For three years, Iwan Rheon reigned terror on Game of Thrones as the deplorable Ramsay Bolton, one of the most abhorrent characters in TV history.
It might be eight years since Ramsay met a gruesome end in the 2016 episode Battle of the Bastards, but he still remains one of the most hated fictional villains of all time.
In his latest role, Iwan enters yet another bloodthirsty world, transporting viewers back to the era of ancient Rome.
Despite the manipulative demeanour of his character Tenax – who runs a lucrative gambling ring with patrons betting on the lives of chariot racers and gladiators – the Welsh actor insisted to Metro.co.uk that this isn’t simply a case of Ramsay Bolton 2.0.
‘There’s a sort of ambition and ruthlessness that they both probably share, but it comes from a very, very different place,’ the 39-year-old explained.
‘Tenax doesn’t do what he’s doing because he enjoys it and he’s just evil and he just likes causing pain.’
Ramsay, on the other hand, relished in dishing out pain on Game of Thrones.
He was initially introduced on the fantasy series as a mysterious character, who appeared to try and help Theon Greyjoy (Alfie Allen) escape when he had been taken hostage.
However, it turned out in the end that he was in fact Theon’s captor, in addition to being the illegitimate son of the ruthless Roose Bolton (Michael McElhatton), who helped the Lannisters kill members of the Stark family at the horrific Red Wedding.
After torturing and castrating Theon, Ramsay inflicts further pain on Sansa Stark (Sophie Turner), when he repeatedly abuses her after their wedding.
Finally, at the Battle of the Bastards between Ramsay and Jon Snow (Kit Harington), the former meets a gruesome end, being ripped apart by his own hounds under the watchful eye of Sansa.
When viewers first start watching Those About To Die, which also stars Sir Anthony Hopkins as the Roman Emperor Vespasian, they might assume that Tenax has similar callous ways to Ramsay.
So, Iwan made sure to set the record straight when discussing his new series.
With Tenax, he explained, ‘it’s all calculated. It’s all about business. This is how you get on in this world’.
‘He’s a product of his environment,’ he continued. ‘He’s had to fight his way through living on the street as a kid to where he’s got to and where he wants to go. It all comes from a place of well, this is how it is. He doesn’t do it because he wants to.’
The Misfits star added that when audiences are first introduced to Tenax, they might jump to conclusions about the part.
‘Obviously at the beginning, people will of course go, “Oh, he’s just doing that again.” But I think as you watch the series it really becomes clear that he is very different to Ramsay Bolton, I don’t think there’s anything similar about them,’ he emphasised.
Iwan was being interviewed by Metro.co.uk alongside his Those About To Die co-star Sara Martins, who plays Cala in the series, a woman who will go to the ends of the Earth to rescue her children, one of which enters the arena as a gladiator.
Cala ends up becoming entangled in Tenax’s scheming web, and has a few tricks up her sleeve as well to help her survive in the dog-eat-dog world of ancient Rome.
‘Cala, amongst all the characters in the series and in Rome at the time, she’s not driven by power. She’s not running after money. She’s not running after power through fame or through politics,’ Death in Paradise star Sara, 46, explained.
‘She’s just there for the sake of her children.’
Their ambition allows Tenax and Cala to form an unlikely connection. But can they truly trust each other, given they have different motives?
Those About To Die is available to stream from Friday July 19 on Prime Video.
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