Age: 79
male
Walter Charles Dance OBE (born 10 October 1946) is an English actor, screenwriter, and director. He typically plays strict, authoritarian characters or villains. He is best known for his roles as Tywin Lannister in Game of Thrones, Kitchener in The King's Man, Martin Benson in Amazon Prime's The Widow, Lord Mountbatten in Netflix's The Crown (for which he was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series), Thomas in Underworld: Awakening and Underworld: Blood Wars, Harold Fillmore in Ghostbusters (2016), Mr. Bennet in Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, Frankenstein in Victor Frankenstein, Master Vampire in Dracula Untold, Conrad Knox in the Cinemax series Strike Back, Raymond Stockbridge in Gosford Park, one-eyed hitman Benedict in Last Action Hero, Clemens in Alien³, Sardo Numpsa in The Golden Child, and Guy Perron in The Jewel in the Crown. He started his career on stage with the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) before appearing in film and television. For his services to drama, he was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) by Queen Elizabeth II in 2006. He made his directorial film debut with the drama film Ladies in Lavender (2004), which he also wrote and executive produced.
In the wake of a catastrophic storm, Cora sets off with her nine-year-old daughter, Maia, to register her son's birth. Her husband, Gordon, a local doctor, respected in the community but a terrifying and controlling presence at home, intends for her to name the infant after him. But when the registrar asks what she'd like to call the child, Cora hesitates... Spanning thirty-five years, what follows are three alternate and alternating versions of Cora's and her young son's lives, shaped by her choice of name. In richly layered prose, The Names explores the painful ripple effects of domestic abuse, the messy ties of family, and the possibilities of autonomy and healing.
