Richard Madden couldn't pay his rent before landing 'Game of Thrones' role

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'Game of Thrones' fans furious after series finale failed to live up to expectations

After eight seasons of dragons, sword fights, ice zombies and massive battles, 'Game of Thrones' fans finally got the answer to the question, 'Who will end up on the Iron Throne?' Unfortunately, for many fans, that answer was pretty underwhelming. With big swings being taken left and right in the series finale, it seems opinions on the HBO hit show's final season were as cold as the winter that finally came.

Richard Madden's life literally changed overnight.

Before landing his big break role on "Game of Thrones" as the noble Robb Stark, the once struggling actor couldn't pay his rent and barely had enough money for one meal a day.

During an appearance on "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon" on Thursday, Madden confessed he was living off about $5 a day.

“I had two options: I could either buy one meal or a newspaper and a pint,” he revealed. “It went the other way usually.”

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When Madden got the call about "Thrones," he thought the series would have a small cult following because of the book's popularity. He never imagined it would spiral into the biggest show on TV.

"I was on my last month’s rent,” he recalled about that period of time in his life. “I asked my agent for an advance and that helped me get through the next little bit.”

And if his acting career didn't work out, Madden said he was prepared to move back to his parents' house and reevaluate things.

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The 32-year-old played Robb in the show's first three seasons but was tragically killed off in what is now known as The Red Wedding. In 2018, Madden landed another huge role in the BBC thriller "Bodyguard."

The series was picked up by Netflix and his talents earned him a Golden Globe award for best actor in a TV drama.

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“I thought this would just be a little show in the U.K.,” he told Fallon. “And then it kind of got carried away with itself, so I was thrilled about that.”