While he may have played a King in 'Game Of Thrones', Richard Madden's been pretty upfront about the fact that he certainly wasn't paid like one for his work on the hit HBO series.
In a lengthy interview with the Sunday Times, Madden - who's currently starring in BBC's new series 'Bodyguard' - was asked about the pay gap between male and female actors, and discussed his own issues in the industry. "I care less about how much other people are paid, and more what it takes for me to shut up and go and do my job," said Madden, but added that "the equality thing needs to be addressed hugely between male and female co-stars."
"I know that from friends of mine. But there's only so much I can do for myself. Agents and lawyers, they do all that stuff. I just kind of deal with what I need to, so I don't look a producer in the eye and f***ing hate them when they're talking about their villas, and you're thinking, shit, I'm getting the bus at the weekend, because I don't have the money for a cab, you know?"
As for 'Game Of Thrones' itself, Madden was pretty open about his own work on the series and admitted that he took the role when he was starting off in his career and that undoubtedly played a role in how much he was paid. When asked point-blank if he was rich, Madden replied as bluntly as possible. "Not very. People think I am, because of 'Game Of Thrones', but you know, when I signed up for that I was 22, with fuck all on my CV, so I was paid fuck all."
To be fair, the series did kickstart his career and saw him land roles in the likes of Kenneth Branagh's live-action adaptation of 'Cinderella' and the Netflix original movie 'Ibiza', not to mention 'Bodyguard' as well - so maybe it all worked out in the end?