Game of Thrones helped kill off Thomas Brodie-Sangster’s reputation as a child actor

HE was the adorable kid in Love, Actually, but after a gruesome death in Games Of Thrones, Thomas Brodie-Sangster was a child actor no more.

IN the 1960s, Thunderbirds were the height of futuristic, mission impossible cool, crisscrossing the globe (and beyond) to save the day.

Fifty years later, the International Rescue team is back, mixing intricate sets made by NZ effects company Weta with CGI animated characters who jet off on all-new adventures — plus a few nostalgic nods back to the original series.

Gone Girl star Rosamund Pike is the new, wonderfully posh Lady Penelope, while Thomas Brodie-Sangster continues his passage from child actor to enviable grown-up career by voicing John Tracy.

The 24-year-old can also be seen from this Saturday in the BBC First series Wolf Hall, set in the court of Henry VIII. In that, says Brodie-Sangster, “a very well-known period of time is turned on its head”.

You must remember this ... Liam Neeson and Sangster in Love, Actually.

There has been a lot of online fan fretting about the new-look Thunderbirds Are Go characters or if the series will ruin the memory of the original, et cetera ...

That was always going to happen. When you reboot anything that’s well-loved, you’re going to come up against all sorts of controversy and scrutineering. I’m a hardcore fan of the original series myself — I love the old-school look of it, the puppets and everything about it. But this is different; it’s taking what was good about Thunderbirds originally and transposing it onto more of a modern playing field.

You were born in 1990. How are you a hardcore fan of a 1960s TV show?

Mainly because my father was a big fan growing up. He recorded every episode and we would watch it together.

Suits you, sir ... Thomas Brodie-Sangster’s short career has already included iconic entertainment such as Thunderbirds, Game of Thrones and Love, Actually. Picture: Getty Images

Tell us about your John Tracy — the team’s “eyes in the sky”.

He’s in orbit of Earth and very much likes the solitary environment that space can offer. He’s not a sociable person. He’s as passionate as the other Tracys about doing a good job, but not the type who wants to be at the pointy end of things.

Are you disappointed you’re not in marionette form?

Well, it would be cool. But I’m all for embracing the new technology. Especially when it’s combined with the old-school tricks and miniature works — I’ve never seen anything quite like that before.

You were 12 when you made Love Actually, but you’re never going to escape it, are you? It’s on the telly every Christmas.

It’s something I’m still proud of. There aren’t many films that have such staying power with people. Every now and then I’ll flick over and see it’s on and watch 10 minutes and reminisce ... but that’s it, I’ll find something else to watch.

Death becomes him ... Sangster in Game Of Thrones shortly before his head becomes separated from his body.

Did the killing off of Jojen Reed in Game of Thrones come as a rude shock?

To be honest, I don’t often die in things, so I was quite happy to actually get a cool death scene. I’ve always played a lot younger than my age just because I look a lot younger than my age, and no one ever wants to kill off a kid. But even as a kid I wanted to have a really cool, gruesome, gory death. So to get that in Game of Thrones, I could finally put a big tick in that box.

It was particularly gruesome, wasn’t it?

Yeah! Technically, he died a few times. Stabbed in the chest, slit throat ... it was great.

THUNDERBIRDS ARE GO, GO!, SUNDAY 6.30PM

Wooden acting ... the cast of Thunderbirds Are Go