Speaking about Robb Stark’s role in Game of Thrones‘ second season, Richard Madden previews Robb’s role as leader and the romance coming up for him, and discusses filling in the blanks of his past. Beware of mild spoilers.

In an interview with The Insider, Madden reveals that he thinks Robb would be the best choice for King of Westeros:

I think Robb would be a great king. It’s funny to see him on that path – I don’t even think Robb sees himself in that position. His whole thing comes from honesty and doing the right thing, he’s got a great moral compass – it works for him. But also, as the season goes on, that moral compass can destroy him. Following his heart, which has done well by him so far, leads to huge problems down the road. [But] I think Robb would be the best king out of all the contenders. If Robb and Catelyn were running things, I think it would be rather nice in the kingdom. Dire Wolves for everybody [laughs].

As those who have read A Song of Ice and Fire know, Robb is not a point of view character at this point in the story. So Madden has had to make up some of the character’s backstory, and one of the key decisions he had to make was whether or not Robb is a virgin. He explains:

I had to make a lot of choices in my head and figure out what happened when he was younger. I think it’s a given that Theon has been up to all sorts of things at Winterfell – so it’s just figuring out where Jon’s been and where Robb’s been when it comes to that. I think Robb is a very good man, with a deep sense of honor. This is the first time he meets a woman – and it happens at a point when he’s really feeling distance from everything else. He’s out there, alone, doesn’t know if his mother has his back. There are disagreements with his men over killing prisoners; he doesn’t want to go down that route, but he’s being pushed to it. So he finds this escape in this woman who doesn’t see him as a king; they immediately connect as people and that’s the most realistic thing he’s had. And it’s important to have this presence in his life that pushes him and challenges him on everything – she makes Robb think about the long term results of his actions. “If you kill Joffrey, then what?” It makes him realize he hasn’t thought that far ahead.

Read the full interview at The Insider.