So, there was a crossover there, cos I was kinda playing myself, cos I was a singer in the band doing festivals. It was great to be able to write music that was really different from my band.

It was almost easier, because when you're writing for your band there's always that pressure you won't to get it right so it's a bit scary.  When you're writing music for another band, a fake band, and it had to be so rock, I had a lot of fun writing that kinda music.

-How's your career going in terms of the acting then?
Oh, it's good man, really good at the moment. I'm doing the second series of Game of Thrones, so I'm trying to balance that.

Soon I'm going to be doing a mocumentary, a small independent film called Super Bob. It's kind of a comic book vibe, and I love graphic novels so much. So, it's great - I get to do something I love!

-Has it been hard trying to balance the music and acting careers so far?
Yeah. It is, but then there's people that are amazing. My manager and agent are amazing, and my publishers as well. Trying to work those together, I've got a really good team that communicate really well with each other, me included. We all try to see where we can fit everything.

-To date, your most famous performance is probably as Tonks in Harry Potter. You didn't actually read the books beforehand, so did you grasp the enormity of it all?
No, I really had no idea! I finally read the Harry Potter book that I was auditioning for, the fifth one, after the third audition, when I finally understood what the hell was going on.

After that, I devoured all the books and the movies. I was like...wow! I can't believe I blagged getting this!

The same thing happened with Game of Thrones. I finished the first series, and when I went to Brazil I took all five books - there's four actual books, but the third is split into two. I was like...this is epic, I can't believe it.

You're kind of wondering, you know, is my character going to die, will they kill people?

-With those two, after you read them, did you think the portrayals were accurate?
The thing is, you do have a bit of license. I've noticed with both of them, you have to edit things. There's so many character in both things, you can't always put all of them in. If you do, they're only there in little bits, and other characters sometimes get given much more, but that's just the way it is.

-You've also done a lot of stage acting. Is being in that live environment something you enjoy, both in music and acting?
Yeah, definitely! With making a film and recording, I'm definitely getting better with age. When I was 19, I was so restless! I was always on my toes, cos there's so much waiting.

Then, as you get a bit older, you realise that you have to pace yourself - it's a process, and it's fine. That's why there's always been an instant love for the immediate performance vibe.

There's the intense rehearsal, then the intense show, where you get the instant feedback. Well, something bad things can happen, whatever - it's insant, whereas the filming and recording is more of a process. It's worth putting the love in cos then you get this amazing finished product, hopefully.

-Looking ahead, you have some support dates with The Kooks?
I haven't even thought about that - I'm going to Milan tomorrow! There's so much going on, I can't believe it's actually tomorrow. We'll get up at some immorally wrong time and go to Milan. We'll get ready to do a big gig, we'll be totally overwhelmed!

-How do you think your music will go down with their fanbase?
I think it will work. It's that two-way thing - obviously, we're quite different to them. But then, you see a lot of bands where they have a support act that's a bit like them, but a bit crapper. Have you noticed that?

It's kinda like a watered down version of what you'll get later. I think what's fun is having something that's completely different that's enjoyable anyway. So hopefully, even though they're going for a certain type of music, they'll still be able to dance and jive with us.

-What we can we expect from Molotov Jukebox in 2012 then?
Hopefully world domination! That's the plan, obviously. I want to do a tour, a European tour, massively. I want to do a UK tour, cos we've done the festivals.

They're good, a great medium to get your music out there, but a lot of people at festivals are off their faces. They stumble into your music half way through, and never hear the name of your band - sometimes you miss out on that.

Actually doing a tour with another band around England, and getting the real vibe of different towns and venues, that would be so massively, beautifully helpful.

-Well, best of luck with the world domination!
I need it, man. I need all the luck I can get.

-Thank you for taking the time to chat to me.
Thanks for ringing, man. Loads of love!

Female First - Alistair McGeorge

Tagged in