Richard Madden misses his Game of Thrones cloak

21 September 2017

Richard Madden misses his 'Game of Thrones' costume because it made him look "massive".

Richard Madden

The Scottish actor starred as ill-fated Robb Stark in HBO's hit fantasy series, but his character met a grisly end in the bloody Red Wedding scene, and Richard still pines over the the huge furry cloak and armour worn by the King in the North because it gave him the illusion of being "taller" and "imposing".

He joked: "I'm sure people are constantly disappointed when they meet me in person. I'm not as tall as they expect and I probably don't look as imposing.

"That's what's so good about the 'Game of Thrones' costumes. All the cloaks and armour make you look massive. When I'm sitting there in jeans and a jumper it's not got quite the same effect."

Richard was offered full horse riding training to play the King in the North - an unlikely opportunity that also came his way while at drama school.

Speaking to Shortlist magazine, Richard explained: "I love it when I get a part where I have to ride. Because I absolutely love riding horse.

"At drama school they told me to learn to ride a horse because it'd be useful, and I thought, 'Nah, I'll not use that.' Then I was cast in 'Game Of Thrones'. Luckily they offered me as much training as I wanted and I took it. Seriously it's more thrilling than being on a motorbike."

The 31-year-old star - who is tipped to play the next James Bond when Daniel Craig hangs up his tuxedo - has also picked up a few other useful skills throughout the various roles he's played, including pick-pocketing and sword fighting.

The 'Electric Dreams' actor said: "I can sword fight quite well. I got quite good at pock-pocketing for a while, for a wee film I did. I'm terrible at everything else, apart from sword fighting, horse riding and pick-pocketing. You can survive on that, right?"