HE MAY BE DONE PLAYING VILLAINS
Charles Dance, who plays Hearst in ‘Mank,’ looks like a natural to play villains but notes that he used to be ‘a romantic leading man.’
Charles Dance is Hearst in “Mank,” but this time, his character survives the picture.
CHARLES DANCE is feeling much better, thank you. Just out of isolation from “this wretched virus,” he’s looking hale and up for a discussion of his role in “Mank” (as William Randolph Hearst), but clearly politics are also on his mind. At 74, he’s a stage-trained actor who broke big in “The Jewel in the Crown” in 1984, then slowly became one of the most reliably enjoyable character actors who seems to be everywhere — “Game of Thrones” and “The Crown,” “Ghostbusters” and “Godzilla: King of the Monsters.” He spoke remotely with The Envelope about the scope of “Citizen Kane,” ignoble deaths and having a resting villain face.
When did you first see “Citizen Kane”?
When I was about 18 or 19. I admired it at the time as a piece of rather extraordinary filmmaking, and I have the imagery of it seared into my mind still. When I knew I was going to be doing “Mank,” I saw it through much more mature eyes. And it is an extraordinary film. I’d forgotten how big it was. I had a memory of it being rather claustrophobic, but there are moments that are almost as big as “Ben-Hur.”
Have you ever visited Hearst Castle?
No. It might have been useful for me, from a sense of morbid curiosity. But if someone ever asked me to play Donald Trump, God forbid, I don’t know that it would be important to go to this terrible club he’s got down there in Florida. There are definite parallels between what we know of the life of William Randolph Hearst and Donald J. Trump.
Was Trump in mind when you decided how to play Hearst?
I did think about Donald Trump. I thought, well, who is the central character [in our modern society] now? Is it Rupert Murdoch or Donald Trump?
You’ve played quite a lot of death scenes over the years. More than your share, maybe?
I was thinking that the other day — that I’ve died in almost everything I’ve done. It would be nice not to die. There are a few things that I’ve managed to stay alive in — but most of the time, I’ve died a very ignoble death. Especially in “Game of Thrones,” that was quite a death scene, darling.
Ah, yes, Tywin Lannister gets skewered with a crossbow while on the toilet. What were your thoughts on how the series ended?
I was underwhelmed. I thought, “No, come on. Really, guys, you could do better than that.” But, never mind.
You bring a contained stillness to your roles, which is more effective — particularly in villains — than someone who flails all over the screen. Is that an intentional thing?
I hope it’s the case most of the time, unless I have a legitimate excuse to flail my arms around and be theatrical. I learned a long time ago the value of that wellworn phrase “less is more.” One of the first actors I noticed and thought, “I’d love to be doing what you’re doing,” was Peter Finch. But I’ve never seen an actor or actress do what Isabelle Huppert does with nothing. You look at her face in close-up, and you won’t see a single muscle move. But a thought crosses her eyes and you know exactly what she’s thinking and feeling.
You played a heroic lead in “Jewel in the Crown,” but at some point you began playing more villains. Is that still a good place to be?
I was doing a podcast recently, and I noted that there was a time I was a romantic leading man. But if you seem to be doing something reasonably well, odds are you’ll be asked to do it again. I don’t know what the first villain [I played] was, but obviously, I did it reasonably well. And my face in repose — unless I’m smiling or feeling very, very happy — my face can look rather somber.
You have resting villain face?
Well, the way it is put together, it lends itself to rather severe characters, often villainous. There have been times when I’ve had enough money in the bank to say, “No, I’m not going to do that; no more villains.” But I think I am going to say it with a vengeance now: No more villains. I think I’ve done enough villainy. Though, they can be enormous fun.