Joe Dempsie became known to a generation as ‘Chris from Skins’, but his other TV pursuits are leaving his new-rave reputation in the dust.
Since leaving the Channel 4 drama 10 years ago in 2008, he’s notched up roles in This Is England ’86, Southcliffe, Doctor Who and global phenomenon Game Of Thrones – having made a return as Gendry to the latter last year after disappearing on a boat in season three.
There’s a mysterious excitement around Gendry as filming continues on the final season, with theories running wild online his character could transform into a major player and end up on the Iron Throne.
Speaking to Metro.co.uk, Joe Dempsie, 30, stays coy when asked about Gendry’s potential as a leader, but he does have extravagant hopes of what it might look like.
‘I really like the idea of it going straight to his head if he became a kind of leader,’ Dempsie says. ‘Turning up in Dalmatian fur and stuff straight away.
‘We’re filming [the final season] now. It’s been a fairly long process. We started in October and we’re potentially not going to be done till summer.
‘The excitement is palpable on set, so just to be involved in something you know is going to cause such a stir. I can only imagine the hysteria there’s going to be by the time the show comes out next year. It’s going to have been such a long wait for everybody and to be a part of it is incredible.’
His three year break from the show proved a blessing in disguise, admitting how he was taking the experience for granted before his lengthy departure.
‘When I reflect on Gendry’s journey through the series I’m increasingly pleased with the way it’s gone on a personal level,’ Dempsie says.
‘When I left the show for a bit after season three, I do think I started to take the show slightly for granted; knowing for July and December I was going to be back on Thrones seeing all my old mates and have a bit of work.
‘It almost got to the point where I would define the success, or otherwise, of my year by what else I’d done work-wise outside Game Of Thrones. I’d almost forget that I’d done it.’
The time out allowed him to appreciate the show as a fan and explore other opportunities, all while a successful show ballooned into an all-encompassing global craze.
‘It meant that I really appreciated it,’ Dempsie said about returning. ‘I really appreciated my time with Kit [Harington], and with Alfie [Allen] and with Gwendoline [Christie] and with Jacob Anderson and Hannah Murray.
‘It made me appreciate everything a lot more. And to have three years out in the middle is probably the safest place for you on Game Of Thrones.
‘To be alive and back when it’s really reaching the end is perfect. It’s been a perfect arc for me.’
Dempsie is now starring in thriller series Deep State, where he plays MI6 spy Harry Clarke opposite Mark Strong and Karima McAdams.
The show represented a new physical challenge, being trained by a stunt team consisting of ex-military forces who helped make the character’s ‘speciality’ seem second nature on-screen.
‘With Harry, it wasn’t a part I felt I had the chance to play before,’ Dempsie says. ‘A young man who is fairly new to his chosen field but it’s a fairly extreme, and it’s one you have to be of a certain disposition to handle.
‘You need to be fairly highly trained, so there’s a level of responsibility which comes with it.’
A big portion of the show was filmed in Casablanca, Morocco, with the locals’ disregard for their filming needs becoming a quality he came to appreciate.
‘It’s a huge, bustling, grimy, working port city,’ Dempsie says. ‘There’s very little of Casablanca the movie in Casablanca the city. But that lent what we were doing the authenticity I think it needed.
‘There were members of our crew who were trying to maintain and manage the location as best as they can, but the reality is in a place like Casablanca, people are just going to walk into your shot and end up in the midst of it.
‘There’s a rebellious streak in the Moroccans I really admire. They don’t really care if you’re in a TV show, they’ve got stuff to do.’
Dempsie is part of a treasured original Skins alumni who have become worldwide stars, alongside the likes of Dev Patel, Nicholas Hoult, Daniel Kaluuya and Kaya Scodelario.
They all keep in contact via a WhatsApp group and see each other ‘as much as they can’, with their experience being something they’ll never forget.
‘It was a really intense few years for a lot of us because the show was aimed at a very specific teen demographic and it hit that right between the eyes,’ he says. ‘It seemed like everybody at that age had at least seen it or knew who we were. We didn’t really have any preparation for that.
‘They’re really formative years for anybody those late teens and early twenties so I think we all feel like we’ve grown up together. That experience that we shared is something that we’re always going to cherish and always keep us mates I think.’
You might think worldwide fame with Game Of Thrones would create a new level of crazy, but his role of Gendry isn’t the one giving him flashbacks when he’s walking down the high street.
‘I still steer clear of Topshop in Oxford Circus because I remember those years during Skins – it was like having the entire audience crammed into one massive building,’ he jokes. ‘My girlfriend at the time used to spend a good hour in there to pick a dress for the weekend and it was a nightmare.
‘Even though everyone was lovely and it was never like being in Skins gave me any aggro or hassle, it was just a lot to try and deal with at 19 when you’re completely unprepared for it. With the Thrones audience, it’s slightly older – for me it’s not quite as full on.
‘Usually when I’m just going about my daily business buying a pint of milk or whatever, it’s during those moments I thank my lucky stars I’m not Kit Harington,’ he adds. ‘From when I left the show to going back in season seven, it has become this juggernaut that has changed all of those main cast who have been there from the start.
‘Life is crazy for them. I’m quite glad it’s not something I have to deal with.’
With a number of planned Game Of Thrones spin-offs set to fill gaps in Westeros lore, it begs the biggest question of all – will we ever find out what happened during Gendry’s boating journey?
‘I will be watching Castaway as research for my impending and inevitable spin off,’ he jokes.
Deep State airs on Fox in the UK Thursdays at 9pm.
MORE: Deep State has been renewed for a second season already
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