HE’S been the King in the North on one of TV’s biggest dramas, and tipped as the next James Bond.
Now Scottish actor Richard Madden has been named as one of the world’s most influential people by Time magazine.
The star, from Elderslie in Renfrewshire, has made it into this year’s Time 100 list alongside figures including US president Donald Trump, footballer Mohamad Salah and musician Taylor Swift.
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After appearing in early series of HBO export Game of Thrones, Madden starred in the BBC hit Bodyguard, playing a police protection officer to the home secretary.
And, with Daniel Craig vacating the role of 007 after one last movie, speculation that Madden could become the second Scot to play James Bond followed.
However, in a new interview with Elle magazine, he said that was “just noise”, stating: “There will be another British TV show with another young male actor, and then he’ll be the next James Bond for the following two months.”
Praising Madden, who trained in Glasgow at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, Sir Kenneth Branagh – who worked with Madden on blockbuster Cinderella and play Romeo & Juliet – told Time: “Richard can certainly unleash wildness and ruthlessness when the role requires a charisma of danger.
“In Bodyguard, Richard’s intelligence and physicality worked at perfect pitch alongside his rigorous self-discipline. It paid off to frightening and moving effect.”
However, the actor does not appear on any of the six special covers marking the Time 100 list.
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These feature Salah, Swift, wrester-turned-actor Dwayne Johnson, Killing Eve actor Sandra Oh and American broadcaster Gayle King. Madden’s Game of Thrones co-star Emilia Clarke, who plays dragon-riding Daenerys Targaryen, also appears in the line-up, as did South Korean pop superstars BTS.
The seven-strong band won the Time 100 reader poll for the second year in a row, earning about 6% of the vote.
Meanwhile, Beyonce made a heartfelt tribute to “icon” Michelle Obama, and other entrants in the 2019 list include English artist David Hockney and musician Lady Gaga.
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