 Dance: directorial debut |
He starred in The Jewel in the Crown and in the critically acclaimed Gosforth Park. Now, the actor Charles Dance has turned director. His new film Ladies in Lavender, brings together those two doyennes of the British stage - Dame Maggie Smith and Dame Judi Dench.
Set in a tight-knit Cornish fishing village in the 1930s, the film explores what hapens when two spinster sisters discover a Polish castaway on the beach.
The sisters nurse him back to health - and find he has a hidden talent.
Breakfast talked to Charles Dance about his directorial debut While working with Maggie Smith and Judi Dench was a dream, he explained, financing the film was more of a nightmare:
"Two weeks into filming, I found out that if there weren't sufficient funds in the bank by midday, the crew would walk (off the set).
"Fortunately the UK film council came up with the funds."
"It was stressful. It's best not to let anyone know what's happening. Judi Dench and Maggie Smith didn't know until Iater."
Dance hopes to direct again - but he hasn't given up on acting. He's currently filming a new drama in which he plays a (fictitious) prime minister.
Ladies in Lavender opens in cinemas across the country on November 12
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