Things are going well for Charles Dance. The English-born actor best known stateside for his portrayal of Tywin Lannister on Game of Thrones is celebrating his 68th birthday today, as well as the release of the horror-action film Dracula Untold that will see him looking especially creepy as the Master Vampire.
Younger U.S. audiences — those who missed out on Last Action Hero in 1993 — probably don’t realize the actor has a LONG acting resume prior to playing the ruthless Lord of Casterly Rock. Dance’s IMDB credits list him in just about every BBC production since 1985, not to mention his three dozen or so stage roles. In celebration of Charles Dance — and as an excuse to remind you that he was in The Contractor with Wesley Snips and a movie called Space Truckers — here’s a timeline of roles you might have forgotten the actor played before making his way to Westeros.
1. Raffles, Teddy Garland — 1977
“Mr. Justice Raffles”
2. Tales of the Unexpected — 1979
3. For Your Eyes Only, Claus — 1981
4. The Jewel in the Crown, Guy Perron — 1984
various episodes
5. The Golden Child, Sardo Numpsa — 1986
6. Good Morning Babylon, D.W. Griffith — 1987
7. Goldeneye, Ian Fleming — 1989
8. Alien 3, Clemens — 1992
9. Last Action Hero, Benedict — 1993
10. Kabloonak, Robert Flaherty — 1994
11. Space Truckers, Nabel/Macanudo — 1996
12. What Rats Won’t Do, Gerald — 1998
13. Murder Rooms: Mysteries of the Real Sherlock Holmes, Sir Henry Carlyle — 2000
“The Dark Beginnings of Sherlock Holmes”
14. Gosford Park, Lord Raymond Stockbridge — 2001
15. Ali G Indahouse, David Carlton — 2001
16. Swimming Pool, John Bosload — 2003
17. Don Bosco, Marchese Clementi — 2004
18. Bleak House, Mr. Tulkinghorn — 2005
various episodes
19. The Contractor, Andrew Windsor — 2007
20. Merlin, Aredian — 2009
“The Witchfinder”
21. Ironclad, Archbishop Langton — 2011
22. Your Highness, King Tallious — 2011
