Infamous ‘Game of Thrones’ Villain Changes Tune, Stars in New Christmas Movie

Game of Thrones star Iwan Rheon is taking on a new role that’s different in just about every way except for all the snow. Rheon is among the top-billed stars in the upcoming holiday rom-com A Christmas Number One. Many fans are surprised to see the actor who once portrayed Ramsey Bolton in this kind of film.

Rheon has been promoting A Christmas Number One on social media as work on the film begins. Earlier this month, he posted a photo of himself with his co-star Frieda Pinto, writing that it was “Day 1 filming” the new project. From the looks of it, the movie will have Rheon playing guitar quite a bit, which is a talent he never got to show off over in Westeros. So far, plot details on A Christmas Number One have been scarce, but it seems safe to assume that Rheon’s musicality will be the least of its differences from Game of Thrones. Fans know Rheon best for playing one of the most sociopathic villains ever to grace the screen.

A Christmas Number One is written by Robert Chandler, Giles New and Kerion Self, and directed by Chris Cottam. It also stars Hanna Steele, Rich Hall and Joe Lycett, among others. The movie is a Sky Original film, apparently being produced for TV, not a theatrical release. Rheon highlighted it as part of the “Sky Cinema” service — a subscription-based film channel in the U.K. that also has an on-demand service to compete with streaming platforms.

Rheon has posted other highlights from filming this month as well, revealing that A Christmas Number One is in production in London, England. So far, most of his posts show him playing guitar in his trailer or on set, thanking Gibson Guitars for sending him a free instrument for the project.

In addition to acting, Rheon has a thriving career as a singer-songwriter. His songs are generally classified in the folk-pop genre, with an emphasis on complex acoustic guitar licks and emotive singing. Rheon’s latest release, Dinard, came out in April of 2015.

Of course no matter how many times fans see him holding a guitar or playing a leading man, many will always associate Rheon most strongly with Ramsey, the up-jumped bastard of house Bolton who nearly took over the North with his wicked, emotionless grin. Many actors who played villains on Game of Thrones had a hard time recovering from the fan reaction, but Rheon is now well on his way. There is no word on when A Christmas Number One might air, but Game of Thrones is still streaming on HBO Max.