Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje’s résumé, which includes stints on Oz, Lost, and Hunted, was strong enough to land him the role of Malko on the upcoming season of Game of Thrones without an audition. “The producers had seen some of the work I’ve done before and invited me to be a part of it. It was that simple,” Akinnuoye-Agbaje told Vulture at the premiere of his latest film Annie on Sunday. “There wasn’t an audition process. It was just, ‘Would you like to do this?’ And, ‘Yes! Thank you very much!’” Still, he should feel right at home as he’s already familiar with a lot of the cast members. “It’s epic and there’s a lot of actors I’ve worked with in there,” he said. Indeed, Akinnuoye-Agbaje has already worked with Kit Harington (Jon Snow) on Pompeii, as well as Stephen Dillane (Stannis), Patrick Malahide (Balon Greyjoy), and Indira Varma (Ellaria Sand) on Hunted.

“I’ve never really had time to watch all of it, but I did a serious binge before I went on to the show and brought myself up to speed,” he said. He admitted that he hadn’t read the books, but no matter! Malko isn’t in the books. “The character that I play, it’s actually advantageous to me not to actually know too much. That’s all I’m going to say,” he said. Well, we’ll at least get our curiosity sated by the first episode of the new season where he’s listed in the credits on IMDb. Whether he lasts longer than that will be up to the sun and the stars.

Additional reporting by Kylie Gilbert.