Fast five: Richard Madden
For three seasons of Game Of Thrones he was the King In The North. That ended when his character – Lord Robb Stark – was killed in The Red Wedding, one of the most infamous scenes in TV history. Now, Richard Madden is moving onto more wholesome (and less grimy) fare as Prince Charming in Disney's live-action adaptation of Cinderella
1 EARLY START
This Scot acted from the age of 11 to "gain some confidence" before attending high school.
He told People: "I was a shy kid... so I joined a youth theatre and from there I just loved improvising and storytelling and just acting."
2 SWASHBUCKLING HERO
Madden, who had his fair share of swashbuckling moments on three seasons of hit TV series Game Of Thrones as heroic leader Robb Stark, discovered that portraying Prince Charming in Kenneth Branagh's live-action adaptation of the 1950 Disney fairy tale Cinderella wasn't a walk in the park.
While his Cinderella, now showing in cinemas, is not an action flick, Madden still needed to be trained in fencing and horse riding.
"I learnt to fence because I wanted to be able to act while fencing," said the 28-year-old.
"I worked on my horse-riding skills as well, because even though I've already had lots of experience, this role demanded a lot more technique and a bit of stunt riding."
3 TWO LEFT FEET
The Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama (RSAMD) graduate said the most challenging moment while filming Cinderella was doing the ballroom dance sequence.
"I am not naturally gifted in dancing," he told Vulture.
"Stupidly, I didn't go to those classes in drama school. I was like, 'I don't need that, I'll never be dancing in anything.' And then you get a part like this... I've got two left feet, and we had to make it look as though I didn't."
4 THEY ARE REAL
Like his leading lady Lily James, who had to refute claims that her tiny waist in Cinderella was CGIed, Madden had people debating about his eye colour - and that his peepers are too blue to be true.
Branagh clarified at the Cinderella press tours that nothing was done to alter Madden's eyes.
"He was not wearing blue contact lenses," Branagh said. "He has very, very striking blue eyes, and when beautifully lit by (cinematographer) Haris Zambarloukos, these make for a very strong impact."
5 THEY'LL BE BACK
Madden will be reuniting with James and Branagh for Romeo And Juliet at London's West End next year. Madden will be playing Romeo, James will be Juliet while Branagh will be directing.
While playing the title role won't be new to Madden - he was Romeo in his final year with RSAMD - he hopes to bring something new to his performance.
"Now I'm a bit older and hopefully a bit wiser, and I think that helps," he told Vulture.
"They always say that you need somebody who's 30 years old but looks young to play Romeo And Juliet, because they'll understand the complexity of love and loss and the politics of it all."
FACT FILE
Name
Richard Madden
Born
June 18, 1986, Scotland, UK
Filmography
Game Of Thrones (TV, 2011-2013), Cinderella (2015)
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