Iwan Rheon says not sharing the stage with Anthony Hopkins in the new period show is devastating

Iwan Rheon is disappointed not to share a scene with Anthony Hopkins Those about to die.

The game of thrones star has a major role in the new series about ancient Rome and the underworld of betting.

He plays Tenax, a key figure in the gambling underworld of Rome in AD 79, where chariot races and gladiator fights keep the citizens distracted from their miserable lives. Hopkins plays Emperor Vespasian.

Rheon said he asked director Roland Emmerich to write the scenes just so he could appear in the same frame as Hopkins.

He read the script and realized his character didn’t have any scenes with the emperor, the actor told Bronwen Lewis on BBC Radio Wales. “So obviously I went through my initial grieving period and then when I got there I asked Roland if I could have a scene and he said no. I kind of joked, but I wasn’t either.”

He said Hopkins is “probably the only character in the whole show that my character doesn’t have a scene with” and described him as “devastating”.

However, he managed to meet Hopkins while filming for the series.

The director described Hopkins’ presentation of the show and said the legendary actor’s interest in history may have added to the show’s appeal to him.

“I sent him the scripts and he literally said, ‘Yes.’ He was the first guy I actually wrote to and I was totally surprised that he was so interested!” Emmerich said at San Diego Comic Con on July 25.

“When we were on set, he knew so much about Rome and was such an intelligent man,” the director said, referring to the actor.

Speaking about his character, Tenax, Rheon said he liked how adaptable he was and how Tenax suited him. game of thronesRamsay Bolton character.

“One thing I really like about the character is that he’s able to operate in any scenario and how he plays a situation to his advantage,” he said.

“They’re both ambitious and they’re both ruthless, but Tenax isn’t as sadistic,” he added if Bolton and Tenax have any similarities.

“He gets no pleasure out of it. It’s a business for him. But I can see where people will make that comparison.”

The series is inspired by the non-fiction book of the same name by Daniel P Mannix and is written by Robert Rodat, who was nominated for an Academy Award for writing. Saving Private Ryan.

The cast also includes Tom Hughes as Titus Flavianus, Sara Martins as Cala, Gabriella Pession as Antonia and Jóhannes Haukur Jóhannesson as Viggo.

In his three-star review of the show forThe IndependentNick Hilton wrote: “Hopkins earns his paycheck with a rather lackluster performance as the wise Vespacian.”

“History geeks will find much to struggle with in the description of the Flavian dynasty. After all, Those about to die it is not really for those people whose Roman Empire is the Roman Empire. It’s for people who want the ancient world, where the stakes of sex and violence were much lower than today, to license something primal, something carnal, in them. Emmerich doesn’t do subtle things like that Those about to die it’s appropriate, visceral, daring.”

All 10 episodes from Those about to die are available now on Peacock in the US and Amazon Prime Video in the UK.