How Ed Skrein Linked Up with Fellow Former ‘Game of Thrones’ Star Natalie Dormer for New Thriller

How Ed Skrein Linked Up with Fellow Former 'Game of Thrones' Star Natalie Dormer for New Thriller

The OG "Deadpool" villain also reveals his thoughts on the sequel and teases "Maleficent 2."

Ed Skrein and Natalie Dormer both starred on "Game of Thrones" at the same time, but it wasn't until a film together years later that they really made a bond.

The two — who were more like ships passing in the night when Skrein appeared as the original Daario Naharis and Dormer played Margaery Tyrell on the HBO series — team up in "In Darkness," a new thriller written by the actress and her real-life partner, Anthony Byrne, who also directed the film.

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In the movie, Dormer plays a blind pianist whose life is turned upside down after the woman living in the apartment above her (Emily Ratajkowski) is killed. Skrein co-stars as a man caught in the middle as a series of twists and turns lead to a bloody, revenge-driven conclusion.

"We met in the makeup trailer in Morocco for about 10 minutes, I think trying a wig on or something like that and she was probably doing the same," Skrein told TooFab of his initial introduction to Dormer on "Thrones."

"So we met very briefly, but didn't get the chance to connect properly and then we met on the way back from Comic-Con. I was flying back and I met her and Ant on the way back. She was promoting 'Game of Thrones' and 'Hunger Games' and I was promoting 'Deadpool' and 'The Transporter' and we just connected, the three of us, as human beings," he added. "After that, they sent me this script and I was like, this is a dream come true, sign me up!"

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Though more of a tense thriller than all-out action movie, "In Darkness" still gave Skrein the chance to tap into his badass side again, something fans have seen in projects like "Deadpool" and "The Transporter: Reloaded."

"I don't want to only do action movies, I definitely not the people's next action hero, but I do like to explore it and I do like to have fun with it," he explained. "When it's part of the narrative, it's something that I really love doing. Every movie that goes on, I get a little better at it, I find it a little more comfortable."

"There are some badass scenes in this. In fact, the first day that we started shooting was the scene on the market with the van, where I chuck a guy in front of a lorrie, and so we started with a bang, we started with some action and that was great fun," he continued. "That's another reason why this was an interesting project because, yes, there are moments where I get to do some badass shit, but I did some really intimate moments as well. There is a good balance. As an actor, that's what you want to see."

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One of Skrein's next projects is the anticipated sequel to Disney's "Maleficent," where he'll reportedly play a villain — once again — opposite Angelina Jolie and one very impressive cast. Though details about the film are still pretty scarce, Skrein is ready to get started.

"I'm so excited and honored and humbled to be part of such an amazing cast, Angelina Jolie, Michelle Pfeiffer, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Elle Fanning, these are people that I'm huge fans of their works and have so much respect for them and am very much looking forward to working with them, learning from them and growing as an actor through working with them," he said. "I've been in prep for the last couple of weeks and seeing the sets, they're phenomenal and it's just really exciting to be a part of."

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Another sequel he's excited about: "Deadpool 2," even thought he's not in it. After playing the bad guy in the first film, Skrein told TooFab he loved seeing where the Merc with a Mouth's story went with the followup, in theaters now.

"Watching 'Deadpool 2' is like watching my old football team I used to play for playing in a cup final the season after you … it was like this feeling of like, come on boys, I was supporting them and I just wanted them to win. I was so proud," he said.

"It was a great thing to go into the cinema in London with my popcorn and all that and just watch it as a fan and just enjoy it from the outside," Skrein continued. "[Ryan Reynolds] is just so good and I've got immense respect for Josh Brolin as an actor. I've never met him, but I think he's a fantastic actor. And then there's people like Karan Soni, Dopinder, who's a friend and I enjoyed working with. It's fun to watch from the outside and I just hope it goes from strength to strength and they can make another five 'Deadpools' and keep exploding all of the wonderful, different character arcs that Deadpool has to offer. He's an amazing character."

Read the rest of our Skrein Q&A below. "In Darkness" hits theaters and On Demand on May 25.

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When you sign onto a movie like this, where there are so many twists and turns, how surprised were you reading the script for the first time?

The script, I was immediately blown away by how sophisticated and ambitious it was as a script and how well formed the narrative was and how well informed it was in its subject matter and context. I was really fucking surprised when I got to the end of it, oh snap, that's so good, I need to read it again. I hope people are feeling the same way when they watch it.

When you are working with a team like Natalie and Anthony, who are partners off-set as well, how does that change the dynamic?

Of course it changed the dynamic. Of course it means you're entering into a relationship and the three of you become a kind of triangle, a pyramid of power in that regard. That was a big reason why I signed up for it, was the energy of Ant and Nat, the way that they presented it to me, the passion in which they spoke about it. I only want to work with directors and people that are passionate, that give 100%. I want every project to be a passion project. It was a dream in that regard, i saw the passion that they had and I knew that they would give a million percent and I know that any project I sign onto, I'm going to give a million percent too. So it was a no brainer to me.

What's something fans would be surprised to learn about her or something that surprised you about her in this?

I'm not a very judgmental person and I don't make judgments about people, I know myself, I'm very different from the work I make, so you have to be open minded. but the thing I was most impressed with with Nat, other than how brilliant she was as a writer and how much of a force of nature she is as an actress, is how generous she is with her energy. The first day that we were on set, she was being so lovely to all of the extras, laughing with them, joking with them. Seeing her with the crew, she's like a team captain. When you're the lead actor, you kind of have to be the team captain and she was that. She was keeping it moving, keeping spirits up and that's something that I think is important and something I try to do as an actor is to keep the energy positive on set and keep people happy. I was impressed with how she did that. Also, the way she connected emotionally as the character.

Your character is a little morally ambiguous and you've also played the villain before in films like "Deadpool" and "Alita: Battle Angel" and the upcoming "Maleficent 2," why do you think you get these kinds of roles?

I like pressing buttons. I like exploring emotions that I don't explore in real life. In real life, I try to live a really balanced, peaceful, calm life. In movies, I get to be horrible to people. Recently, I did an audition where the casting director was like, after the first take, "That was really good, now turn the screw even more man." And I was like, "oh yeah? I can do that!" It's something that I certainly enjoy doing and feel I can do and I enjoy exploring it at this point. Of course, I want to take on varying roles in terms of characters and the dynamics of the characters, but as long as it's interesting to me and feels new to me, then I'm all for it. Of course, I enjoy playing light characters and sometimes after I've done a movie where I'm horrible to people, I'm like, man, I just want to do something romantic or nice. But I get on those jobs and after like two weeks, I'm like, fuck this, I want to be horrible again. I want to do the rainbow man. I just like pressing buttons.

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