What was the hardest scene to film?
The Kraken, over the water and fighting the animal and I'm just completely soaking wet in leather ... yeah, that was pretty difficult.
How did you find playing against the special effects in that scene?
Well, everything was real, except the tentacles and the creature, but we were really fighting guys over the water pits, standing on two-by-fours and trying not to slip and kill ourselves or skin ourselves. And to fight them while we fight this imaginary character, it was kind of challenging.
Speaking of trying not to skin yourselves, did you get any injuries on set?
Oh yeah! You're like, bleeding non-stop. There's always a constant flow of blood coming out of your body.
Do you have a particular favourite injury?
I don't think any of them were my favourites - I hated all of them. I had a broken rib. You get skinned all over. The hardest ones are the pulls, like when you mess up your spine or you pull your groin or something like that, because then you can't walk properly.
You've got a scar above your eye. That's not from Conan, is it?
No, no. I got 140 stitches to put my face back together after an accident.
Did they cut anything out of the film that you hated to lose?
The opening fight with the pirate thing, I kill like 16 guys. I was just decapitating people and it was fun, but they just said it looked like I was having too much fun. So they felt that wasn't a good idea, but hopefully you'll see it on the extras.
I was just decapitating people and it was fun, but they just said it looked like I was having too much fun...
Were you around for any of the scenes with Leo Howard playing your younger self?
Yeah, I spent a lot of time with Leo, just because obviously that's me as a child and I wanted to sear his memories onto mine and also we just worked very closely to get that look and the way we walked and talked. And I think he really – he just killed it.
So if you were on set for Leo's scenes, I guess that meant you also got to meet Ron Perlman?
I did, yeah. Ron's a funny, funny guy, man. It's classic. He's one of the funniest guys I've ever met, I think.
You mentioned the classic Hollywood films you used to watch with your mother. Do you remember the film that made you want to become an actor?
Erm ... what film made me want to be an actor? Gosh. I know one film that just made me – that just took things to a whole other level for me. I was already an actor, but when I saw Midnight Express, it was like, 'Holy Moly ...' That's film, you know? And maybe A Woman under the Influence. Those two movies, it was like, wow.
Midnight Express seems to have had a big effect on many people. I know a few people who have it as their favourite film.
Yeah, I mean you just don't see them going, 'Cut – I'll be in my trailer.' It's like, you're living that. It's pretty intense.
What's your lasting memory going to be of working on Game of Thrones?
It's just the greatest thing I've ever done. I've never been a part of something that's so – it has such great writing and storytelling and characters. You could show up at work and just see some amazing actors work – it was truly an honour to be a part of it. I'm just excited to be in the show. I've never been to an audition that I've wanted more in my life, so just succeeding as far as the audition process was a true feat for me.
Plus, Game of Thrones lead, as you said, directly to Conan...
Yeah, it did, yeah.