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[title]Jacob Anderson has been around the world a few times, lived in all four corners of London and crossed Westeros as one of Game of Thrones’ most enduring characters. But he’s never been on the London Eye before – at least, not until Time Out created a boudoir on a pod, handed him a pair of fancy pyjamas and invited him to take the ultimate downtempo ride. ‘I’ve been past it a lot but I’ve never been on it,’ he says of the photoshoot venue. ‘It was pretty surreal.’
The singer-actor-writer has the ultimate modern-day Dick Whittington backstory. Born and raised in Bristol, he moved to London as a restlessly creative 17-year-old, wanting to act and do music and generally ‘get stuff made’. Seventeen years on, it’s mission accomplished.
As an actor, you know him best as Unsullied warrior Grey Worm over six seasons of Game of Thrones, a series mainstay and cult hero all wrapped in one fetching leather tunic (check out ‘Grey Worm being adorable for five minutes straight’ – one million views on YouTube – for proof of the latter). Now he’s been making waves as the less adorable but equally striking pale-eyed bloodsucker Louis de Pointe du Lac in AMC’s acclaimed series Interview With the Vampire. It’s the queer-centred take on Anne Rice’s novel that Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise’s 1994 movie version emphatically wasn’t.
I was in the town where anything felt possible
As a musician, he records as Raleigh Ritchie, a pseudonym he pinched from Bill Murray and Luke Wilson’s character names in The Royal Tenenbaums. ‘I was a Wes Anderson obsessive as a teenager,’ he explains. ‘His films are about dysfunctional families but they come in this really bright package, and I do that in my music – talk about really raw things but try to make them nice to listen to.’
Sure enough, his soul and R&B-infused songs mix lush orchestration with an emotional sincerity that can turn tales of struggle into life-affirming anthems. His debut record You’re a Man Now, Boy got the ball rolling in 2016, and Andy followed in 2020, an equally tender-hearted collection of songs that were partly in conversation with his beloved grandfather. This summer, he’s collected some unreleased songs and live tracks into a new EP, Dead Ends and Diversions. The tracks date back ‘nine or ten years’ and coincide with the re-release of his debut record earlier this year. ‘I thought it would be cool to look back at the same period,’ he explains of this confessional but panoramic collection of ‘lost tracks’. ‘Ever since I was a kid I’ve been fascinated with things that have been locked away in a vault.’
Oh, and he’s also a dad to two daughters with War and Peace actress Aisling Loftus. At the time of our interview he’s hopping off the Hammersmith & City line to do a summer camp pick-up. Between sorting family logistics, he chatted about his music, his memories of Game of Thrones and his love for his adopted hometown.
What came first: your love of music or acting?
Neither, it’s all the same thing. I use all of it as an outlet to figure stuff out. Growing up, the only way I could really relate to the world was through storytelling and music, so I think it was inevitable that I was going to do something to do with that. And I’m not good at idle moments.
You’ve described the songs on your new EP as ‘misfit siblings’. What unites them?
I would never have put anything on there that didn’t resonate with me in some way. I’m a big fan of deliberate sequencing to tell a story from start to finish, which is a bit harder when you’re collecting things from disparate places. We didn’t change any of the songs but we had an incredible mixer who went in and made them sound good.
Your lyrics are nakedly emotional. Is it important to you to reach out to people in pain through your music and give them something to connect with?
Yeah, I think that’s the ultimate goal for me. It’s not the only reason that I write – I do it as an outlet and to try to comfort myself – but hopefully someone listens to me being honest and it helps them. It’s when I feel understood that I really connect to things.
Do you think it helps people get through their stuff?
I hope so, and there were many before me. The one that instantly comes to mind is Amy Winehouse. I’m not trying to put myself in such legendary company but I remember when I released my first album [in 2016], I was still getting notes like: ‘No one wants to hear this, it’s so sad and miserable.’ It’s really heartening that it’s the norm now for people to use music as an expression of their anxieties or fears. I started during the Disclosure dance era and we needed to be writing songs that were going to be making people feel happy. I’m there writing songs that are like: ‘I don’t know about you, but I’m feeling really messed up.’ [Laughs]
You moved from Bristol to London in 2007. What are your memories of that time?
I stayed in a backpackers hostel behind Piccadilly Circus and I remember walking through Soho and having this sense that I was in the town where things got made and anything felt possible. London still feels like a place where anything’s possible.
What was hostel living like?
I spent most of my time in the cinema. I got a lifetime membership to the Prince Charles Cinema with my first [acting] paycheck and I’d just watch films. I spent my money on a pod in the hostel, eating once a day and watching movies, with just enough left to print [script] sides off in an internet café for auditions. I was pretty broke, but I felt like I was working towards something. It felt like an adventure.
I got a lifetime membership to the Prince Charles Cinema with my first paycheck
How has London influenced your songwriting?
It was a very lonely place when I moved here, and loneliness is the source of a lot of my songwriting. But I had a lot of space to think. In London, everyone is ignoring each other but there’s still a sense of togetherness and community. We’re all communally ignoring each other, and that’s a bit of a sweet spot for me. I can’t imagine living in another city.
One of those first paychecks was for The Bill, which is a rite of passage for a lot of British actors. What was that like?
That was my first job! I loved The Bill when I was a kid, so it felt miraculous to be on it. The thing I remember is how early you have to get to set. On my first day, I fell asleep in the make-up chair and woke up with all these cuts and grazes on my face, and I felt faint seeing all this fake blood. I had to go outside to get some air. I had three make-up people fanning me.
Was it a similar double-take when you first put the contact lenses and fangs in for Interview With The Vampire?
Yeah, you can’t see anything really. Everything is cloudy and ill-defined. But I love my contact lenses, I love my fangs. The eyes make you feel alien. I’ve been told they’re intimidating.
Do you have a pair of emergency fangs at home?
Of course I do! I’ve never said this before but because my accent is different in the show, and fangs really affect the way your mouth moves, I’ve occasionally practised my lines with the fangs in at home.
Ever tempted to use them as a parenting tool?
Nah, my eldest daughter would just laugh at me. She loves my contact lenses, though: ‘Dad has funny eyes!’
Has the success of the show opened more doors for you?
I guess it has a little bit, but the show is a bit of a sleeper and I’ve never made ‘career moves’ – I’ll always follow my heart. The few times I’ve done something as an actor that wasn’t right, it itches. I love this stuff too much to treat it like a ladder.
The first thing people say to me is: ‘That last season was bad, wasn’t it?’
It’s an LGBTQ+-centred story. Is it important to you to be a part of queer narratives?
It’s unapologetic about its queerness and that’s beautiful. I see so many stories that skirt around things because they don’t want to offend anyone. My character is a Black creole man and he’s queer and he’s kind of awful, but those things aren’t all tied in together. For me, that’s the dream of representation: that our behaviour isn’t entirely tied in with our identity.
It’s been five years since Game of Thrones ended. Do people still want to talk to you about it?
I only get asked about it in interviews, to be honest. But it was a unique, special thing to have been a part of – and I love Grey Worm. He represented something really powerful: he was a soldier but he was really tender and full of love and loyalty and fragility. I was really proud of that.
How did you find the reaction to the final season?
It’s the first thing people want to tell me: ‘That last season was bad, wasn’t it?’ It doesn’t bother me, it’s just a weird thing to say to somebody who worked on it. The reaction was a bit much, but fair enough! People cared, and it’s cool to be part of something that people care about – whether they love it or hate it. I knew people would have complex feelings.
Where do you go in London for inspiration?
I think it’s the South Bank. Soho will always have a place in my heart because it’s London in capital letters, but South Bank is a cultural hub. And when I lived south, Waterloo felt like the beginning of town.
So you had a south London era?
I did. My early era was Herne Hill, Tulse Hill. Then I moved to Walthamstow and then Goodge Street. I lived in Camden for a year. I’ve been around! Now I’m out west. It’s nice to figure out what feels the most like home.
What’s your go-to London restaurant?
Daroco does amazing pasta. There’s a place called Officina 00 in Old Street and they do incredible pasta, too. Show me where the pasta is, basically.
What would be your dream London venue to play?
I love Brixton Academy. I read the book about it and it’s got such an amazing history. I didn’t know Kentish Town Forum existed until I played there and it’s such a beautiful space. I’ve just done two shows at The Outernet, and that place is incredible. I’d go back there in a heartbeat.
Is there a British film that inspires you?
Something that makes me sad about British cinema is that it isn’t very representative. There weren’t many times growing up that I’d watch a British film and see myself. But Sexy Beast is a pretty perfect film. It grabs you by the head.
Do you think British cinema is getting to grips with that representation problem?
There needs to be more representation in the making of films as well. Film sets need to be more inclusive places to work. Not to trash British films as a whole, but we could do with being ambitious in our storytelling. I’d love to see weirder films. I worked on Alice Lowe’s new film Timestalker and that is super-ambitious, bonkers, funny and kinda heartbreaking. That’s the level of ambition I want to see.
Lastly, did you have an acting hero growing up?
Adrian Lester is the first British actor that comes to mind. [BBC crime drama] Hustle was appointment viewing for me. His character, Mickey Bricks, was the suavest, coolest guy and it was so cool to see someone with style and calmness. I’m still a huge fan of his. He’s hugely underrated. Big up Adrian Lester.
‘Dead Ends and Diversions’ is available to buy, stream and download now. Season 2 of ‘Interview With The Vampire’ is on BBC iPlayer.
Photographer: Jess Hand @jesshandphotography
Design Director: Bryan Mayes @bryanmayesdotcom
Senior Designer: Jamie Inglis @818fpv
Photo Editor: Laura Gallant @lauramgallant
Stylist: Gemma Swan @iamgemmaswan
Stylist Assistants: Silvia Asuquo @asnegreg David St Louis @mr.stlouis
Groomer: Nicola Svensen @nicolasvensen
Location: The London Eye @londoneye
In look one, Jacob wears @teklafabrics pyjamas, necklace by @hattonlabs, ring by @bleueburnham, robe by @latecheckout.issalifestyle, socks by @desmondanddempsey and @uggineurope shoes. In look two, Jacob wears shirt and tie by @etonshirts, rings by @hattonlabs, vest by @cosstores, shorts & shoes by @amiparis. In look three, Jacob wears jumper by @deloresbydelores, shorts by @teklafabrics, jewellery by @bleueburnham and @uggineuropre shoes.