Game of Thrones created "barriers" for Iwan Rheon's career: "Can I play a nice guy, please?"

Like other villainous performances on Game of Thrones, Iwan Rheon's portrayal of the evil Ramsay Bolton saw the actor applauded, feared, and even hated. Introduced in the third season of the HBO series, Ramsay is the bastard son of Roose Bolton. He is eventually legitimized and weds Sansa Stark in a political marriage. There's nothing good to say about this character; he's sadistic, abusive, manipulative, and capable of committing unspeakable acts.

While the guy is totally irredeemable, that also means Rheon did a great job bringing the villain to life. And once an actor plays one type of character so well, it's not unexpected that studios would want them to do it again for other shows and movies.

And yes, that's what happened to Rheon. While promoting his new BBC movie Men Up, which couldn't be more different from Game of Thrones, the 38-year-old Welsh actor spoke to Radio Times about how much the fantasy hit changed his life. Agreeing that playing Ramsay was a "reputation-making role," Rheon shared:

"There’s no other way of looking at it. Because of the magnitude of the show, it did loads for my career. But it brought a lot of barriers as well. All of a sudden you’re just getting offered lots of parts where they want you to do the same thing."

Rheon was asked if that meant he was getting lots of offers to play psychopaths. “Well, exactly!" he laughed. "I was like: ‘Can I play a nice guy, please?’"

Fortunately for Rheon, he did go on to scoop up a variety of different roles after Thrones; he played the character Maximus in the shortlived Marvel show Inhumans, had a recurring role as Liam Doyle in the third season of American Gods, and played a victim of a home invasion in the horror movie Barbarians. And I coincidentally just rewatched that 2019 Jeff Tremaine movie The Dirt about Mötley Crüe over Christmas break, in which Rheon plays famous guitarist Mick Mars. The movie's not great, but Rheon is good in it, playing a role that's far from a Ramsay Bolton type.

If you're looking to see more of Rheon, his new movie Men Up premieres tonight, Dec. 29, on BBC One and will be made available online in the U.K. shortly after it airs. The movie is about the first clinical trials for the drug Viagra in the 1990s. It also stars Aneurin Barnard (Dunkirk), Alexandra Roach (Black Mirror), Phaldut Sharma (EastEnders), Joanna Page (Gavin & Stacey), and other Welsh actors. At this time, there isn't an announced plan for a U.S. release (or other geos), but you can watch the quick trailer for Men Up right here.

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