Game of Thrones سٹار, ستارہ Jacob Anderson talks about balancing his acting and موسیقی careers 

Amal Clooney and the Hooded Men Domestic Abuse in Fifty Shades The death of sex George Osborne Greece Michael Gove

Raleigh Ritchie: Game of Thrones star Jacob Anderson talks about balancing his acting and music careers

, there is very little crossover between Anderson\'s two careers

Neela Debnath is a member of the Independent's Online editorial team. She has an MA in Journalism (NCTJ accredited) from Brunel University. She is interested in current affairs, media and dipping into other areas of journalism.

Note: We do not store your email address(es) but your IP address will be logged to prevent abuse of this feature. Please read our Legal Terms & Policies

It’s safe to say that Jacob Anderson is a force to be reckoned with.

. But that’s not all. Under the stage name ‘Raleigh Ritchie’ – inspired by Bill Murray and Luke Wilson’s characters in Wes Anderson’s

– he’s worked with Plan B, had a top 40 single and released three EPs.

When we meet, the Bristol-born actor and musician is dressed casually in a baseball cap, T-shirt and jeans, looking every inch the pop star. He plays Grey Worm, Daenerys Targaryen’s stoic army captain on the HBO fantasy series but you would never guess.

Jacob Anderson performs under the stage name \'Raleigh Ritchie\' (Rex Features)

Appearances aside, it’s surprising when he says that there’s been very little crossover between his acting and music careers given the huge global success of

. There’s been the odd person shouting “Grey Worm” at festivals but on the street he’s usually recognised as Raleigh.

It seems that his music attracts a very different breed of fan compared to that of

. But that’s fine with Anderson, who sees his music and acting as separate entities. In fact it’s more than that for Anderson, who started his career back in his early teens.

“I hope that people like my music enough that to them it doesn’t crossover in any way either, that they can hopefully like my music on its own,” he explains and you get the sense that he’s trying to avoid falling into the actor-turned-musician category.

Anderson initially saw himself as a songwriter-producer before he was encouraged to sing by a teacher. At the age of 17 he moved to London to launch his singing career. He recorded the track ‘I Need Love’ with Plan B in 2010 for

but his acting commitments kept him busy. He eventually signed with Columbia Records in 2013 and has released three EPs since then.

He cites an eclectic mix of artists from David Bowie and Bob Dylan to Kanye West as inspirations. All of these diverse influences come across on his EPs:

Would he ever follow in the footsteps of fellow Brit actor-musician Idris Elba and create music for something he’s starred in? “No, that’s not me,” Anderson says before qualifying it, “I’m excited about writing more conceptually, writing about something […] But song writing is something super personal, so it’s weird. It would be quite weird to suddenly write a song about Grey Worm or whatever.”

His music career has been eight years in the making but he is finally set to release his debut album this summer.

The focus, he says, is firmly on music with his sights set on finishing off his album and performing at festivals over the summer. When it comes to choosing between his two careers, he takes a Zen-like approach, “I’ve never been in a position where I’ve had to choose between things. I feel the most important thing for anybody is just follow your bliss: do what makes you happy.”

For the moment there’s nothing really planned on the acting front. Due to the strict levels of secrecy, he can’t say whether or not he will be returning for the sixth season of

but teasingly adds that he knows exactly what’s going to happen in season five.

“It’s the best series so far, in my opinion, as a fan of the show, completely unbiased, it’s the best series.”

With both a successful acting career and musical career set to take off in earnest, where does he see himself going?

“I want to make sure that I have a very varied career. [...] I might be into something completely different in a year’s time and I want to follow that,” he says.

Raleigh Ritchie’s new single ‘The Greatest’ is out on 13 April

'Am I supposed to vote for a movie just because it has black people in it?'

Oscars 2015: The real stars of the Academy Awards

‘Walter White is coming to Better Call Saul’

TV Bob Odenkirk says Brian Cranston and Aaron Paul\'s characters are likely to turn up in the spin-off

Film The Fifty Shades of Grey actor said he looked after co-star in the \'Red Room\' scenes

The Great Composers: fourteen of the giants of Western classical music

Streetwise romance reveals New York's brutal side

Film Review: Alfred Molina and John Lithgow star in Love Is Strange

Film Simmy Richman confesses that he is hooked on the children\'s show

The best romantic films, minus the schmaltzy clichés

World Press Photo of the Year winners announced

TV Anna Hart learns a few \'conlang\' chat-up lines and explores the mad world of made-up languages

Jessica Raine is brilliant as the utterly charmless Jane Boleyn in Wolf Hall

tvReview: Henry VIII looks set to get through his first three wives in record time

tvReview: Dame Edna puts the icing on the innuendo in an absolutely fabulous display

As Jon Stewart steps down as host, what next for The Daily Show?

Film \'If she\'s going to sing, good luck\', the folk star says of planned biopic

Jon Stewart to leave The Daily Show after 16 years

tvComedy Central president hails departing host\'s \'comedic brilliance\'

Australia invited to compete in Eurovision Song Contest

Does anyone care about what is happening in Broadchurch?

Kanye West fans speculate over countdown

MusicThe rapper launches a mysterious clock on his site

theatreYou don’t need a lute, just a feeling for Shakespeare, as the RSC launches a contest to write a new setting of a song by the Bard

Milan Kundera returns: Unbearable lightness of being under-appreciated

Revealed: The characters who will survive Game of Thrones bloodbath

arts + ents Warning: Super spoiler alert

books JK Rowling answers three very important Harry Potter questions

Rolo Tomassi Interview: “It’s comforting to know that we’ve not been treated as a novelty”

Goblin’s Claudio Simonetti on Profondo Rosso reaching the big 4-0

Friday Book Design Blog: The Ecliptic, by Benjamin Wood

There's nothing luxurious about my periods, so why is the Government taxing tampons as if there is?

Chinese New Year 2015: 6 things you need to know about the Year of the Goat (or Sheep)

New tattoo removal cream promises to fade ink, doesn't hurt and only costs £3

Pierce Brosnan backs Idris Elba to play the next James Bond

Chelsea racism video: Victim calls for guilty fans to be 'found, punished and locked up' after vile abuse on Paris Metro

EastEnders live week: 'How's Adam?' - Tanya Branning calls Ian Beale by real name in comeback episode

Is Madonna still relevant? Making an ass of herself at the Grammys may have signalled the end of the queen of pop

EastEnders live week: Max Branning messes up key line about who killed Lucy Beale

Oscars 2015: A peek inside this year's ridiculous $125,000 goodie bags

Oscars 2015: The people choosing the outfits are the real stars of the Academy Awards

Channel 4's Ukip: The First Hundred Days imagines Nigel Farage in power – and reveals a Britain in meltdown

Plan to broadcast messages to alien worlds leaves cosmologists worrying

Copenhagen shootings: Hunt for gunmen after two deadly attacks on a cafe and synagogue

Chelsea racism video: French police hunt for football fans filmed pushing black man off Paris Metro

Obese could be ordered to 'lose weight or lose benefits' if Conservatives win General Election

We\'ve teamed up with Howick\'s 99 Rugby Club to offer rugby-mad readers the chance to win a host of prizes.

Crowdfunding Prizes & offers Business videos

Calling all entrepreneurs! See how crowdfunding can provide you with a full-circle, end to end solution for your business.

Six Nations Prizes & offers Business videos

Win anything from gadgets to five-star holidays on our competitions and offers page.

Business videos from commercial thought leaders

Watch the best in the business world give their insights into the world of business.

Palestinian cartoonist's depiction of the Prophet was intended to be favourable - but caused an uproar that saw him suspended from his job

One of humanity's oldest foes is back on the increase. Leigh Cowart puts the virus under the microscope

Strong measures were needed to raise standards at the Academy in west London's White City, as Richard Garner discovers

Malaga resident Javier Castaño flung himself enthusiastically into registering names including @canada, @roma, @madrid, @riodejaneiro, and @japan in 2007

Idil Sukan's publicity shots capture the serious side of stand-ups

Minecraft is the best-selling independent game of all time, but its use in the real world – in urban development, mapping, history and the arts – makes it a crucial resource for building the future

1. If you write motivational messages, try to follow them. 2. Don't leave list lying around

There can be no defence - this time Chelsea must take a stand

Club must help authorities identify and punish supporters involved in vile racist behaviour in Paris, writes Sam Wallace

Irishman has turned from Guinness-swilling, cigar-smoking member of the lads’ club to groomed gym bunny. And he’s been rewarded with Ryder Cup role

Paranoid but determined, Isis is ready for a fight to the death in Mosul

Mobile phones are banned and punishments are draconian, yet locals enjoy certain benefits under the Islamists' rule, writes Patrick Cockburn

Michael Church is sticking by the charge that cuts, caution and complacency has destroyed the corporation's ability and will to report or analyse events with any rigour

Is Madonna losing her touch or is the queen of pop still relevant?

Radio 1 has responded to her much-maligned antics at the Grammys by dropping her from its playlist. So has the bottom fallen out of her market?

Tower blocks: do we love them or hate them?

High-rises are now shunned by all but the super-cool, yet a new project is celebrating the remaining stock

A crowdfunding success story has seen a simple card game raise a massive $7m in a matter of weeks

Indira Varma: From 'Game of Thrones' to 'Man and Superman'