ITV announced that high stakes espionage thriller, Rabbit Hole, starring Kiefer Sutherland, will be available to stream on ITVX from 11th May
Mr Dance will be at :
Author Philip Hoare’s powerful new book, ‘William Blake and the Sea Monsters of Love’, reintroduces us to Blake, reminding us that art still has the power to inspire transformation. Featuring evocative readings from award winning actor Charles Dance, join Hoare in conversation with writer and critic Michael Bracewell and prepare to see Blake in a whole new light.
Mr Dance in the cast of Bitter end by Mike Niwell...with Joan Collins and Isabella Rosselini, Miranda Richardson, and Laurent Lafitte.
The film charts the untold story of the final years of Wallis Simpson, the American divorcee who became the Duchess of Windsor after marrying King Edward VIII, the British king who chose love over duty.
What attracted you to The Dance of the Titans ? Why did you want to be part of the film?
I had never worked with director Guy Maddin before, but I was familiar with some of his work. The script was one of the most unusual I'd ever read. When I was asked to do it, Cate Blanchett was also being approached at the same time, and I'd always wanted to work with her. She's absolutely wonderful. But there are some other fantastic actors in it, too, so a few things came together that appealed to me. And as if that wasn't unusual enough, Maddin brought two other people in to direct with him. And I'd never done that before. I've worked with two directors before, but not three. So I thought, okay, let's have a little fun.
And was it fun?
Yes and no. Mostly. But we shot for three and a half weeks exclusively at night in a forest outside of Budapest. And if you've had experience with night shoots, you know: it's hard work. You completely turn your body clock upside down and live like a vampire during time. And I like days. But it was worth it.
You've already mentioned the unusual script. How would you describe Dance of the Titans ?
As a surreal comedy, a cross between Luis Buñuel and an episode of Monty Python's Flying Circus . I don't know what the film's message is, or if it even has one. I also don't know what that giant brain is supposed to mean. At the Cannes press conference , someone asked why the film was originally titled "Rumours ." And Evan Johnson, one of the two brothers who directed with Maddin, simply said he always liked the Fleetwood Mac album.
Then let's talk about your character. How would you describe Edison Wolcott?
He's a long-time politician who's been to many such meetings and really enjoys it. He wants to do this until he's dead. Sometimes you get scripts that require a lot of outside investment, for example physically. In *Dance of the Titans* , it was enough to act out the script as it was written. There's a scene where the Italian asks me, "Mr. President, why do you have that accent?" There was an answer to that. But because the film got too long, scenes had to be cut, including my answer. Which is a shame, because it was an important part of my backstory. Besides, I wrote it myself; filming was a democratic process.
May we ask what that answer was?
As a child, my character regularly went to the cinema with her father. Her father was a passionate fan of British films, and my character shared this passion. While Wolcott's friends imitated John Wayne or Gary Cooper as children, Edison listened to Laurence Olivier's speech and absorbed his accent. Besides, his wife likes the accent. I thought that was a great answer to the question.
The casting in the film is somewhat surprising. Cate Blanchett plays the German Chancellor. Did anyone ever tell you why you played the president and not an American?
No. Maddin just said I sounded presidential. Of course, I asked him why the US president has an English accent, but I never got a satisfactory answer. So I gave my own.
Imagine you were actually the US President, what would you do?
I probably would have done what Joe Biden did and tried to promote someone like Kamala Harris. The first Black female president in the USA, that would have been such a giant leap for humanity! But it is the USA after all. You don't always have to understand what happens there. At Trump's first appearance after the assassination attempt, there were lots of people in the audience wearing Band-Aids and dressings themselves, so they could be close to their idol. They looked up to him, with tears in their eyes, as if he were the Messiah. Ridiculous. They're just crazy.
On the other hand, the elections in England in recent years have also been somewhat absurd.
That's true. It's also reminiscent of Monty Python's Flying Circus . Oh my God, there really was something new every week. If you look at the people. Boris Johnson. Or Liz Truss, whose sell-by date was shorter than that of a head of lettuce. The whole Tory party is just terrible.
A running gag in your film is that everyone is talking about the absolute necessity of having a final statement. But no one wants to work on it. Of course, you can laugh about that, citing empty politics. But if you look at Trump, you realize: people don't care about content. If we have a lot of these meaningless politicians, is that because of them or because of the rest of us?
What many politicians forget or don't want to admit is that they are actually there to serve the people. It is particularly bad when they have to give interviews and someone asks them a difficult question that they do not want to answer. Then they start to rephrase the question as an answer or insert completely unnecessary words and drag out the sentence so much that there is no time, just so they do not have to answer another question. Every damn politician does that. What is also terrible is that so many of them think it is worth inserting the word "fight" somewhere into their speeches, as if we have to fight all the time. But there is already too much fighting going on, whether in the Middle East or Ukraine. I would much rather hear something about compassion or understanding. Those are two words that we use much more often.
If you had to make such a closing statement, what would it say?
Oh, I don't know. I'm an actor. My job is to pretend and say what others tell me to say. I'm not a politician.
The final statement doesn't necessarily have to be political. A "have more compassion" would also be a nice final statement. People have lost that.
Yes, that's true. Okay, you've convinced me. Let's do this: Have more compassion!
A completely different topic:Tanz der Titanen ist schon auch ein Survival-Abenteuer. Wie sieht es mit Ihren Überlebenskünsten aus? Haben Sie welche?
I hope so, after all, I'm still alive. But that's a difficult question, and I don't know how to answer it. As an actor, you always have to be a bit selfish and look out for yourself, hopefully without trampling on or pushing others aside. Painters have canvases and brushes, musicians have instruments. We only have ourselves, and so we have to look after ourselves. But I'm very grateful to be able to pursue this profession.
The characters in the film find themselves in an unfamiliar situation where they don't know what to do. As an actor, you're used to constantly experiencing new situations, being someone else, and having new experiences. Does that prepare you to be able to react in unfamiliar situations?
I think I'm actually good in situations like that. I always stay calm. But I don't think that has anything to do with my work. To get back to the question, I think it has something to do with the quality of the scripts, whether I can empathize with a character like that and their situation. There's an English saying that says you can't make a silk purse out of a pig's ear. As an actor, you're still forced to keep trying and turn a bad script into a good film.
Vielen Dank für das Interview!
A old program from Nov 1996 on BBC 4
11:30 PM to 1:05 AM
Sunday 25 May
or bad quality
actor British-Australian Giles Matthey
Born an Aussie, Matthey moved to London where he became exposed to the world of acting at a young age. In the belly of the theatre beast, he became captivated by the skill of actor Charles Dance in Shadowlands. “I was watching his every move and realised that I felt like I was not watching a play, it felt like these events were actually unfolding in front of me,” he tells us. “I thought if I could do that, if I worked hard enough, if I had the talent, I would love to be a professional actor.”
No Mr Dance
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