Star of multi-award winning series Game of Thrones,  successful German actress Laura Pradelska plays the mysterious character Quaithe, who appears throughout the  series so far wearing a lacquered wooden red mask. In the upcoming series, which will begin filming in the next few weeks, Laura’s intriguing role will be developed more fully as Quaithe becomes a recurring character.

In the meantime, however, Pradelska has been snapped up for a film, directed by Duncan Ward, called Spice and Malice, which is set to be released in 2013/2014. Expectations are high for Spice and Malice, as the film is said to be partly shot by award winning cinematographer John Mathieson, who wowed audiences with his work in blockbusters Gladiators and X- Men: First Class.

In addition to her natural ability for acting – demonstrated by a plethora of positive reviews and several awards – including an Offie (Off West End Theatre Award) nomination in 2011 and a Best Actress award from the Fringe Report in 2012, Pradelska has also built a theatre company called Killer Theatre. Their first production took place this summer at Trafalgar Studios.

FAULT managed to catch up with Laura to ask her a few questions…

For more Game of Thrones in FAULT, check out our Issue 12 feature on Oona Chaplin, who plays Talisa Maegyr in the series

FAULT: You were born and bought up in Germany, where you appeared in Germany TV shows and plays, was it hard adapting to the US style of TV shows and plays?

Not at all, I think acting is universal. As long as you are being truthful and tell the story, it doesn’t really matter what language, country or entity you are working in.

You moved to Los Angeles for a few years and then came back to Europe, why did you moved back?

The main reason was that I really missed my family. I left home at such an early age (17) moved to London and then to LA at 18. I felt that I may not have forever with my parents and wanted to be closer to them. Also, I love Europe and contemplated returning for a few years anyway.

We know you star in the US series Game of Thrones, and your character Quaithe, only wears a mask, what is it like filming in a mask?

It’s great! It is a costume at the end of the day and I really admire the craftsmanship that was put into making this exquisite mask. It took many months to sketch, design and build the mask and the end result was just amazing – I think.

Quaithe’s character is quite mysterious, what is the following series going to reveal about your character?

Unfortunately I can’t reveal that or anything really as we are pretty much sworn to secrecy with regards to our characters…

How do you relate to your character – is it quite hard or easy?

I do relate to Quaithe in a sense that I believe there is a duality in a lot of people. It doesn’t necessarily have to be good and evil… But for instance whilst I love to stay home  and read, I equally love going out and having a wild night dancing.

Do you prefer stage acting or acting in front of the camera?

I enjoy both equally. Being on stage is very Rock’n’Roll, the performances differ every night and because it’s live, things can always go wrong (or right for that matter) I still get nervous before every performance and that’s always a challenge.

Camera work is, for one, certainly paid well, but it also has an element of mystery and in my case often anxiety as I never know how it would be edited, how much I will be featured and how I come across…

You have recently been taken on board for the 2013/1014 film Spite and Malice, how are you feeling about filming about that?

It is a fantastic role, I am really excited! I play an art dealer called “Theresa Manning-Bolt” who will go to any length in order to secure her favorite artists. It’s a brilliant role for a woman.

Your plan B was to become a stylist, fortunately your plan A worked out. What made you want to become a stylist?

I absolutely love putting together outfits for my friends as well as for myself. I enjoy going to different stores and fleemarkets and combining vintage with couture and high street.

Do you still now ever consider changing your career path to become a stylist or even doing it alongside your acting career?

Absolutely I would love to do some styling alongside my acting career, I am pretty busy at the moment so it isn’t really an option right now but we shall see in the future. My heart will always belong to acting and theatre in particular. Nothing really makes me as happy as being on stage and really immersing myself into a character.

How knowledgeable are you about fashion and have you ever wanted to become a fashion designer of some sort?

I think I am somewhat knowledgeable about fashion as I read a lot of fashion magazines and follow the Pret a porter shows. There are a few fashion blogs such as : fashionology.com, style.com and I also enjoy Sara Brajovic’s blog.

I don’t think I would ever become a fashion designer per se as I have a lot of friends working in the fashion industry and I know how much hard work and dedication goes into being a designer apart from the fact that I don’t think I am the best at sketching… One of my best friends is the famous accessories designer, Estelle Orilland who now works for Karl Lagerfeld – I am always in awe of her work and therefore know how difficult this job is.

What is your FAULT?

I am a huge people pleaser- at least that is what comes to mind first. I am also quite skilled in procrastinating unfortunately

WORDS BY FREYA SHAH