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Iwan Rheon reveals he's "made peace" with Game of Thrones fame – and verdict on House of the Dragon

The Welsh actor co-stars opposite Doctor Who's Ruth Madeley in The Rapture.

Iwan Rheon as Ramsay Bolton in Game of Thrones; he is sat on a horse looking coldly ahead while wrapped in furs

HBO

Published: Wednesday, 22 July 2026 at 8:00 am

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This interview first appeared in Radio Times magazine.

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When Iwan Rheon isn’t playing journalist Dick Carwyn in The Rapture – or Simon Bellamy in Misfits or Ramsay Bolton in Game of Thrones – he makes music.

"It's something I've always done," he says. "It fills in the gaps in an actor's life between projects and it's a lovely thing because it isn’t my primary source of income. There's no pressure in that sense, so I have complete creative freedom."

Having released an album last year, I Just Wish I'd Never Gone to Space, Rheon has a new EP coming soon, too.

"Sometimes I'll write a lot of songs in succession, as happened with the EP, but recently I've been in a period where I haven't played or written that much."

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This may be to do with playing Dick, who Rheon describes as "quite silly and funny and a bit lost at the beginning of the story. But he finds his spark again. To explore that has been quite nice."

Dick is a far cry from Rheon's best-known role, Game of Thrones's sadistic Ramsay Bolton – which is how he likes it. Indeed, it sounds as if playing that character took a toll on the Welsh actor.

Dick pushes Gabriele in her wheelchair through a forest; both of them look worried by their surroundings

Ruth Madeley and Iwan Rheon star in The Rapture BBC / Mammoth Screen / James Pardon

"It was such a huge part of my life and is still very prevalent in my life – it's still something that people recognise me for," he says.

"In the beginning I found it hard but I've made peace with it now and I've got better as time's gone on. Because most of the time, people are really nice."

In fact, Rheon has recently started watching Game of Thrones' spin-off House of the Dragon. "I wasn’t quite ready to dive back in and immerse myself before now," he admits, "but it's been 10 years and a couple of my friends are in it, so I thought I'd give it a go and it's fantastic."

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The Rapture premieres on BBC One and iPlayer on 26 July 2026.

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Authors

A bearded Gareth McLean sits before a dark green backgrounded, looking at the camera and smiling gently

Gareth McLean

Gareth McLean has been writing about television for nearly 30 years. As a critic, he's reviewed thousands of programmes. As a feature writer, he's interviewed hundreds of people, from Liza Minnelli to Jimmy Savile. He has also written for TV.

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