Aidan Gillen, known for his roles in “Game of Thrones” and “Peaky Blinders,” reflected on the prime era of British drama at the Transilvania International Film Festival. He expressed concerns about the overwhelming amount of content currently available on TV.
“There’s just an abundance of content. Even current TV is crafted to provide intermittent [dopamine] hits,” he commented. “Even the advanced, high-quality TV is somewhat simplified to maintain viewer interest.”
He further noted: “There’s too much on TV.”
The Irish actor, participating as a jury member in the international competition at the festival, is also promoting his upcoming films: “Re-Creation,” premiering at the 2025 Tribeca festival, directed by David Merriman and Jim Sheridan, and based on the true murder case of French producer Sophie Toscan du Plantier, as well as “Gorky Resort,” a historical drama by director Łukasz Połkowski about a Polish lieutenant in a Soviet POW camp.
During an hour-long masterclass at the Transilvania festival, Gillen shared insights into his screen career, recalling his memorable roles in “Game of Thrones,” “The Wire,” and “Peaky Blinders” and discussing his early start in British theater as an ambitious teenager.
“I’m not a trained actor. I didn’t attend drama school. I was eager to leave school as soon as possible,” Gillen revealed. “I found the classroom environment very restrictive.”
Instead, Gillen pursued practical training by joining a theater group at 14 and consuming a wide range of films on VHS, from European art films to horror and Westerns.
At 18, he moved to London and soon worked at the Bush Theatre, which he credits for honing his craft. His breakthrough came with a role in “Safe,” a gritty 1993 BBC drama directed by Antonia Bird, where he played a young homeless man. Reflecting on that time, he described it as a golden era for British TV.
“You could create bold, unconventional dramas without interference, reaching millions. It was phenomenal,” he stated. “That doesn’t happen anymore. They shifted to shows like ‘Ballroom Dancing With the Stars.’ People watched those dramas not just because they were highbrow but because they were brilliant.”
After “Safe,” which won a BAFTA for best single drama, Gillen starred in “Queer as Folk,” Russell T. Davies’ groundbreaking series on queer life in 1990s Britain, before taking on the role of politician Tommy Carcetti in HBO’s “The Wire.” He later played iconic characters such as Petyr “Littlefinger” Baelish in “Game of Thrones” and Aberama Gold in “Peaky Blinders.”
Despite lamenting the decline since TV’s golden age, Gillen acknowledged there’s still “a lot of daring content in television,” citing shows like “Pluribus” for their sophisticated storytelling.
Nostalgic for the days before multiple streaming subscriptions, he admitted, “Maybe my laments resemble when radio emerged, and great-grandparents called it the devil’s work.”
“TV was criticized similarly when I was a teen. ‘TV will ruin our kids.’ I’d come home and watch TV for 10 hours,” he added.
It’s this sense of childhood wonder, he believes, that continues to fuel his passion for acting.
“I wanted to become an actor because I saw the world as an incredible playground — a work of art, a living dream. I wanted to contribute to that vision,” he said.
“It’s about the act of performing. Not the end result, not the fame, not the red carpet. I’ve never been interested in that. What excites me is the actual work — being there and doing it,” he concluded.
The Transilvania International Film Festival is scheduled to run from June 12 to 21.
