Aidan Turner "never" wanted to be an actor

Speaking about his acting career, he said: "I wasn’t a huge film buff and never wanted to be an actor. Subconsciously, I was probably looking out for something else to do creatively."

And whilst the 37-year-old actor insists he has some "power" to select which roles he takes on, he has never been in a position where he can just "pick and choose" as he wishes.

He added: "I’ve never been in a position where I can just pick and choose. There’s some power, I suppose: you can always choose to take something or not. But there’s healthy competition."

Aidan feels grateful to have some time away from his fame and success and enjoys being able to "get himself back a little more" and disappear more from social media when he can.

He told inews.co.uk: "When the movies aren’t in the cinemas any more - and you’re not doing red carpets - these things fade away, thankfully. And you get yourself back a little bit more."

Meanwhile, Aidan previously insisted he has never felt "objectified".

He explained: "It seems like there is a double standard, yeah, it does seem that way. But I try not to get involved in [that debate]. I've never felt objectified. I think sometimes other people want to feel that for you, which can be quite a strange thing. These photographs were stills from the show, so in context it makes sense. When you pull them out and stick a photograph on the front page of a national newspaper, it becomes something very different."