Short Box Classic: Game of Thrones Interviews with Tom Wlaschiha, Luke Barnes, and Richard Brake

To celebrate the end of House of The Dragon S2, let's take a trip back through time to Collective Con 2019, and revisit a trio of interviews with past Game of Thrones actors and stars, including Tom Wlaschiha (Jaqen H'ghar, 06:53), Luke Barnes (Rast, 12:53), and the OG Night King: Richard Brake (19:34)! Enjoy the blast from the past, and come back next week for more!

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Transcript

Short Box Classic: Game of Thrones Interviews with Tom Wlaschiha, Luke Barnes, and Richard Brake

00:01
Intro music plays

00:32
Yo Short Box Nation. Welcome back to the podcast. Oh my God. I'm so happy to be here and breathing through both nostrils. Just a little ASMR for those of you. All right. That's proof right there. Your boy is back and feeling a hundred percent, a lot better than I was feeling last week. So thanks to everyone that reached out and checked on me. I'm back. I'm good. Uh, that sucks being sick sucks.

00:59
Now if you're new to the show and you're tuning in for the first time, welcome. My name is Badr and this is the Short Box Podcast, the comic book talk show that brings you the best conversations about comic books with the people that put their blood, sweat and tears into making them. Now with all of that said, today is a short box classic episode, which means that you get to hear a piece of short box history today. And in celebration of the end of House of the Dragon season two.

01:26
I'm treating everyone today to interviews about Game of Thrones with some of the people that put their blood, sweat, and tears into making the show. I think I probably should have said like blood, sweat, and fire into making this show, but that kind of sounds kind of corny. Some of you are probably scratching your head. You're like, Game of Thrones on a comic podcast? What's the deal with that? But for some of you, you're like, sold. I'm in, say no more, Game of Thrones, let's go. I don't even say any more bother. Just jump into the interviews. And I respect that. I actually implore those of you in the latter.

01:56
They jump right in, fast forward a little bit, jump right into the first interview with   Tom Wlaschiha . You can check the show notes for timestamps, but for the rest of you who don't mind a little context and don't mind me getting a little long-winded of the preamble, stick around, I'll explain everything.

02:15
This episode contains three short interviews of Game of Thrones actors, including   Tom Wlaschiha , who played Jaqen H'ghar , the character who trained Arya Stark in the way of the Faceless Men. You'll also hear from Luke Barnes, who played Rast, a member of the Night Watch, along with Jon Snow and Sam Tarly. And last but not least, you'll get to hear from the OG, the original Night King himself in this episode. I'm talking about Richard Brake, who also played Joe Chill in the Batman Begins movie.

02:43
So if you needed a comic book connection, there you go. I got the guy that killed Bruce Wayne's parents on the podcast. Don't ever say the short box has fallen off. All right. Now, the disclaimer here is that these interviews were recorded in 2019 at collective con, which is Northeast Florida's premier convention for comics, anime and sci-fi. Uh, Tom, Luke and Richard were among the headliners and celebrity guests in attendance for that year at collective con, which was also the cons of fifth year.

03:12
Fun fact, they're celebrating their 11th year in March next year of 2025. So if you live in Jacksonville or the Northeast Florida area, make sure you check that out. It's gonna be a good time, it always is. Now you also gotta realize that Game of Thrones was super hot in 2019, especially at this collective con specifically, because it was months before the premiere of the highly anticipated ninth season of Game of Thrones. Tom, Luke and Richard were among the headliners and celebrity guests there. They're also doing a lot of press.

03:41
or Game of Thrones. What also makes these interviews in 2019 and CollectiveCon all really special in terms of the short box is that 2019 was also the same year that I launched the short box Patreon. So it was a big moment, it was a big chapter for the podcast, a big moment for me, a big level up from just being a hobby podcast to being something a little more official and a lot of that, actually all of that.

04:06
goes to all of the amazing day one Patreon subscribers and supporters. So big shout out to people like Nick Wagner. This was also the first year I was invited to work as press to actually be a part of the event. I got to interview some of the celebrity guests. So the interviews that you're hearing today come from that opportunity. I got to be on camera for these interviews, which was a huge learning curve. I had never done anything like that. I remember being nervous, excited.

04:35
and you know, just I wanted to be a sponge. I learned a lot and I got some amazing interviews and footage and content from that experience, interviews and things that actually would become the first set of bonus episodes and the first ever offerings to drop on the Patreon at the time. So I'm very fond of these interviews, as you can imagine, professionally, personally, but also as a fan of Game of Thrones. I mean, this was such a.

05:02
Awesome opportunity to interview some of my favorite characters from the series. Now, speaking of Patreon, which this has admittedly been a rather long, shameless plug for it. You can hear a lot more bonus episodes and unreleased interviews at patreon.com slash the short box. Like I said, the Patreon launched in 2019. You can only imagine the number of bonus episodes and extra bonus content that's on there. It's also the best way to show your support for what I do here. Help me keep the lights on and you'll get more bonus episodes and.

05:30
than you know what to do with, I'm actually planning to mail out some comic books to the Patreon subscribers, and they don't know this yet. So, surprise if you're a Patreon and you're hearing this, you'll be getting something in the mail from me in the next couple of days. So once again, a lot more bonus episodes like this and my eternal gratitude await you at patreon.com slash the short box. You can even sign up for a free seven day trial if you wanna try it out first.

05:56
I'm trying to line something up for next Wednesday for everyone else for the regular feed, working on having a new episode for everyone next Wednesday. So stay tuned to the feed and check back here same day, same time next week for hopefully something new. Your boy has been rather busy with wedding planning, work has been pretty crazy busy and it's the summer, you know, I'm trying to take a break as well, but I'll try to have something new for everyone on the main feed next week. And that's about it, all right? That's my long...

06:25
When did intro? Thanks for letting me ramble. Thank you for letting me give everyone a piece of short box history. I didn't think this year in these episodes would, you know, bring about all these memories and have this weight to them, but it's kind of fun to look back into the short box archives for episodes to reintroduce people to. So hopefully you'll enjoy these interviews. You get three for the price of one. I think that's a good deal. Yeah. Enjoy this short box classic episode. It starts now.

06:54
Short Box Nation, I am standing here next to Tom Vlushyha, aka Jaken Hagar from Game of Thrones. Tom, how are you doing today? I'm very well, thank you. Awesome, how are you enjoying CollectiveCon? It's great. I always like doing conventions because you get some feedback from fans, which as an actor you don't very often get normally, but Game of Thrones, it's an exception. Have you noticed a change in the energy or just the excitement with the new season having started last week?

07:25
Or is it always just kind of crazy? Definitely. I mean, but it's the hype's gotten bigger with every season and it's really, it's never been as big as now. Yeah. Do you watch it more or less now that your character is it primarily in the show? What do you mean? Well, I mean, do you watch it more or less? Since the, I mean, I think the last time we saw your character was season six. Yeah. Can we expect to see Jock and make an appearance this season?

07:51
A man does not know that. But, uh... Smoot, smoot. No spoilers. No, but of course I'm watching it, yeah. Okay. Do you do any special like watch parties or traditions? Do you go out to watch it? Are you watching with friends and family? No, I don't have that much time actually. I mean, I wish I could watch it with friends, but since I'm traveling most of the time, I always watch it in between whenever I have a moment. Yeah, yeah. I imagine you're probably really, really busy. So your character.

08:20
jocke what do you think specifically it is about the character that fans resonate with it so much and he's a very calm stoic guy i mean they are you like that in real life the see yourself in john no no well i think i mean all the characters in the game of thrones of really well written and they have but they're very impotent uh... and have different sides to them and i think character should always have a secret

08:49
And that's what makes the character interesting for the audience. And then keeps them on the edge of their seats, so they want to know more about him. And Jack and Agar.io is this weird way of speaking as well. So that adds to the appeal, I think. He's probably the smoothest character on Game of Thrones. Yeah, I never do my killings on screen. It's always like... In secret, right? Yeah.

09:17
So what is probably the craziest thing anyone's ever tried to do to get spoilers out of you? Have you ever been bribed for spoilers? I'm sure that's something that you're always getting asked. How much are you offering? That's a good question. Now I'm sure that you've probably seen all of the numerous fan theories and just everyone kind of guessing what happens at the end. Do you have a favorite theory that's floating out there?

09:44
Are you on the internet, are you two looking up theories as well? Yeah, sometimes maybe. I don't have that much time. It could be 24 hours in front of a screen looking for theories. Fans are so much into the show. There's so many theories about every character. One of my favorite theories is that Miltos and me are the same person.

10:14
Yes, that one is really good. So, yeah, I don't think so. But do you have a standout or just a favorite memory from just your time filming with the cast full time and just being out there? Maybe a lot more? Yeah, I mean, it was really an amazing experience because we got to work with like the best people in their respective fields. I mean, everything about this show was so, so perfect.

10:44
people behind the camera. So it really was a gift for all of us. Did you have a favorite stage or set design? It would have to be the House of Black and White. Because when I first read the scripts, I thought, okay, there's going to be a lot of CGI and they're going to do everything on the computer. And then I walked onto the stage in Belfast and they had actually built the whole thing. I mean, every single column that you see, like all the faces are actually there.

11:13
I think the only thing that was done after shooting was like they doubled it in height, the rooms, but apart from that, everything was there. That's great for an actor because if you have such perfect surroundings, you kind of feel thrown into this other world and it makes acting so much easier. Wow, incredible. You mentioned...

11:39
spending a lot of time just being busy it sounds like you've got some other projects in the works and we can you talk about what you're working on working people find that uh... i finished shooting uh... second season of jack ryan alias a few months ago that's going to come out in the summer sometime i think and at the moment i'm filming that's booked uh... it's a german series there there was in very iconic movie in the eighties

12:05
the same name. It's about submarine warfare in Second World War. Cool. And so we started shooting that in France last month and then when I get back to Germany, I'm going to continue. Fantastic. Well, look, thank you so much, Tom, for your time. Thank you for coming out. Enjoy the rest of your Collecticon weekend. Short Box Nation, I am currently sitting right next to Luke Barnes, aka everyone's favorite Nightwatch member, Rost. Luke, how are you doing today, sir? Great. Thanks, how are you?

12:32
Good sir, how are you enjoying CollectiveCon? Oh it's nice, you know, it's a nice place, isn't it? So friendly. Ah, thank you man, I appreciate it. Is this your first time here down in Florida? First time in Florida, it's my only second time in America. Oh nice, when was the first time? New York, I went to New York last year. Bit hectic for me, slightly too hectic. Nah, I gotcha. You were at an Iceman game, man, that's one hell of a way to enjoy Jacksonville's, you know, doing iceman games. Yeah, it was awesome. We met this lawyer, John Phillips, I'm at the radio station on, day before yesterday.

13:02
And he sponsors the Iceman, so he took us out, took us there, gave us shirts, took us for dinner. It was awesome, it was great fun. No, that sounds great. Yeah, it was awesome. So how's the reception been from the fans? Especially with the new season just starting, I mean, have you noticed a change? Is it more chaotic, is it more, or is it always kind of like this much people showing up to see you guys? Well, it's interesting, because like I only did the first four seasons of the show. Generally people seem to sort of like notice you more when they're rewatching it for a reason. Yeah. So I think with season eight coming up.

13:32
I think everyone's been trying to remind themselves what's been going on, if we watched it. So for that reason, I think it's been slightly more hectic. I can imagine. I gotta ask, man, when you're out in public, just enjoying a drink at the bar, do you ever run into folks that recognize you and just automatically just don't like you because of your character, Ross? All the time. Well, yeah, all the time. I meet people who just dislike me instantly, and I assume it's because of the character. But, oh man, yeah.

14:01
Yeah, yeah, I think so. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. It's weird. It's a weird thing to happen, but it definitely definitely happens Yeah, so I imagine that you know, it's the final season of Game of Thrones. Everyone's looking, you know, there's theories out there There's people just trying to guess what happens in the end How often do you get asked for spoilers or do you have a story about like just the weirdest offer you ever got for spoilers? Yeah, well almost daily. Really? Yeah, I was like, do you know what the end is like? Nope. I left the show seven years ago No idea

14:30
Don't speak to anyone. Yeah, almost daily. Huh. Yeah. So do you watch the show more or less since your character has, you know... Much less. They killed me off. Stop watching it, I'm bitten. Huh. No, I'm joking. No, I'm not joking, actually. I did stop doing it. And then I've knelt up again. So you watched... I'm up to date. I've seen the last one, season eight. Wow. Season one, yeah. Okay. So you've done your own rewatching too, then? Sorry? I said so you've already started... You've done your own rewatch as well. Oh, I've only seen it once.

14:59
I've only seen it once, but I'm up to date now. Got it. It's awesome. So I need your help if you could help me fill in this blank as it pertains to you. If you had a penny for every time you were asked blank, you'd be rich. Yeah. Oh, I mean could you finish filling the blank? Oh, what the end of Game of Thrones is. Did you get to keep any memorabilia afterwards? Sadly not. No, they're really strict about it.

15:25
So I think Joe stole some pebbles I think. Yeah, he was saying some stones. I think anything, man.

15:32
It was a bottle of... actually I did get one thing but I had to leave it in Belfast because I couldn't take it out of the plane. We had the bottle of whiskey from Carastus Keep that they used on the set. And I took it from the set when Robert Pugel got killed off. But I couldn't fly it back over because there was alcohol in your bag. Hey ho, what are you going to do?

15:52
do you have to see how big it be the show has gone especially up to this point uh... and you know you mentioned that your character met his demise around season four five do you ever look back in it but you know he's watching it now and just seeing you how big it's gone and think and i kind of wish my character lives a little further are you happy with the way you can't just

16:17
it's really nice to be able to say I did this time on it and it was awesome but it's not my defining life in my last eight years. And you're a playwright if I'm correct right? You have like three plays underneath your belt at least according to research I've found. Three. Three right? Way more than that. Oh okay my apologies. So when it comes to your your plays if people love Game of Thrones like they do is there a recommendation for some of the plays that you've written that you've

16:45
that you would think, hey, if you like Game of Thrones, you would also like what I've worked on outside of Game of Thrones? Maybe. I don't write fantasy, so... Um... Yeah. Uh... I wrote this... musical last year at the Bus Theatre in London. Called All If All Was Everything, which I think is awesome. You can find the soundtrack here and the play script online if you're interested. Um... Yeah. Uh, if you like, like... characters like Arya or...

17:13
says he wrote this play called no one's of its revolution was played the hampsons theater in twenty eighteen which is a all female play about uh... cost division i was expected of what we export what's the support what how rich people to see that you supposed all people on what the reality of that relationship is i guess uh... so those two plays for do you ever get to a point where

17:41
the Game of Thrones fame is almost too much where you're like, you know, I've got a lot of other things I'm working on too. I mean, do you ever get tired of talking about Rast and Game of Thrones? Absolutely. Absolutely. I mean, like, it's a very small part of my career, but it's the biggest show of all time. You know, so that's bound to define how the world sees you. But I'm really proud to be part of it. I'm really proud to have played a role in it massively. And I think I'm fortunate to say it doesn't.

18:11
It's not the entirety of what I've done, but I'm really proud to be involved in it. That's awesome. So I had spoken to Joseph and he brought up this very heartwarming memory he had of walking into Castle Black for the first time. And I want to ask you the same thing too. Is there a memory from your time on set or when you were filming the show that you still kind of reflect on or you still kind of cherish? Yeah, there's two actually. There was one.

18:38
We were both in Iceland. There was one time we went, we took this drive to take us around the mountains of Iceland. We found this underground pool. It went to me with James Cosmo and John Bradley and Mark Kitt in this underground pool. I think that was like, just in reflection, an unbelievable privilege. And that evening, we saw the Northern Lights in the middle of nowhere in Iceland. And I was like, this is kind of something I never would have done on my own. So that's probably.

19:07
That was awesome. That's fantastic. I want to thank you so much for taking the time to talk to me. Do you want to go and let people know where they can find you on social media or some of the bodies of work that you've got going on that you can talk about? Sure. I mean, you can find everything I'm doing on my website, which is luke I'm on Twitter, Northern Luke, on Instagram at lukeedwardbarnes. Awesome. Luke, I want to thank you so much. Thank you. Enjoy the rest of your Collecticon weekend. Thanks.

19:34
Short Box Nation, I am sitting here with Richard Brake, AKA Joe Chill from Batman Begins, Doomhead from the Rob Zombie 31 movie, and of course, the Night King in seasons four and five of Game of Thrones. Richard, how are you enjoying Collective Con? Having a great time, actually. Really great time. Fantastic. You know what I like about it? It's not a massive con, but it's, so in a way, what you're getting is more time.

20:04
with everybody. You know, so it's nice to be, we're busy, but we're not so busy that we have to go, oh, sorry, you gotta move on to the next person, so we can chat, people can ask a lot of questions, and well, generally, spend some time with us, which is fun for us, and I hope for them. I think a lot of people are like, I am sick of listening to that guy talk. I really wish I could just shut up so I could move on. No, actually, you had me in Stitches at the Game of Thrones panel. You really were killing it, man. And I got a compliment, man. You do make time for every single person.

20:32
and i think that's a really important thing yeah i think that these kind of area i mean to me on i wanted the important things when i started doing was realizing that you know people really you know this pay a lot to come in the bailout your photographs and and and it's a is a big thing and and what i've discovered from spending the time with people really trying to give them some attention really answer the questions is for and and and and uh...

21:01
is how much these shows have impacted them that I've been in, for example, Game of Thrones, or if they're Rob Zombie fans, or just, for me it's incredibly rewarding to have the experience of talking to people and seeing how this, say, Game of Thrones, for example, how it's affected them and how it's, yeah, in many cases really changed their lives and been a part of their lives. I was just saying to Paul Blackthorne, who's here as well, he's a good friend of mine, we're both agreeing, actually, Paul's show, Arrow.

21:29
was a big part of my life with my 16 year old when he was like 12. We used to watch that together and spend a lot of time. It's, you know, he's gone through a divorce at the time where I was. And so he was, um, and you know, that was a real bonding thing for us to, to watch that show together. You know, now he's 16 and it's a completely uncool show for 16 year old, but when he was 12, it was a very cool show. And so we would spend time and I was telling Paul that and saying, you know, and I've known Paul a long time before that. I've known Paul for like 20 years, but I was saying how, you know, thanking him for that.

21:58
you know my chance to do that people are having the chance to do the same to me so you know we we go watch game of thrones we love watching it together my family watches game of thrones together thank you so much now watch with my mom my mom you know all that kind of stuff really it you know before scott conventions we as actors never knew that you know we didn't know the impact or work was having in film and television on stage we do more but i feel the television we don't know and so these things are great opportunities for me to hear that

22:26
I love that. Does it ever surprise you the amount of fandom that a character like the Night King has? Especially considering that you don't really have any lines. Like, does it ever surprise you like, wow, you guys really like this character? I didn't even say anything. It surprised me. I'll tell you what, he seems to have grown in popularity a little bit, I've noticed too over the last couple years. You know, obviously he's got more of a story line, as it were, become more aware of who he is. But I think...

22:51
It doesn't really, it doesn't surprise me because you know I also play, like you mentioned, Rob Zombie 31 and other films with Rob and I play some people that are just as nasty or from you know many ways than Night King and people love them. So I think we have a tendency to really love the dark side of these shows and of these characters and I think again that goes back to the need for us, all of us, get a kind of catharsis out of seeing.

23:16
you're seeing the bad guy and like in the bag and we all kinda like the bad guy because we all want to be a little bit of a bad guy i get the great job of pretending to be the bad guy get to play the bad guy i was joke that i did a film called Hannibal Rising and uh... about ten twelve years ago and uh... in that film i i eat Hannibal's sister actually so i would go to work and i would eat a child and then i will come home and play with my kids you know so that was kind of my catharsis was actually a little

23:46
Is it harder or easier playing a character like that has lines or a script versus someone like a Night King who is more about the body and the actions? Yeah, I don't think there's one is any easier than the other. They're just very different. With the Night King, I think it is challenging. It was particularly challenging at first trying to embody that darkness and really go, you know, it was when I...

24:14
After the first day shooting Hardhome, I really went home and thought, what is this about? And I really... It really dawned on me that, you know, it's a show about many things, but one of which is good and evil, and he's the most evil character in this universe. He's the darkest, you know, character here. The most... You know, an epitome of our greatest fear, really, which isn't just death, but that actually beyond death is something even worse. We become like an army of...

24:43
dead, you know, we become somebody's slave after, you know, it's a quite hideous concept. And it was my job as an actor to embody that sort of place of darkness. And that to me is difficult to do in some ways, but another way is I've done it so much, I'm able to kind of find it is just be in a very dark place. But to do it without any lines or whatnot, it's hard, but you just, you know, that's the fun of it.

25:07
How would you unwind after having to be in the head of such a dark and evil character? It's weird. I just because I think I've just been doing it so long. It just naturally kind of goes away. I say that, but then I just played a character in Rob Zombie's Three from Hell, which is out in October, called Foxy. And my girlfriend, as much as a couple of months ago, would even say to me.

25:32
we just stop being Foxy please. Because I would just occasionally burst into Foxy. Yeah, I'd be me and then all of a sudden a little Foxyism would come out. And she would say, please stop. What's Foxy doing here? So I think they sort of exist within me, these characters. But most of the time I can keep them at bay and just be myself. You brought up hard home, so I have to ask how.

25:56
often do you get asked whether you're at a bar or just anywhere on public to do the infamous hand raise infamous night? You know, I get asked a lot of conventions because obviously everybody knows that it's me. Luckily, the prosthetics means that I don't get stopped in Starbucks every week. Yeah, that has to do it. Otherwise, I'd probably lose my mind if people could recognize me on the street because I'd be asked to do it a lot. I actually don't mind doing it. I do it quite often in photos when people want them. That's what makes me laugh.

26:21
So, you know, speaking about prosthetics, I think the Night King is probably one of the most visually appealing elements of the show Game of Thrones. Can you talk about, well, can you tell us about just what a normal day on set preparing to get into costume or prosthetics and the makeup? I mean, how intense was that? Yeah, basically you sort of wake up.

26:43
go there by three o'clock or so, you do six hours in the prosthetic chair, so you'd sit there in the makeup chair for six hours while they put the prosthetics on. Then you put the costume on. The costume is made of a kind of iron. Wow. So it would actually be very heavy and also cause me to bleed, because I'm quite skinny, so there would be like a lot of blood pouring out. Skinny man problems. Yeah, exactly. It's terrible.

27:08
And then the contact lenses are the biggest you can put a human eye. So they're absolutely agonizing. They're actually the most uncomfortable part of the whole thing. I have fake teeth as well, obviously. So eating is pretty much non-existent. And then fingernails, like way out, really, really long fingernails, which

27:27
means that I can't really open a bookbottle, take my clothes off or anything, a belt buckle, or do any kind of things like that. So, kind of makes going to the toilet quite difficult. In fact, if I do go to the toilet, I'd probably sever my penis because of the nails. So, I basically try not to eat or drink very much during that whole shoot time, because I have to kind of monitor how much we're going to lose, because they would literally have to shut the production down if I went and...

27:52
I'm a little shy, so I don't think I could actually come out of a porta potty waiting for 500 extras staring at me. So it's really, it's grueling and it takes two hours to take it all off. Knowing as intense as it is to even get prepared to play a nightclub. I mean, do you ever miss it? Do you miss? No, I don't miss that aspect of it. I mean, I was very grateful to do it. I mean, I was saying to somebody earlier that.

28:15
And that is a grueling process. And I was actually afterwards offered, as you can imagine, as they do in Hollywood, once they see you do one thing, then they keep offering you. So I was offered a lot of jobs that involved prosthetics, and I turned everyone down. I didn't even read the scripts half the time because I felt I didn't really want to come tight cast in that. There's a great guy named Doug Jones, who I met many years ago in a movie called Doom, who was in...

28:44
recently in that Oscar-winning film, The Shape of Water, I think, and he's an incredible man. He's done this for a decade. He's an amazing, amazing actor. And I'm not anywhere in that kind of category. So I really didn't want to even begin to go in there. But for this particular show, really, because it's such an incredible show and has really in touch people in this way that nothing has, to go through all of that work.

29:13
uh... the prosthetic work it was worth it to for that reason if it was any less of a show or less of a character it wouldn't be now i was so so very grateful that that that asked me to do it but i don't think i would do it again i don't blame not after all that it doesn't sound like it was too hard to channel you know anger or when i especially being you know just uncomfortable

29:34
Probably, you know, me. I sit in the corner thinking, oh, I just want this to end. And then I go and just scare John. I'm like, that's no problem, man. I'll scare anybody right now. So if you had the opportunity to play a different character with actual lines, who else do you think you would pick? You know, I saw it. I mean, there's so many great characters now. I love Joffrey, obviously. You know, I'm about 40 years too old. But if I was in a magic world where I could turn myself into a young man, I thought the character of Joffrey was great.

30:01
But again, you say that, like would I like to play it? To be honest, I wouldn't because again, even though I was magically being able to be 18 again or whatever he was when he filmed it, the young lad, I can't remember Gleason, but anyway, he's a fantastic young actor. He's not even acting anymore. I heard he's now gone to university. He's not really, but he's, yeah, I thought he was such a brilliant young man. Did such a great job with that role.

30:28
And I hated him so much. I think we all hear this answer. Only a good actor can do that. And to be so young when he did it. I love Maisie who plays Arya. I thought she's a fantastic young actor as well. And that's again the show. You say you'd want to play these other characters, but the truth is the ones you want to play have all been so well played by other actors that when it comes to it, there's no one I would rather play than who I did play. That's fair. That's awesome.

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So I gotta ask a question that a fan had submitted. I told him, you know, I might be able to interview Richard Brake. What do you guys want me to ask him? So the question is, you play Joe Chill, the man responsible for murdering Bruce Wayne's parents. You also played a character that would later go on in Game of Thrones to kill a dragon. The question is, who's next on the hit list, man? Yeah, that's a good question. I don't know.

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Were you a fan of Batman or the comics prior to getting into the role? I was a huge fan. Not as an adult so much, but as a kid, he was without a doubt my favorite. I was going to say superhero, but he's not really a superhero. He's Batman. By far. I was a huge fan when I was younger. I think I was always attracted to the...

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There's a darkness to Batman, which obviously we all know is just such a darker comic than a lot of the other ones. I hated Superman as a kid, you know, and but Batman was my thing. So obviously as a child, I wanted to be Batman, you know, in fact, that's one of the reasons I think I was always meant to be an actor is I was obsessed with being other people. Like I was pretending to be Batman, whereas most kids would go play Batman.

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I would be Batman all the time. Like I wouldn't stop pretending to be Batman. I would go to sleep being Batman or wake up and I was obsessed with him. Or then it would be somebody else, a six minute old man with James Bond. But basically Batman was a big one, kept coming back. So when I had the opportunity to be the man who killed his parents.

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I wish I was Batman, but you know what? I'll take the man who killed his parents any day of the week. I'll take anything I can. It was great. It was a real honor. And I also made my kids look a lot cooler when they were in the playground too, I guess. But there you go. That is awesome. Richard, what are you working on now? Where can people find you soon? A lot of stuff. I have a lot coming out. I've done Rob Zombie's Three from Hell, like I mentioned, is coming out in October. So anyone who...

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is familiar with him at all will know that uh... and those that aren't like any kind of horror film he's just a master master director i always say is my favorite director to work with and i work with still burger work with like really scott worked with branda palmer you know some amazing directors and i'm not going to be known anyway saying i haven't enjoyed working with them but i love uh... robson be so incredibly uh... imaginative and creative and inspiring for everybody works for him so we have his new film

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All of us really think it's going to be his best yet. And also on top of that, I did a movie called Perfect Skin, which is a small British independent film, but really been well received at festivals all over the world, actually. And that is coming out in the States sometime soon. It's out already in the UK. And then I've got a TV series called Sanctuary that will be out soon and a series called Cursed for Netflix.

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and then a movie with Blake Lively called The Rhythm Section, which I show up and do a little bit of badness. And then, I got quite a few other bits and bobs that I think I've forgotten that I popped. Good friend of mine is an actor named Eddie Morrison, who is in Deadpool 2, and he's on Raid on of it regularly. And he coined the phrase pop-up actor. You know, we pop up and do a bit of something. In my case, usually a bit of damage.

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and then despair, but we're all pop-up actors. I love it. I love being a pop-up actor. I'll ask one last Game of Thrones question, and I'll let you go, man. Do you still watch the show? More or less, have you noticed, since your character had exited? No, about the same, pretty much. I try and keep up with it for sure, definitely. Do you have any crazy theories that you wanna share regarding the 19? I couldn't even begin to try and guess. I think the theories that I've heard are so crazy, I couldn't even imagine trying to beat those.

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Yeah, gotcha. Well, look, Richard, thank you so much for taking the time to interview us or letting us interview you. Do you have social media that people can follow? Yeah, I'm on all Twitter and Instagram, so you can follow me on that for sure. Richard, thank you so much. Enjoy the rest of your Clicktone weekend. Thank you. There you have it, Short Box Nation. That's the end of the show. Thank you for hanging out. Thanks for being here. And a special shout out if you made it this far.

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you