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Over the course of his 40-year career, he landed leading roles in James Bond, Game of Thrones and The Crown and performed for thousands of fans with the Royal Shakespeare Company.
And this weekend, Charles Dance proved that he’s not a shrinking violet when he’s off-screen, too.
The actor, 77, was photographed sunbathing on a nudist beach on the Spanish island of Formentera with his girlfriend Alessandra Masi, 55.
The father-of-three, who was married to Joanna Haythorn for 34 years until 2004, proudly showed off his toned physique as he strolled along the beach before enjoying a dip in the sea.
Considering the star’s fitness regime, it’s no surprise that The Crown actor still has the confidence to strip off into his seventies.
Pictured: Charles Dance seen emerging from the water on a nudist beach on the Spanish island of Formentera.
Here FEMAIL reveals how Charles still looks as svelte as he did when he made his big screen debut in 1981, after admitting he is “better to be looked at than overlooked” and still “feels 25”.
‘Obsessed’ with swimming
In several interviews over the years, Charles revealed that he tries to swim daily to maintain his slim build.
speaking to The Telegraph In 2021, the star said: ‘My obsession is swimming. For the last five or six years I’ve tried to swim (at the Lido, a public swimming pool in Heath) every morning.’
The star said his local beach is a “great place to think” and joked that after training he has a “cardiac arrest breakfast.”
On the other hand, Charles revealed that he has not always been happy with his physique in recent years.
He added: ‘You get something called ‘love handles’, which are not nice. Either I’m on a very strict diet or I have to change my swimsuit!’
In an interview with Mirror Last year, Charles revealed that he goes crazy swimming in Hampstead Heath, north London, for much of the year because he can handle the cold temperature.
The Game of Thrones and The Crown actor (pictured) previously spoke about his ‘obsession’ with swimming
The father-of-three (pictured) proudly showed off his toned physique as he strolled along the beach before enjoying a dip in the sea.
In several interviews over the years, Charles (pictured) revealed that he tries to swim daily to maintain his slim frame.
Charles was seen with his actress and girlfriend Alessandra Masi on vacation on the Spanish island.
He said: ‘I have managed from March to November, but there is a point… six degrees is my limit. It’s quite cold, it takes a long time to warm up. But afterwards you feel great (…).’
Speaking of the attention his slender physique has garnered in recent years, Charles said: “It’s better to be looked at than overlooked.”
Talking about his daily swims with him Evening StandardCharles added: “I was in the showers last week and an old guy, one of the regulars, turned to me while he was soaping up and said, ‘So, Charles, are you going to swim all year round this year?’
“I told him I’d try it and asked him what the lowest temperature he’d ever swam at was and he said 0°C. Now, I happen to know that the Lido thermometer doesn’t register anything below zero, so, so he knew, it could have been -20°C.
Love for cycling
What’s more, Charles has also previously talked about how he rides his bike every day.
Pictured: Game of Thrones actor Charles Dance seen cycling through the streets of Camden in 2019.
In 2012, Charles told the Evening Standard who cycles back and forth to his home in London for his morning swim.
He explained: “After swimming, I have to cycle home for five minutes to have a full breakfast after cardiac arrest.”
The star has been photographed cycling around London several times over the years, including a tour of Camden on her bike in June 2019.
speaking to Prostate cancer UK In 2013, Charles said: “I’m health conscious, an actor has to be.”
‘There’s no sick pay, it’s up to us to look after our bodies, stay healthy and keep working, so I have regular check-ups. I ride my bike, I swim, if I’m going to have to take my shirt off to watch a movie, which is increasingly rare, thank God, then I lift weights.
In an interview with the guardnorth Last year, Charles revealed that his girlfriend, Italian producer Alessandra Masi, is also a passionate cyclist.
Charles Dance and Alessandra Masi photographed shopping for supplies in London in September 2020
Charles Dance photographed in the television miniseries Jewel In the Crown, which premiered in 1984.
He gushed, “She has a bike and goes everywhere on it.”
Yoga, Pilates and weight lifting
When he’s not swimming or cycling, Charles has also revealed that he likes to stay active with yoga, Pilates and weight lifting.
In June 2010, he told Staysure magazine: “I do something every day, a bit of yoga, Pilates and a bit of military stuff.”
Acknowledging that he is lucky to have been blessed with good genes, he told The Mirror last year: “I try to eat sensibly and do a variety of basic weightlifting exercises to work on different parts of the body, but I’m not bodybuilding.” . .’
speaking to The times In 2022, Charles revealed that he prefers to do Pilates and yoga at home.
He joked: “I hate gyms, you walk in and say, “Hi! Good exercise. ‘Fuck you.’
As The Daily Mail reported in 2008, Charles’ daily exercise routine involves swimming, followed by a hot shower and cycling home.
After this, he supposedly spends an “hour and ten minutes working out, doing yoga and Pilates.”
Charles Dance photographed with his ex-wife Joanna Haythorn in 1994. The couple separated in 2004 after 34 years of marriage.
Alessandra Masi and Charles Dance attend a special screening of ‘The Good Nurse’ at the Soho Hotel in November 2022
In March, Charles revealed that his marriage to Joanne Haythorn broke down after he confessed to having “succumbed to some temptations.”
Appearing on Gyles Brandreth’s Rosebud podcast, the veteran actor spoke of his “great regret” that his relationship with sculptor Joanne Haythorn came to an end when they divorced in 2004 after he admitted he had cheated on her.
The couple, who had two children together, Oliver, 50, and Rebecca, 44, married in 1970.
The charismatic Dance attributed his behavior to becoming an unlikely sex symbol after starring in the 1984 television drama The Jewel in the Crown and admitted he succumbed to his libido.
But he said he’s grateful his ex-wife was able to forgive him 18 months after he destroyed their three-decade marriage and they are now “best friends.”
Pictured: Charles Dance in the 1981 James Bond film For Your Eyes Only, starring Roger Moore.
Charles Dance attends the “Rumours” Photocall at the 77th Cannes Film Festival earlier this month
Earlier this year, Charles revealed that he is “lucky to find love again” with Alessandra Masi, 22 years his junior.
While promoting the film The Book of Vision, Charles said the highlight of filming was meeting producer Alessandra.
He said: ‘Alessandra is fantastic. “I’m very, very lucky.”
Speaking about how her divorce has affected her life, she added: “I feel 35. I probably act 25. It’s definitely been a period of change for me.
‘Sometimes I handled it well and sometimes I didn’t. It was difficult to return to family life after being away.’
After the divorce, Charles dated actress Sophia Myles, then in her 20s, who starred in films such as Thunderbirds.
In October 2012, Charles split from his ex-fiancee Eleanor Boorman, just months after she gave birth to their daughter Rose.
Dance missed the birth and flew to South Africa to film days later. At the time, Miss Boorman said: “Charles was filming but he came down immediately.”
In 2022, he said The Guardian: “Unfortunately, I don’t see much of Rose, but that’s the way it is.”
