Harry Lloyd has a huge future ahead of him. In April we saw Lloyd star opposite Sean Bean in the eagerly anticipated HBO/Sky Atlantic’s Game of Thrones, based on the bestselling fantasy book series A Song of Ice and Fire, by George R.R. Martin. 2011 will also see Lloyd star in Jayne Eyre (out 9th September) and we talk about life on set of  his current project The Iron Lady, where he portrays a young Dennis Thatcher.

FAULT: How is everything going Harry?

Harry: Everything is going great. I have a really nice life at the moment. As an actor you sometimes find yourself bobbing around in the water, not doing much, and then all of a sudden you’re running around on the rampage. Right now there is a lovely balance where I am doing some filming, doing some press, and I also have lots of auditions, but at the same time I have some free time for myself.

FAULT: You were a student at Oxford, what did you study?

Harry: I studied English Literature, it was great! They do try to cram in the whole of  English Literature into three years and you find yourself racing through books that require a lot of time. I felt I had to re-learn how to read for pleasure because you are very well trained in close analytical descriptions of the language, linking it to other ports in literature and you build a web that enables you to have a good overview of it all.

FAULT: Did you know you wanted to act when at Oxford?

Harry: I did a few TV parts but I didn’t go to drama school. I thought if you can get into somewhere like Oxford you should go for it, it’s such a privilege. Nothing teaches you like going out and doing it and learning it there and then, it’s like an intensive course.

FAULT: Were you a fan of R.R Martin before you got the part of Game of Thrones?

Harry: I’d never heard of it, I didn’t even read the book before I got the part. I then suddenly found myself with the part and had four months before we started shooting the pilot, so I thought it was time to read the book. I visited friends in France and just got lost in it and adored it. Now I’m not worried as to how it is going to be perceived, I am just fascinated to see it, I feel very much like a fan.

FAULT: Are you a fan of any other HBO series?

Harry: I thought Band of Brothers was one of the greatest things ever made on TV.

I’m yet to get into The Wire, I have started but paused it, knowing it will take over my life and I haven’t got the time it deserves at the moment. Obviously I think The Sopranos was amazing and The Boardwalk Empire is extremely smart.

FAULT: Can you tell us about The Iron Lady?

Harry: The script is fantastic. I had no idea I would be the right person to play a young Dennis Thatcher, I didn’t know anything about him. It’s a lovely story that is shot in flashbacks and I then turn into Jim Broadbent. It’s a very fascinating story about Margaret Thatcher and her life, I thought it was a great script. I never had particular strong opinions of Margaret Thatcher because I was only seven when she left Downing Street, but like any human being if you look closely you can’t help but empathize because everyone comes from somewhere and goes somewhere else.

FAULT: What is your FAULT?

Harry: I am a little too good at being idle. I have learnt how to do nothing, I’m worried that I might be getting a little too good at it. I think that’s my fault.