Current (Aidan Gillen) and future (Richard E. Grant) Game of Thrones Actors discuss their careers

Aidan Gillen, who portrays Petyr Baelish “Littlefinger” on HBO’s Game of Thrones, recently sat down with film industry interview website Bow Street Meets to talk about his lengthy career. Gillen had quite an impressive resum—before landing the role of the politically savvy Littlefinger on Game of Thrones, he portrayed Baltimore city councilman-turned-mayor-turned-Maryland governor Thomas J. “Tommy” Carcetti on HBO’s The Wire and lead character Stuart Alan Jones on groundbreaking British series Queer as Folk.

Gillen talks his distaste for auditions, his youthful partying days (such as they were), career strategy, watching himself onscreen, and quite a bit more in this 14-minute interview. Check it out:

Gillen has one of those voices that illicites interest in what he’s talking about, whatever the topic. He could have been talking about the contents of a cereal box and I would have been listening intently thanks to that accent…it’s probably part of what makes him such a fantastic version of Petyr Baelish.

According to Bow Street Meets, Gillen received a British Academy Television Award nomination for Best Actor for his work on Queer as Folk. He was also nominated for a Tony Award for his role on Broadway in Harold Pinter’s The Caretaker, and an Irish Times Theatre Award for portraying Teach in the Gate Theatre’s production of Mamet’s American Buffalo.

This is actually a fantastic interview for those who are into the business of acting. Whether it be on screen (big or small) or stage, Aidan Gillen has successfully done it, and has some wisdom to impart to those who are just now starting out.

Doctor Who vet Richard E. Grant, who will appear on Game of Thrones next year as one of the performers Arya sees acting out the War of the Five Kings, also gives his thoughts on his crafts. They include a tip for producing saliva, if you’re interested.