YOU TALKIN’ TO ME?

FILM QUOTES POSE AS QUESTIONS. FILM STARS TRY TO COPE.

You talkin’ to me?

I am. It’s part of the job really if you choose this kind of work. You have to open yourself up to people coming up to you on the street and try not to let it get on top of you and be cool. It always seems to happen when you’re in the middle of a massive argument, though. Somebody will come up and say ‘Can we get a picture?’ and you’re like, ‘Erm, not right now.’

Obviously, people don’t know what’s going on in your life so it’s not their fault. You just have to deal with it as kindly as possible!

What will you be drinking, sir?

Right now, a coffee. I wouldn’t mind a negroni after work as I’m in Rome. A cheeky negroni goes a long way but I don’t think drinking them all night is a particularly clever idea. I wouldn’t last long.

How much do you know about yourself if you’ve never been in a fight?

Oh, I’m a lover, really. I’m not much of a fighter. Obviously, growing up in Cardiff there were a couple of fights here and there. I had to have a fight with a kid once because he took the piss out of my band. I did warn him four times but he carried on doing it. I was about 12 and wasn’t having it. I got into trouble and had to stand outside the head of year’s office and didn’t feel great afterwards. But I’ve not really been in many fights. You don’t want to embarrass yourself by getting beaten up on someone’s camera phone.

Aren’t you a little short for a stormtrooper?

Maybe I am, but it’d be cool to do something like that. I’d love to get involved with some Marvel stuff. I did a Marvel series years ago but maybe a bit of Star Wars? I could play a Jedi or something. Get a lightsaber. I think that’s every young boy’s dream, isn’t it? I’d want a blue one, although red’s my favourite colour – I just don’t want to be a baddie. Can you get goodie Jedis with red lightsabers? Perhaps I could come back from the Dark Side and surprise everyone. Be corrupted by goodness.

IN THE CROSSHAIRS THIS MONTH…

IWAN RHEON

What are you afraid of?

I find mushrooms very scary.

They’re just kind of weird. I understand how important they are to the planet and ecosystem, but the weird ones that grow out of bees’ heads… They’re just fucked up. Maybe it’s a metaphor; I think what really scares me is how humanity is destroying the planet. That’s quite a scary prospect that keeps me up at night. Maybe humans are the weird mushrooms growing out of the ant’s head and the ant is the world?

What’s your favourite scary movie?

I’m not a big fan of scary films, to be honest. The film that really scared me when I was younger was The Shining because there was

Rheon stars as Meurig in Men Up, BBC1’s feature-length drama about the drug trial that led to Viagra something psychological about it. When I was younger, I always used to be scared of films about pandemics and then one happened and I was like, ‘Oh, man. This is my worst nightmare. It’s happening!’ I find that more scary than some nonsense about a witch in the woods. I’m more about things that can really happen.

Do you think there’s anything wrong with your mind, really?

Now, that’s a question I’ve often thought about. I think it’s something one should always ponder. I don’t think there’s anything massively wrong with it. You’d have to talk to my therapist. Obviously, everyone’s got their own little things that make them individual. That’s one of the lovely things about humanity, but I think mine is generally ticking over all right… so far.

You’ve got to ask yourself one question: ‘Do I feel lucky?’ Well, do ya, punk?

I do feel really lucky and I wish I was as punk as I was in my teenage years. I basically get to dress up and play for a living, meet loads of cool, interesting people and go to wicked places – and I get paid to do it. I’m really lucky that I was introduced to music at such a young age and have lots of really cool people in my life. Yeah. I feel incredibly lucky, punk.

If you think this has a happy ending, you haven’t been paying attention…

Maybe pay attention so you don’t find out the answer to that question the hard way. I hope it has a happy ending. [Playing Game of Thrones’ Ramsay Bolton] taught me ‘don’t be a dick’. That character could’ve easily been very different had I not got one brilliant piece of direction from the creators who said to play him happy. I still get people coming up to me saying, ‘Ooh, you’re such a bastard. I hate you. You’re so evil,’ but I think people genuinely quite enjoyed hating him. You need villains. Those bastards!

MEN UP AIRS ON BBC1 AND BBC iPLAYER LATER THIS YEAR.

QUESTIONS TAKEN FROM: TAXI DRIVER, THE SHINING, FIGHT CLUB, STAR WARS: EPISODE IV - A NEW HOPE, CREED, SCREAM, ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO’S NEST, DIRTY HARRY, GAME OF THRONES