Mr. Allen, what’s it like getting bare for an target audience?
(Laughs) Getting bare in theater, I think, is one-of-a-kind than doing so on film. I recognise a whole lot of people say the other way round — but I’m truly extra cozy undressing inside the theater, on the stage.
How come?
I don’t recognise. I guess due to the fact — although in a theater like the Trafalgar Studios it would be a piece exceptional due to the fact the audience is proper there, but on most degrees I completed on after I changed into in Equus, you just couldn’t see all of us in the audience. I assume it became totally relevant to the play; it was wanted in order to show how prone my person was at that factor inside the play… So average, it changed into definitely sort of releasing.
Plus it likely gained’t turn up at the Internet.
Oh no, it did! No, no, it in reality did. You know, I don’t sincerely care if it does turn up at the Internet both… I even have a difficult exterior. The stuff I did for Equus actually became up at the Internet, the stuff on Game of Thrones glaringly turns up on the Internet however I always knew that changed into going to show up as it had a large target market even simply from the books. So with those kinds of matters, I don’t virtually care, it’s greater approximately me feeling relaxed within the second I’m doing it. If humans want to troll the Internet and have a look at photos of my nob so be it — that’s what human beings like to do, I bet.
Is that what you probably did after Equus?
No! (Laughs) I fucking didn’t! I actually have Googled myself, I’m no longer going to lie approximately that but I haven’t long past and looked for that type of stuff. No manner. But yeah, I love being on degree due to the fact I like matters to be spontaneous, clearly. Last year I performed a person in a play who became just oblivious to some of the greater silly matters that he did, and it got me wondering that that’s sort of bliss, in a way, isn’t it? You can just be that manner the whole time and not care what absolutely everyone else thinks. I adore it when I’m acting and people just throw matters at me which can be absolutely sudden. I like whilst you get hit with this frightened electricity… It kind of pours into your veins and you can honestly use it.
I read that the instant you found out you wanted to be an actor actually passed off in theater, proper?
Yeah, it changed into once I saw Doubt in New York. When I saw that it became really the first piece of theater that had me like, “Wow.” I became amazed by using it! It was at a clearly small theater, so it felt quite intimate and I suppose that’s probably why the performance had that impact on me, because it was just so…
Up close and private?
Yeah, I felt find it irresistible was right there, you already know? And I’ll be sincere with you I form of got dragged along to it and I didn’t really want to move, so I guess that’s what had an impact on me as nicely. I sort of went begrudgingly to this thing and in reality turned into amazed by the performances. I simply notion they have been extraordinary. The handiest different things I’d seen before that turned into stuff that my dad [Keith Allen] changed into in; I’d visible something at The Almeida, I saw him do Celebration and The Room I think, then he did The Homecoming, which turned into outstanding. But once I saw Doubt, that turned into actually a big push for me. It didn’t make my mind up — it’s something that I desired to do. It changed into both a footballer or an actor, you know what I imply?
Footballer? Really?
I’m kidding, I would in no way had been a footballer! No, I imply, my family became an proposal to me as well, or even earlier than I went to look Doubt, I usually wanted to be an actor. I love being on stage; I did Jesse Eisenberg’s play referred to as The Spoils and that become outstanding. I’ll sound like a soundbite however it’s inspiring to see any individual like Jesse who simply by no means ever is going half of-arsed with something. He might get off the plane from Cannes and come directly to rehearsals. He in no way appeared jet-lagged, he was just going head first into the entirety and I surely recognize that. Being on stage every night may be quite tiresome, it’s form of like a shape of torture every night time — however it changed into remarkable.
You like to torture yourself?
I simply imply that taking the clean way out is some thing I try not to do! For example, playing characters like Theon Greyjoy in Game of Thrones… I don’t recognise, I’d like to mention they’re extra amusing, however they’re now not fun precisely, it’s greater like you may immerse your self in something like that, so it feels tougher. It’s been a pleasure to play Theon.
Even even though he has visible a few pretty darkish times at the show?
There’s manifestly been dark moments, yeah, and as an actor, in the event that they were going to make it any darker I’d like to see how. But as someone, I suppose I’d want to see some mild on the end of the tunnel for Theon Greyjoy. I’m certain we’ll discover quickly sufficient. I don’t recognize although, I really don’t have a clue! The element with Theon is he’s no longer clearly a darkish individual, he is simply form of tragic. He’s finished dark matters but unavoidably he’s simply seeking to show himself to the sector and to his circle of relatives. And then once he loses that piece of his anatomy he’s of no need to his own family anymore. The arc that he goes via is quite unique… During the second one season, I trended on Twitter, that’s after I realized that things were going to be quite huge for Theon.
Why did you trend on Twitter?
Because I reduce off a few guy’s head! (Laughs) They favored that, Twitter! And then after the 1/3 season, I think that’s whilst it definitely got intellectual. Game of Thrones is an American tackle English history, even though it’s loosely based totally at the War of the Roses and that’s what stimulated the tale, so I constantly had an inkling it might be big in America. But it wasn’t until the Red Wedding that it kind of it hit home simply how big it would get. That scene is what David [Benioff] and Dan [Weiss] were gearing as much as, you realize? I assume they have an endgame. They’ve always had a blueprint from the start of what they’re going to do. But now I assume George RR Martin might be frantically trying to complete the books!