Richard Madden is giddy at the prospect of going dark. The 32-year-old Scotsman, known for playing doomed scion Robb Stark on Game of Thrones and the trauma-stricken David Budd on the BBC’s Bodyguard, is eager to shed his broken-good-guy image. “I really enjoyed being a bastard,” he says, referring to his role as John Reid, the rebrand manager and former lover of Elton John (played by Taron Egerton) in this month’s fantastical and much-anticipated Rocketman biopic. Before the film’s debut, though, he sat with ELLE in an ode to his two earlier roles to read fan theories about what’s next in Westoros, and what’s in store for our favorite PS. Is Julia really dead? What’s up with Vicky’s mysterious boyfriend? What will happen when Sansa and Dany’s worlds collide? And who will sit upon the Iron Throne?

Interviews From 2019