“Game of Thrones”star Richard Madden told me Thursday that he and Jenna-Louise Coleman, who was recently named the new companion on “Doctor Who,” are indeed dating.
The couple had been spotted in New York earlier this month, and he accompanied her to the London premiere of “Titanic 3D,” but you just never know until you ask. With that bit of info confirmed, I snuck in one last question, asking Madden if his romantic connection might mean a guest-starring role on a future episode of “Doctor Who.”
“Maybe!” the 26-year-old said, laughing. “I’d love to be in ‘Doctor Who.’ It’s one of my favorite shows. I love that thing.
“I think I was more excited than she was [when she got the role]. I was like ‘What?!'”
Coleman is set to begin her stint as the Doctor’s (Matt Smith) companion, replacing Karen Gillan and Arthur Darvill, sometime in the middle of the upcoming seventh season, which airs in the U.S. on BBC America. You may have seen her recently on ABC’s miniseries “Titanic,” in which she played Annie Desmond.
As for Madden, you can see twice as much of him the next two Sundays. Not only does he continue his stellar work as King in the North Robb Stark in “Game of Thrones” on HBO, he’s also terrific as Capt. Michael Weir in the two-part World War I drama “Birdsong,” a PBS Masterpiece presentation airing at 8 p.m. April 22 and 29 on WTTW in Chicago.
Both characters are young men fighting in brutal wars, but Madden doesn’t see many similarities in the two.
“I think they are completely different beasts, totally different characters,” he said. “I love Michael Weir as a character. I thought he was so great.
“I think maybe the similarities, they both have such big hearts; they just show them in different ways. And they’re both in situations that they wouldn’t choose to be in. The similarities probably end there; they both go in very different directions.”
Read the rest of my interview with Richard Madden.
