Manhattan star Harry Lloyd: ‘It’s great that people talk about TV dramas like books’

The London actor stars in a new US drama about the race to build an atomic bomb
Miranda Bryant5 January 2016

Game of Thrones star Harry Lloyd said he welcomes the revolution of television drama which he said is a positive change from when viewers were hooked on reality shows.

The 32-year-old Londoner, who shot to fame as the ruthless Viserys Targaryen in the HBO series and is now in US drama Manhattan, said when reality television was at its height of popularity, he was worried good dramas might stop getting made.

He told the Standard: “I remember thinking 10 or so years ago when reality TV was coming in that drama would never be made. I thought because reality TV gets so many viewers, why would fiction be made?

“But the fact that people are talking about the drama like it’s a book they’re reading, rather than who was chucked out the night before - it’s great.”

Although people’s viewing habits are changing, he said films will continue to be made.

“There’s a very good reason why we like stories in two-hour chunks. Whether or not we’ll go to the cinema in 30 years I don’t know but I think the medium will always be there.”

Lloyd, who is currently watching The Sopranos, said the popularity of television drama is “great” for actors.

Manhattan, created and written by Sam Shaw and directed by Thomas Schlamme of The West Wing, is set during the race to build the world’s first atomic bomb.

The series, which has already had success in the US, stars House of Cards actress Rachel Brosnahan, Michael Chernus of Orange is the New Black, and British actress Olivia Williams. It follows the stories of the scientists and their families in a remote location in New Mexico.

Lloyd, who is related to author Charles Dickens, said he was fascinated by the subject and enjoyed going on hikes with Williams on days off during filming.

He said: “Me and Olivia got along really well. We were filming in the desert. On our days off there’s wonderful hiking country around there, she’s fantastic.”

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Lloyd also starred in The Theory of Everything alongside Oscar-winner and fellow British actor Eddie Redmayne, played Harry Percy in BBC series Wolf Hall, was Bafta-nominated for his performance in Channel 4’s The Fear and featured in Supreme Tweeter, a three-part web series he co-created and launched in 2015.

In the West End he has starred in productions including The Duchess of Malfi at the Old Vic and A View From The Bridge at Duke of York’s.

Manhattan premieres January 5 in the UK, on BT’s AMC, at 9pm

Follow Miranda Bryant on Twitter: @mirandeee

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