The Irish actor also spoke about the Barry Keoghan incident on the red carpet

Andrew Scott has been enjoying a creative purple patch in recent years, since 'Fleabag' put him on the international map.

Now, the Dublin actor has talked about his career in detail in a new interview with Variety, which takes in his recent success on Netflix series 'Ripley', the sad passing of his mother and lots more.

Scott also confirmed the existence of something that many Taylor Swift fans had been wondering in recent times: yes, the 'Tortured Man Club' WhatsApp group that she borrowed for the title of her latest album 'The Tortured Poets Department' did, indeed, exist.

There had been speculation that Swift took the title from the name of a group that her ex-boyfriend Joe Alwyn was in with Scott and Paul Mescal.

Scott said that he initiated the group after introducing Alwyn - his co-star in 2022 film 'Catherine Called Birdy' - to Mescal, just before the former was due to film 'Conversations with Friends'. Mescal, of course, had already appeared in another Sally Rooney adaptation, 'Normal People', by then.

"So they were about to play these tortured characters, and I had played a tortured character in 'Fleabag'," he said. "It wasn’t about our own characteristics!" However, he said that the group soon dried up. "I think there were three texts, like, 'Hey, guys.' You know those groups that you set up, and they just collapse."

Scott also discussed his friendship with Swift. "Taylor’s new album is sensational! I texted her yesterday to say how amazing it is," he said. "I think she is just a force of nature, just an extraordinary human, and this album is really, really amazing."

In the same interview, he was also questioned about his controversial red carpet encounter at this year's BAFTAs, when BBC journalist Colin Paterson jokingly questioned him about Barry Keoghan's naked red carpet scene in 'Saltburn'. A visibly uncomfortable Scott walked away and the reporter was slammed on social media.

"It was awkward," he said of the incident. "It was a little bit weird. But I got an apology from the journalist. I think it was a series of unfortunate events. And I totally accepted his apology."

He added: "I wouldn’t want him to suffer any more."