9 Surprising Facts About Richard Madden

Many know Scottish actor Richard Madden for his portrayal (and particularly his death scene) of Robb Stark in Game of Thrones. The star has gone on to win a Golden Globe for his role in the BBC One series Bodyguard, is high on the list of names wanted to play the next James Bond, and currently appears in the Elton John biopic Rocketman, out in theaters now. Next up, Madden will star in the new Sam Mendes film 1917, and is rumored to be acting in an upcoming Marvel film, The Eternals.

Since his shot to fame, Madden has clearly remained extremely busy. To celebrate his 33rd birthday on June 18, here are nine surprising facts about the fan-favorite actor.

1. He Got Into Acting to Help Fight His Shyness

In 2015, Madden admitted during an interview with Flaunt that if he wasn’t an actor, he’d be a “shy, fat kid living in Scotland with no girlfriend.” This prediction stems from the fact that when growing up, he was incredibly shy and actually joined the children’s theater to try and overcome it. The actor says he’s still shy now, but it clearly hasn’t stopped him from reaching success.

2. He Claims He Wasn’t Paid Much for Game of Thrones

Although the HBO series turned Madden into a household name, the actor has claimed that he wasn’t paid a lot for playing the King in the North. When asked by the Sunday Times if he made serious cash from the role, he got incredibly honest, stating, "People think I am [rich], because of Game Of Thrones, but you know, when I signed up for that I was 22.” The actor would not disclose exactly how much he was paid, but we can guess it was nowhere near the whopping $500,000 per episode stars like Kit Harington and Emilia Clarke were making towards the series’ end.

3. Madden Doesn’t Like Being a Sex Symbol

Apart from being a great actor, it’s not hard to admit how good looking Madden is. From his Game of Thrones role to his part in Bodyguard, the star has quickly become an internet obsession. But Madden isn’t a fan of it, and actually worries it might affect his career. According to The Sun, he admitted, “I worry sometimes about it affecting my job. If people go, ‘Oh, he’s that hunky thing,’ it undermines that actually I’m an actor and I’m trying really hard to be good at it.”

4. He Faced a Surprising Problem for His Cinderella Role

Another reason Madden is considered such a heartthrob likely comes from the fact that he starred alongside Lily James in the 2015 live-action remake of Cinderella, playing an ever-handsome Prince Charming. But there was one problem he faced while filming: trying to keep his bulge hidden. While appearing on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Madden explained the measures they had to take to make sure his look was PG-rated. "The prince can't have any genitalia, apparently," he hilariously stated. "We had about two days of screen tests where we had to try lots of different jock straps, just to make sure we can't see anything through the trousers." Trying on so many of them, he admitted, ended up with Madden in tears.

5. His Game of Thrones Fate Was Spoiled for Him

With a beloved franchise like Game of Thrones, it would seem that if you didn’t read the books before portraying a character, you’d find out right away what happens to them. So for Madden, his technique of reading George R.R. Martin’s books as they were filming was definitely a fail. The actor recalled:

"A thousand people spoiled it for me before I had a chance to pick up the third book. I read [the books] season-by-season. I don't want to preempt where Robb is going and that's what I've done since the show started. I also made the fatal flaw of Googling. So that kind of reinforced what people were hinting—saying that something terrible was going to happen and giggling."

6. Madden’s Mom Freaks Out Over His Nude Scenes

Madden is no stranger to filming intimate scenes, but it looks like his parents will never get used to seeing their son naked on screen. While appearing on The Ellen DeGeneres Show to discuss Bodyguard, the host asked the actor if his mom and dad were happy to see his bare butt in the series. Madden quickly explained:

“No, they're never happy about the butt. I've made a few mistakes in my time, which is neglecting to tell my mother that there's going to be a sex scene in the show. And then I get kind of a hysterical phone call of, 'You must tell me and your father! I was watching it at the time and my cup of tea, I nearly spilled it!' And then she covers her eyes.”

7. His Family Has a Very Awkward Nickname for Him

Madden revealed during an appearance on The Late Late Show the awkward nickname his mom gave him: Little Dick. "She loves it. It's her favorite gag," he said. "My father's also called Richard—which translates as 'Big Dick' and 'Little Dick.' Thanks, mum!" Host James Corden and fellow guest Aaron Taylor-Johnson thought it was hilarious, but it’s obvious Madden could do without it.

8. Madden Gained a Very Famous Friend After Filming Rocketman

The actor’s most recent role was playing John Reid, Elton John’s first boyfriend and manager, in the recently-released Rocketman. When promoting the film on The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon, Madden revealed he became friends with the real Elton John after making the movie, explaining it was surprising to find out how “shy” and “gentle” he actually was.

9. He's Thankful He Was Killed Off Game of Thrones Early

The actor recently revealed that he is grateful to be one of the actors killed off early in Thrones. Madden spoke about the experience in an interview with Amy Adams for Variety’s Actors on Actors series, saying:

“It was such a hard thing to finish because from first pilot to my death was five years. But five years was a great time to be on the show. It helped me so much with my career and experience. I learned a lot from shooting 30 hours of television. You really start to learn the trade doing that. And then I was thankful to leave it.”

Three seasons was enough for Madden, and he praised the actors who made it until the end. “Give these guys some medals, because that is a marathon,” he said.

This article also appears on Mental Floss.