Charles Dance - Dance: 'Hollywood Is Soul Destroying'

Veteran British actor CHARLES DANCE is glad he never moved to Hollywood - because he finds the American movie business "soul destroying."

The Gosford Park star found international fame after appearing in a handful of blockbusters, including Alien 3 and Last Action Hero, in the 1990s.

But the London resident has always refused to move to California to pursue his acting career full-time, opting instead to fly over to Los Angeles every time he landed a new role.

Dance admits his lack of ambition in Hollywood may have cost him some high-profile parts, but he's adamant he's much happier living and working in his native Britain.

He says, "I've done a couple of Hollywood blockbusters and I haven't fronted either of them - I've just played the token British villain - but those films are seen all over the world. You can certainly earn more money for a studio blockbuster. Blockbusters raise your profile and they put money in your bank account, but they don't do much for the soul.

"I haven't worked in Hollywood for ten years or more. I go there to do a job - if I'm lucky enough to be asked - and come back. I don't dislike the place, but I've never camped out there. I think that would be soul-destroying."

Dance also reveals he's unimpressed with the new wave of young actors who obsess over their looks and crave fame.

He adds, "They are fiercely ambitious and very impatient. They want it now. Fame, fortune, money now - they want it all. And on the back of a reasonably successful television series, they'll get on a plane and go to California and join the ranks of hundreds of other young hopefuls with newly bleached teeth and nicely tanned skin. That was never me."