When I was a child, I had difficulty separating actors from the characters they played. You can imagine how often I was taken aback, as actors zigzagged across the spectrum of love, dependent on screenwriters’ whims. I grew out of it eventually. Well, almost. I am feeling that familiar heartbreak again, thanks to a young Welsh actor whose latest character leaves me vexed and outraged. Hello, Iwan Rheon – and welcome to my collection of Confusing Crushes.
I first saw Rheon, 31, in the musical Spring Awakening back in 2009, but he only really made an impression on me in Misfits, E4’s sci-fi comedy-drama. He played Simon – a weird outcast in a group of already weird outsiders. Fans of the show get a dreamy expression when asked about Simon: his character’s evolution was a transformative TV experience. Much of it – from awkward and borderline creepy to swagger-heavy superhero – was due to Rheon’s specific physicality. His sloping shoulders straightened out imperceptibly over the weeks, his smile grew more natural, his blue eyes brightened. And let’s talk about those eyes! They are the eyes of a galago: big and vibrant and mesmerising. And as sadistic Ramsay Bolton in Game Of Thrones, they transmit an unholy glee as he commits a series of awful crimes (rape, torture, murder). I have to force myself to remember him in the 2010 Channel 4 drama I Don’t Care, all tender and a little broken. But I like having to work at it: it’s a reminder that he might be a great actor in the making.
Given the show’s propensity for killing off characters, who knows what’s next for Rheon? No doubt it’ll leave me bemused. I’m OK with that.
