When Richard Madden landed the role of Robb Stark onGame of Thrones, his whole life changed.
During an appearance onThe Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallonon Thursday, the actor revealed that he was living off of about $5 a day before he was cast in the HBO show, which went on to become a mega hit.
“I had two options: I could either buy one meal, or a newspaper and a pint,” he recalled. “It went the other way usually.”
“Then I got that phone call [aboutThrones] and I was on my last month’s rent,” he continued. “I asked my agent for an advance and that helped me get through the next little bit.”
So what would he have done if he hadn’t gotten his big break?
Madden, 32, played Robb Stark for three seasons, from 2011-2013, until his character wastragically killed offduring the Red Wedding.
Richard Madden onGame of Thrones.Helen Sloan/HBO
“I thought this would just be a little show in the U.K.,” he told hostJimmy Fallonon Thursday. “And then it kind of got carried away with itself, so I was thrilled about that.”
Richard Madden inBodyguard.Sophie Mutevelian/World Productions/Netflix
“Just before we were going, he said, ‘You’ve got to write a speech in case you win,’ ” he recalled. “I was like, ‘I’m not going to win this, not getting near it.’ He was like, ‘Just write a speech, write a list of people you want to say thank you to.’ ”
“Then I won it and I turned toJulianne Moore, which is kind of surreal enough, and she was like, ‘Congratulations!’ ” he continued. “I was like, ‘Thank God Dad told me to write that speech.’ ”
The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallonairs weeknights (11:35 p.m. ET) on NBC.
source: people.com
