"196th century...."

Commedia dell'Arte: Robert Carlyle was approached by the showrunners for "Once Upon A Time" (ABC Network) for the part of Rumplestiltskin, with a big scene in the pilot episode. He gave earnest consideration to what it would take to put such an unreal character across. That was about five years ago, and in interviews since then, he has consistently credited two things he used deliberately in order to create Rumplestiltskin:
Commedia dell'Arte, and drama wearing a mask ("it takes you somewhere else").