Sunday Mirror (Northern Ireland)
One day I ran a hols cottage.. next I was a sword for hire
GoT’s Jerome was set to quit acting
It’s a hard job to finish off Game of Thrones, it will always be a part of me JEROME FLYNN ON MAKING FINAL SERIES OF THE FANTASY
BEFORE landing the role of sword fighter Bronn in Game of Thrones, actor Jerome Flynn admits he had been ready to cut and run.
Since his breakthrough part in ITV’s London’s Burning – which led to Soldier Soldier and a singing partnership with co-star Robson Green – he had found little to entice him back in front of the camera.
“I didn’t say goodbye to acting, but there wasn’t anything being offered that excited me,” he says.
“I didn’t actually know if I was going to carry on. I hadn’t been on screen for 10 years.”
Instead, nature-lover Jerome had taken himself off to Wales with plans to start a new career.
He says: “I bought an old farm and I’d been renovating it.
“I set up a holiday cottage business with friends – I’m a country boy and love being in nature.”
But all that changed when he was offered the part of wisecracking, prostitute-loving Bronn – which, he says, “changed my life”.
EXPERIENCE
Jerome, 56, adds: “It’s opened up so many doors, given me some beautiful friends and amazing experiences.”
But starring in one of the world’s biggest TV franchises is not the only thing that has changed the actor’s life.
Breaking down in tears, he speaks of a recent trip to South Sudan with charity World Vision to meet war-scarred children.
Jerome says: “I was deeply impacted by the unimaginable horrors.
“It hit me in a way I’ve never been affected before. It went deep into my heart.”
The East African country has been gripped by a five-year civil war which has killed at least 400,000 people.
More than 19,000 children have been conscripted into armed groups.
Jerome adds: “I spent time with four siblings who one day had gone to the vegetable allotment, maybe half an hour’s walk from their village.
“They were kidnapped and forced to go with armed rebels – forced to fight, and kill, and to watch other children get killed for not keeping up.
“It would have been impossible for anyone to go out there and sit in front of those children and not have their heart wrenched open.
“To have them in front of me telling their story… their brothers and sisters were still out there. I spent hours with them and got to know them. It was such a sad, awful story.
“I don’t think I could have prepared myself for that.”
Jerome has no children himself but is a godfather to six and very close to his nieces and nephews. He has been involved with World Vision since sponsoring two children with them a decade ago.
And he is urging people to donate to the charity – or to sponsor a child themselves – to help others traumatised by war.
Jerome says: “The scale of the problem is huge and they need more money to continue the work they’re doing. I spent my birthday in March with these wonderful children and it was the most bittersweet and moving birthday I’ve ever had.
“The spirit, strength and resilience of these kids is incredible. I came back from South Sudan with a huge gift – a lesson to value all that I have.
“It really put things into perspective. It was like one big reflection on life.”
After nine years on Game of Thrones, Jerome’s own life is at a turning point – as the new season eight will be the final one. Last Sunday’s first episode on Sky Atlantic, starring Kit Harington and Emilia Clarke, pulled in 17.4 million viewers.
Jerome says: “It’s going to be extraordinary. The first episode was the best I’ve ever seen, it’s beautifully done.
“It’s a hard job to finish off Game of Thrones, with the whole world waiting. It will always be a part of me.”
And rather than walk away from acting, the star says he is very much for hire again.
He says: “Game of Thrones has opened doors to some great stuff. I’m getting offered stuff I never would have.”
And his next part is another fantasy – one of his own. He will play a cowboy in the dramatisation of Stephen King’s seven-book Dark Tower series.
Jerome says: “I’ve always said I’d like to play a cowboy – and now one has come along. I’m excited for that.”