HENRY ASHTON

Suede jacket and trousers by Tods. Hoodie by Ahluwalia

World – meet Henry Ashton. At 34, after graduating from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland just a few years ago, his acting career may be relatively fresh, but it has the kind of momentum that feels exhilarating to witness. After spending his twenties in a series of jobs that are sure to have added to his life experience CV - from bar work to music to working at Harrods to fashion to putting up posters - he decided at the age of 28, whilst having a particularly bad day as a hotel manager, to turn back to his first love: acting. And ever since graduating from the RCS, he has been adding jobs to his acting CV at a similar rate and with comparable variety: from his debut role in Outlander to the more recent My Lady Jane and A Good Girl's Guide to Murder.

5ELEVEN sat down to chat to Henry the day before his photoshoot – from whence he was heading straight to the screening for his latest project, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, the latest series from the Game of Thrones universe.    

Words by Carla McCannon

Photographed by Lewis Robinson. Styled by Alton Hetariki. Grooming by Sandra Hahnel at Caren using Laura Mercier. Henry Ashton appears courtesy of Multitude Media

Left: Hoodie by Champion Right: Three piece blazer, waistcoat and trouser suit by Ahluwalia. Necklace by Louis Vuitton

What drew you into acting?

When I was ten, I got cast as Fantastic Mr Fox in The Young Bovingdon Players, and I just immediately found a real love for getting up and performing and being in front of an audience. 

My sister and I always used to put on shows for our family, but I never really connected the two. But then, through my schooling years, I was in all the school plays, and I really enjoyed it. I was part of the National Youth Theatre, but then I left school and just lost momentum.

And acting, I find even now, is so much about momentum. Once you're out of it, it's really hard to crack back in. I basically went through my whole twenties avoiding anything to do with acting, because I think I was so terrified of giving it a go, just in case I failed. And then when I was 28, I decided if I didn't go for it, I would regret it for the rest of my life.

So, I made this decision to go to drama school. It's the best decision I have ever made. It's the only job that's ever made me happy. I'm completely addicted to the process of acting, but also just the rush of not knowing what's going to happen from one week to the next - not knowing what job is just around the corner or what amazing role you're going to get a chance to portray, or who you're going to meet and work with. I find the whole thing completely intoxicating. I'm rather addicted to it, but I suppose it's a good thing, because it is a hard job, in terms of competitiveness, but I wouldn't want to be doing anything else. 

Left: Denim jacket and jeans by Sunspel Right: Jacket, shirt, jeans, necklace and shoes all by Louis Vuitton

That's a really lovely answer. I always find those kinds of stories the most interesting. Of course, some people just know exactly what they want to do, and they listen to themselves from the get-go. But I feel for a lot of people, there's a certain moment of fear, and it takes getting to a certain point in your life where you're actually brave enough to embrace what you really, deep down, know you should have been doing all along.

Exactly, yeah. I think for me and for a lot of people, it takes you to be a little bit older to really realise that, and I think fear is the exact right word. I think fear can be really useful as a sort of compass for where you should be going, because if it's something you really scared about, it's probably something you really care about. If you're not scared of it, you're probably not bothered by it. So yeah, I completely agree. 

What took you to study in Scotland? 

RCS was quite simply the best school I got into, and I'd been living in London for ten years at the time, so I loved the idea of moving to a different city, which would give me this singular focus on what I was doing, which I felt I really needed. I think it would've been great to stay in London, but I would've been probably living in the same place, I would've been seeing the same people. But going to Glasgow and getting to know a whole different city and a whole different group of people, really started the chapter of me acting, and I absolutely loved Glasgow. I miss it a lot. I lived there for four years and it's a wonderful place with many good friends. 

Outlander was one of your first roles. Was that while you were studying in Scotland? 

Yes, that was my first job, which I got in the last month of drama school, and it's really special. I'm so glad that was my first job because it really has become such a rite of passage for so many RCS graduates. So many people go and do something in Outlander, and it was just such a perfect job because it was right there, it was an established series, and it was such a well-loved series. It was a really lovely first job, and it's a bit of a nod to my time in Scotland and will be for the rest of my career.  

Suede jacket by Sunspel. Polo top by Vince. Necklace by Louis Vuitton

What can you tell us about A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms that you're currently starring in? 

It's set a hundred years before the original Game of Thrones series and about a hundred years after House of the Dragon, so right in the middle of them. It strikes quite a different tone from the other seasons. It's much more light hearted. It focuses on the small folk of the seven kingdoms and is a little bit more of a wholesome, humble, underdog story. And it's really funny. I think if you remember the original series of Game of Thrones also has really funny moments in it, so they go back to that humour that runs throughout the series. And it's great because even if you haven't watched House of the Dragon or Game of Thrones, you could sit down and really enjoy this. It's easy to digest for people who aren't that clued into the universe.

It's a self-contained miniseries in itself. 

Exactly. And it was just an absolute joy to shoot, and I made amazing friends. The cast was brilliant, the two leads - Peter Claffey and Dexter Sol Ansell were and are brilliant. It turns into this sort of little buddy comedy, almost. I'm really proud of it, really happy with it, and I can't wait for people to see it.

And from what I've read about your character, it sounds like you were able to lean into the comedy, too. 

Yes, he definitely has comic elements to him. He's a bit of a tragic character. I remember when I auditioned for it, the audition notes reference Withnail and I. And I thought that was such a great reference. I think it was the director Owen Harris who put that in. And it's true. It's that unbelievably charismatic and charming quality, but at the same time, completely off the wall and chaotic. I really loved that sort of dichotomy with Daeron. He was very fun to play. I just wish I got to play him a little bit more! 

Oversize jacket and shirt, utility shorts all by Ami. Socks by Falke. Velvet slippers by Crockett & Jones

Amazing, I'm really looking forward to seeing it. Do you have upcoming projects that you're able to talk about or specific career plans for the next few years? 

I filmed season two of A Good Girl's Guide to Murder this year just gone, which should be out sometime, hopefully this year. So that's been really fun - to return to that. It's such an amazing fan base, and the books are amazing, so I'm so proud to be part of that.

I do have a couple of projects coming up this year, which I can't talk about quite yet, but hopefully soon. And then in the future, I just want as much variety as possible, really. At the moment, I've got this bit of an obsession with A24 and their horror movies. So, if I could pick a project right now, I'd love to be in an A24 horror movie. Basically, anything by A24 I'd absolutely love to be in; they're absolutely killing it. 

And would you be open to returning to the theatre, which sparked it all off? 

Absolutely, a hundred per cent. I think what happens, again with momentum, is that you can get into a lane. And for whatever reason I found myself in the sort of TV and film lane and I've got momentum in that. But then I have friends who got a job at the National right out of drama school, and they've just done nothing but theatre, and they've got momentum in that lane. And it's quite hard to cross over sometimes. I think casting directors see you as a TV or film person, and then other casting directors see you as a theatre actor.

But having said that, theatre was where I discovered my love for acting, so I'd absolutely love to return to it at some point. There's nothing like stage acting. I've learned to enjoy TV and film, but I would absolutely love to feel the buzz of doing some stage again. 

 I'm still getting used to TV and film: I filmed a Knight of the Seven Kingdoms a year and a half ago, and people are going to see it now. The time from the work that you do to its being digested by the audience can be quite disconcerting because you can't remember what you did. So at the same time that you are watching it, everyone else is watching it, whereas the stage is being digested and you're getting a reaction in the very moment you're doing it. I think that's the biggest difference between the two. 

Left: Denim shirt and trousers by Palm Angel. Suede shoes by Tods Right: Jacket, shirt, jeans, necklace and shoes all by Louis Vuitton

What role so far has taught you the most, would you say?

I've learned a little bit from each job I've done, but I think probably My Lady Jane taught me the most. Only because that was the first - I suppose you could say - “big job” that I got. It was a very high-budget production with very experienced actors. 

I think with that one I learned to trust myself a little bit more. At the beginning, you can really get into your own head. It's very easy to compare yourself to other people and their experience, and if they're funnier than you or they come across better than you on camera, you can really start to talk yourself out of why you're there.

A couple of months in, I just relaxed. I can see it when I watch My Lady Jane back, because it was pretty much shot chronologically, so around episode three or four, I can see myself relax. I don't know if anyone else can. [Laughter]

So, I guess from then on, each job that I've got, I still have that moment at the beginning of slightly feeling like an imposter. But I think I'm starting to trust myself a little more and a little earlier. That's one of many things that I've learned, but that's the first one that comes up.

That's a good answer. And it's interesting because it brings you back also to the start of your acting career, which is feeling the fear and doing it anyway, and leaning into your intuition ultimately. 

Exactly, exactly. Yes. 

I feel like 28 can be such a pivotal age where you can go so many different ways, and to choose not to take the safe option and to go that route, it's a really lovely story. 

Thank you. So far, so good. I'm really enjoying the journey. And what's weird is that the decision is actually the easiest part. I remember when I made the decision, I hadn't done anything: I hadn't applied to drama school, I hadn't put any plans in place to do it, I just said to myself, “I'm going to go to drama school. I'm going to be an actor.” And just the words coming out of my mouth and knowing that they were true - I felt this weight lift off my shoulders. It's crazy how powerful just making a decision is. 

Stripe jacket and shirt, suede shoes all by Tods. Denim jeans by Vans

To finish, if you could choose any role to play, do you have one that springs to mind?

It's sort of changed now because biopics have become such a huge thing, and I don't want it to seem like I want to throw my hat in the ring of everyone else wanting to do biopics, but I'm a big Nirvana fan, and so a Kurt Cobain biopic. Although I need to do it sooner rather than later, because I'm getting further and further away from him in age. But that would be very, very cool. And like I said, if you put me in an A24 horror film, I'll be very happy. 

Yeah, I can see where you're going now with the black hoodie look [that Henry was wearing at the time of the interview]. 

Yeah, exactly, yeah, I'm auditioning already, growing my hair out. [Laughter]

He shakes his blond hair out, and I can see it – he would be a great Kurt Cobain. In the meantime, you can catch Henry as Daeron Targaryen in A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms on Sky Atlantic and NOW. 

Left: Wool jumper and denim jeans by Represent Right: Hoodie by Champion