Alfie Allen fits into an enviable niche of actors. He works consistently between film, TV and theatre, and always in high-quality projects. His credits include Equus, Flashbacks of a Fool, John Wick, Pandemic, Close to the Enemy, How to Build a Girl, Jojo Rabbit and most notably, his eight seasons as Theon Greyjoy on Game of Thrones. After a recent stint on Broadway in the thriller Hangmen, he’s back in front of the camera in Steven Knight’s SAS: Rogue Heroes, a World War II action series in which he plays Jock Lewes, the founding principal training officer of the SAS. We recently caught up with him to discuss inner resilience, fatherhood, and retiring with cheese and wine.

Jacket **Frame**, shirt, tie & shoes **Dunhill**, pants **Golden Goose Deluxe Brand**, socks **Uniqlo**

You didn’t take the usual drama school route into acting, and I read that you referred to your time on stage in Equus (when you took over from Daniel Radcliffe in 2008), as essentially your drama school. I guess it was the ultimate role in which to lay yourself bare and learn the ropes, so to speak!?

Doing Equus was definitely like a drama school for me. Learning from one of the greats, Simon Callow, was amazing. He gave me sound advice on how to approach the career of acting, and it was a real treat to be able to act with him, but also just be able to go out to dinner with him all the time. It is something I will always remember.

You were recently in Hangmen. What’s your sense of Broadway? How do you reckon it compares to what we’re used to in London?

I loved being on Broadway. There was a real welcoming atmosphere for us when we arrived. Hangmen had been off Broadway already pre-covid, and then its run on Broadway was stopped from Covid, so when everyone was coming back, it was a really beautiful thing to be a part of that whole community getting back on its feet again. I will never forget it.

Coat & shoes **Valentino**, suit **Louis Vuitton**

Have you ever had any shockers onstage? Have you ever blanked? I think audiences love mistakes, don’t they? Because they feel part of it?

I have definitely blanked on stage. I had a really bad one during Hangmen. It only happened once, but it was a real dry moment where I just totally forgot what I was going to say in quite an important moment for the audience to understand the plot. Thankfully, my castmate Andy Nyman was the one who thought on his feet and saved me in that moment. I was very thankful to him. I think audiences do like mistakes. You kind of ask them afterwards “did you notice?” and either they are being totally polite, which is very possible, and just trying to make you feel better, but most of the time they don’t even notice, which is one of the great things about being on stage – its ability to constantly change at any moment. When I was a kid growing up and doing pantomime on stage, I loved it when things went wrong, I got a real buzz off that. Maybe not being a part of the action that went wrong, but seeing it happen and having the audience laugh at it.

Knit, brooch & shoes **Hermes**, pants **Giorgio Armani**

Aside from theatre, you do television and movies — you’ve paid attention to trying to remain versatile. Is that something you’ve taken advice on? Has your father (actor, Keith Allen) been helpful in that?

Yes, I have always wanted to be versatile in doing tv, theatre and films. They are all different in their own way. Being on Broadway was terrifying at first, but it was good terror. My father has always been helpful in giving me advice about acting. I don’t really reach out to him for those types of things anymore, but he gave me some sound advice at the beginning.

You’re a father yourself. Do you think there will ever come a time when you’ll enter dadland roles, when you’ll just play dads – different kinds of dads. Dressed-up dads. Dads with beards. Drunk dads in Vegas?!

Yes, I am a father to my gorgeous daughter Arrow. I would love to play a dad at some point. Maybe an animated dad. I would love to be able to play a cartoon character that she would know I was doing the voice for. It puts a smile on my face to think that could be a possibility.

How do you think you would feel if she wanted to become an actor, with this constant push for gender equality in Hollywood – what changes would you most like to see in the world for her?

I would like to see equal pay for my daughter if she were in the entertainment industry – in any industry. That is one thing I would like to see if she were to choose to become an actor.

Let’s discuss your latest TV project, SAS Rogue Heroes, which explores the founding of the British Army’s Special Air Service during World War II. You play Jock Lewes, tell me more about him?

He’s instrumental in the formation of the SAS from its origins. He was a disciplinarian and a quite uptight man. He was respected by his soldiers, but quite an aloof and distant man, so many felt like they did not really know him. Being surrounded by a bunch of psychotic drunkards, I guess he was the balance that they needed to keep them in line. That was quite fun to play. He was a pioneer in new methods that were tried and tested even if they failed a lot of the time. It was kind of his idea to parachute into the desert and attack from behind enemy lines, which was unheard of at the time.

What was the audition process like?

I had a chat with the director Tom Shankland over zoom, and thankfully he decided that he wanted me to play Jock.

Left Full look **Prada**
Right Coat **Valentino**, suit **Louis Vuitton**

How was it working with the series creator Steven Knight?

Working with Steven was amazing. He managed to bring humour into some moments where you really wouldn’t think it would apply, but then jolt you back into the sense that what these men were going through was pretty horrific.

You filmed in both Morocco and the UK, what was it like being in the desert, I imagine it could be quite challenging and demanding?

Filming in the desert was extremely demanding. Both emotionally and physically. It was very isolating at times being out there for three months. The desert was beautiful, but it was also all we had. We were always making sure to check in with each other and checking to see if everyone was doing okay. It eradicated any egos that were likely to arise. We were all equals out there. It was great, I enjoyed it immensely.