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Richard Madden reveals he was ‘thankful’ to be killed off in Game of Thrones season 3

Bodyguard star was glad to depart HBO show early on 

Jacob Stolworthy
Tuesday 11 June 2019 02:15 EDT
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Game of Thrones: Robb stark dies during the red wedding

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Richard Madden has revealed he was glad to be one of the earlier stars to leave Game of Thrones.

The actor played Robb Stark on the HBO series up until its third season in 2013. He reflected upon the twist during an interview with Amy Adams as part of Variety’s Actors on Actors feature.

“It was such a hard thing to finish because from first pilot to my death was five years,” he said. “But five years was a great time to be on the show. It helped me so much with my career and experience. I learned a lot from shooting 30 hours of television. You really start to learn the trade doing that. And then I was thankful to leave it.”

He added: “The actors [who made it to the end] must be 11 years into playing these characters. Give these guys some medals, because that is a marathon.”

Madden previously recalled “sobbing” so much on the flight home after filming his character’s death scene that other passengers were forced to move seats.

“I looked like I’d murdered someone and got on that flight which, in fact, I hadn’t – I’d been murdered,” he told GQ.

The Bodyguard star – who is hotly tipped to become the next Bond – is rumoured to have signed up to star in new Marvel film The Eternals alongside Angelina Jolie and Kumail Nanjiani.

You can find a ranking of every single Game of Thrones character – form worst to best – here.

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