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April 28 (UPI) -- Game of Thrones alum Iwan Rheon is watching the final season of HBO's fantasy drama just like the rest of its diehard fans. "It's so exciting that is all coming to a huge -- I'm sure -- epic end. It's really almost impossible to tell what's going to happen," the 33-year-old Welsh actor told UPI in a recent phone interview.
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"It's nice to get to sit back and not have to worry about being in it and worrying about my performance."
Rheon played the sadistic Ramsay Bolton on the show until he was memorably torn apart by starving dogs in Season 6 after castrating Theon Greyjoy, played by Alfie Allen; raping Sansa Stark, played by Sophie Turner; and murdering Osha and Rickon, played by Natalia Tena and Art Parkinson.
Rheon is satisfied with his character's gruesome exit.
"If you're going to go, you ought to go in style," the actor laughed.
"Barring some kind of dragon-related death, that was as good as it got," he said. "And through him being removed, the Starks get back to Winterfell, so, I think for the show and for the narrative, it really was brilliant. He definitely deserved his horrible, horrible ending."
Since leaving the show, Rheon has been rehabilitating his image with roles in the short-lived, Marvel superhero series Inhumans, the Motley Crue biopic The Dirt and the World War II adventure Mission of Honor.
"When you put those three characters next to each other, that's pretty cool isn't it? Not much similarity between any them," Rheon said, explaining he likes the variety of work he is being offered and the challenges that come with each project.
The actor plays Motley Crue guitarist Mick Mars in The Dirt, which co-stars Douglas Booth, Colson Baker and Daniel Webber. It is now streaming on Netflix.
Rheon felt a sense of responsibility playing Mars, who still is alive, and tried to capture the musician's essence rather than do an impression or imitation of him.
"The band seems to be really happy with all of our performances and they're really excited about it," he said. "When the band says, 'You nailed it,' that's kind of our jobs. It can't get any better than that."
Rheon plays the late World War II hero Jan Zumbach, another real person, in Mission of Honor.
The movie follows the squadron of Polish pilots who fought the Nazis on behalf of the Royal Air Force during the Battle of Britain in 1940 -- a campaign that, if lost, could have meant the fall of England.
Co-starring Milo Gibson, Stefanie Martini, Marcin Dorocinski, Krystof Hadek and Christopher Jaciow, the film is being released by Cinedigm on Blu-ray and DVD on Tuesday.
Rheon signed on for a role in it, largely because it is a fascinating episode in history that he wasn't taught in school. It is also a celebration of bravery, recognizing men who risked their lives to defend a country that wasn't their own.
"The world has changed so much, and it's to be kind of reminded how close everything was to complete destruction in a time of such hardship," Rheon said, adding he hopes the story will remind viewers to appreciate refugees and immigrants.
"I think Britain's been guilty of turning their back on people who have contributed heavily to our little island," he said.
"It's happened throughout history and it's happening again, and it's happening all over the world.
"We need to take a look at ourselves sometimes and see that people from other places contribute so much to us and not to be so quick to just dismiss them."
To prepare for the role, the actor quickly learned the basics of the Polish language -- the alphabet, how it sounds and how to read it.
"I just threw myself into it and, hopefully, it helps to add to the authenticity of the movie," Rheon said.
"When the Polish pilots are speaking to each other, they should be speaking in Polish. They shouldn't be speaking in English. It wouldn't be respectful to them and we wanted this to be as authentic as possible."
