If anyone is right for the role of Charles Manson, it’s Gethin Anthony. Not that the former Game Of Thrones star has a dark, disturbed side — or if he does, he hid it well when we meet at the 2016 Monte Carlo TV Festival. But funny and friendly in person, Gethin also has the charisma and acting chops to play a man who beguiled both men and women, charming them into his bed as he amassed a cult following — members of which committed murder for him.
Now in its second season, Aquarius charts the build-up to the infamous 1969 Manson murders, which saw the slaying of seven people — including the actress Sharon Tate who was married to Roman Polanski at the time — not by Manson himself but by his so-called family of followers. Aged 81, he is serving nine life sentences after being convicted on related charges and having been denied parole 12 times.
It’s a dark, disturbing story about a complex character that Gethin, 32, plays brilliantly. And it’s a contrast to Renly Baratheon, his GoT character. There, the actor is proud to say, he was a happy homosexual in a loving relationship, albeit behind closed doors in the violent world of Westeros.