writing is really good, and that’s what makes playing a character so enjoyable, whether he’s heroic or villainous.

The tag-line for the last season of Game of Thrones was Five Kings, One Throne. What does the series say about power?

CD: Power is always a corrupting influence. In this mythical time – let’s call it medieval, feudal – people in power are dictatorial and don’t want their positions of power to be threatened. People like Tywin Lannister are very much victims of that system, and of that environment: ‘This is my place, don’t threaten it’. I don’t know how relevant that is to today. Politics is the most corrupt profession on earth, no matter where you are.

Have you read any of the books?

CD: I have to admit that I haven’t read any of the books and I don’t refer to them. Apart from anything else they’re about very thick [in size] and they frighten me. A terrifying prospect. Because [writers] Dan Weiss and David Benioff have done such a great job in adapting them, that’s what we work with. It serves no purpose to anybody for actors to come onto a set with a well-thumbed copy of the source material and start querying why this or that line has been left out of the script. It’s probably been left out for a good reason.

Do you still feel a difference between shooting movies and TV shows?

CD: The job is exactly the same, it just goes on for longer on TV. Most feature films are 35-40 shooting days. This has 10 parts, with different directors for each block. We shoot with two, sometimes three cameras. On an independent film you’re lucky if you get one, but ostensibly the job is the same. There’s very little difference, apart from the knowledge that there’s a captive audience at the end of it – which you can’t always guarantee with a movie.

Have you come across any fanatical fans?

CD: There is a huge fan base, they’re very knowledgeable and very loyal. I was astonished – before I started working on the series I didn’t know anything about Game of Thrones. I hadn’t heard of the books. When it started going out, people were coming up to me in the street saying [fake cockney accent] ‘oh, Game of Thrones, f------ wonderful’.

Have you been to any fan conventions?

CD: I’ve done a couple of fan conventions and [the fans] are legion. They’re rather like Star Wars or Star Trek fans. We’re very glad of the loyal fans – but it’s a strange way to spend your life, dressing up like Star Wars. At least we change our costumes – I don’t spend 40 years dressed up as Tywin Lannister.

Why has Game of Thrones been such a success?

CD: It starts with the writing – which is really, really good. And the production values are phenomenal. HBO and Sky have spent money on it, and you get what you pay for. This has money put into it properly – not lavish amounts – but as each season is successful, they maintain the money that’s being spent to maintain the quality.

Doesn’t that always happen with successful series?

CD: It doesn’t necessarily happen in this country. We get a successful television series or something, and next season they give you less time and less money, which is something I’ve never really understood. That doesn’t happen with Game of Thrones.

Do you have a favourite moment or scene you’ve acted in so far?

CD: A lot, but especially the scenes I had with little Maisie [Williams, in season two], who’s phenomenally gifted. I think she was 13 at the time. Her understanding of the medium and what the character was about [was brilliant]. She’s just a joy to work with, really extraordinary.

What can we expect from season three?

CD: I am made Hand of the King which gives me an enormous amount of power, which I use quite ruthlessly – but skilfully – and Dame Diana Rigg joins us [playing political mastermind the Queen of Thorns] and we have a couple of really good sparring moments.

Finally, who wears the trousers in the Lannister family?

CD: I do.
 http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/game-of-thrones/9961779/Game-of-Thrones-Charles-Dance-interview-I-treat-Peter-Dinklage-appallingly.html