But the 31-year-old from Belfast has more similarities to the show – which featured an ‘English fella’ forced to attend an all-girls’ school in 90s Northern Ireland due to safety concerns – in his own life.

The actor, who is playing 1st Baron Ardilaun in the new show, has credited his rise to theatrical prowess, tackling roles in everything from Game of Thrones to political thriller Say Nothing as IRA activist Brendan Hughes; partially to being one of only 15 males of 2,000 pupils in St Louise’s Comprehensive College.

‘I got expelled from boy’s schools in Belfast and the only one that would take me was an all-girls’ school called St Louise’s,’ he told RTÉ’s The Late Late Show.

‘There were 2,000 girls and ten boys it worked out alright. It was such a mad experience. You know, you’re 16 and there’s 2,000 girls.’

He added there were ‘a lot of hijinks’ – but also, a very well established drama department.

‘I got to act every day,’ he continued. ‘I got to actually do what I loved everyday… They needed males for the parts so I got to play a lot of different things for three years… it was good craic.’

Speaking to Backstage in 2024, Anthony said he had ‘behavioural problems’ and ‘would do crazy s**t’ as a teen.

‘Maybe it was something to do with being frustrated by my dyslexia, which I didn’t know I had until later,’ he continued.

‘I’ve never really liked authority, so I didn’t respond to that in a positive way. I ended up going to an all-girls school in Belfast, which was an experiment where they invited 15 of the worst-behaved local lads to attend.

‘Luckily, they had an amazing drama department, and I would just spend all day there. My ‘dance first’ energy was celebrated, and I loved it.’

He also spoke up about health issues he faced as a child to the outlet.

‘I had Perthes disease as a child, which affects the bones. It meant I couldn’t walk for a number of years, and I couldn’t play sports like the rest of my family,’ Anthony explained. ‘So I spent a lot of time observing people. I’d watch their physicality and how they behaved around others.

‘I spent so much time not being able to be involved that when I could walk again and join in, I became the first to volunteer for anything. Since then, I’ve never been a wallflower.’

Anthony went on to star in small theatre productions, before beginning training at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama in 2013. In 2016, he graduated with a BA in acting.

It followed with great success in the West End, as he got the role of Scorpius Malfoy in Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.

‘I was 21, and it just felt so huge, a real baptism by fire. On the first night, I remember walking out the stage door to thousands of people screaming, and thinking, Holy f**k – this is real. That role really set me up, especially winning the Olivier Award, which felt like a real stamp of approval. It changed everything for me.’

Anthony’s progression from stage to screen saw him tackling a myriad of notorious, and perhaps historical figures – including Brian Wood, a solider who fought in the Battle of Danny Boy.

He has also recently been announced for a future role as convicted cryptocurrency fraudster Sam Banke-Fried.

Last year, he had starring roles in four TV shows, including the critically acclaimed Masters of the Air, where he played Major Harry Herbert Crosby.

‘I sent over the tape and it was like a bad James Dean impression. And then they sent me a clip of the character ‘Crosby’, who I ended up playing, and I just fell in love with him as soon as I saw him,’ he told Spotlight.

‘In this clip of him speaking – a 10 minute clip – he seemed so unique, he seemed so bizarre. It seemed like every other character on the page was in Band of Brothers and Crosby was in an Adam Sandler movie. He was nervous, he was throwing up on people. So I really wanted to play him.

‘He had written a book called ‘On a Wing and a Prayer’, which is like a memoir of him in war. I just read that constantly. I had clips of him speaking.

‘We’d done a three-week bootcamp where we had an old army general call us maggots every day and make us do push-ups. So he got us into shape and got us into the mental space that we needed to be there to play these brave men.’

Elsewhere, in a miniseries called Manhunt, he also played John Wilkes Booth – the man who assassinated American president Abraham Lincoln, and in Shardlake, John Swaine, an English draughtsman and engraver.

In 2024 he was also part of the hit Say Nothing, a historical drama set during The Troubles, as IRA activist Brendan Hughes.

He was hugely praised for the portrayal, telling Gold Derby that it was a ‘great honour’ to bring the part to life.

‘It’s interesting, man. There’s a great clip of a British army officer talking about him, and he says that “we had the full might of the British army trying to chase down Brendan, and he just stood there in a dinner jacket and a handgun shooting back at us. You couldn’t help but admire the plucky little bugger”,’ he shared.

‘They still have admiration for him. I think it just goes to show you the kind of guy he was terms of the whole charisma thing.

‘I sort of based him off himself, obviously, and I’ve got an uncle called Snake who is really charismatic and really good at telling stories. You know, when you’re with him in the bar, he’s got this real magnetic quality.

‘He pulls everyone, and he’s got this real way speaking. I grew up in Belfast, and I would drink in the same bars that Brendan would drink in, and I know there’s people that he knew. This one for me felt like a very natural fit.’

Now, he’s at the helm of a show about yet another Irish legend – the Guinness empire.

The gritty period drama tells the story of the legendary family behind the world-famous brewery, set against the backdrop of 19th-century Dublin and New York.

Ivana Lowell – the daughter of novelist Lady Caroline Blackwood and granddaughter of one of the ‘golden Guinness girls’ Maureen, Marchioness of Dufferin and Ava – was the one who came up with the idea for the House Of Guinness, after being inspired while watching Downton Abbey to tell her family’s own ‘juicier and more interesting’ story.

She wrote a 20-page television treatment of the story of her ancestors, which has now been brought to the screen by Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight.

Speaking to The BBC this week, Ivana explained that she had created the character of Sean Rafferty, a handsome brewery foreman played by James Norton, to provide ‘the conflict and the passion that makes a story interesting’.

She explained her desire to do her ancestors justice, admitting: ‘I didn’t want them to be villains, but any business person has to be ruthless, especially in those times.’

But she also insisted that today’s Guinness family were not bothered by her airing the dirty laundry of their predecessors, saying: ‘We are not high and mighty about our reputation, we have a very good sense of humour about ourselves’.

Speaking about working with Ivana to create the gritty eight-part series, Steven gushed: ‘Ivana is an absolute mine of information and untold stories about the family going back years.

‘Meeting her was the best bit of research imaginable because you didn’t just get the stories, you got the (family) confidence, and the spirit and the slight madness… I was hooked.’

According to Netflix, the series ‘explores an epic story inspired by one of Europe’s most famous and enduring dynasties – the Guinness Family.’

The synopsis continues: ‘Set in 19th-century Dublin and New York, the story begins immediately after the death of Sir Benjamin Guinness, the man responsible for the extraordinary success of the Guinness brewery.

‘And the far-reaching impact of his will on the fate of his four adult children, Arthur, Edward, Anne, and Ben, as well as on a group of Dublin characters who work and interact with the phenomenon that is Guinness.’

As well as Happy Valley actor James and Anthony, who is playing Arthur, the all-star line-up sees Enola Holmes star Louis Partridge in the cast as Edward.

Emily Fairn, known for The Responder, steps into the role of Anne, and Normal People’s Fionn O’Shea rounds out the siblings as Ben.

The cast is further bolstered by Dublin-born actress Dervla Kirwan, and Game of Thrones favourite Jack Gleeson.

House Of Guinness will chronicle the extraordinary success of the family behind the famous Irish brewery.

But behind the story of wealth and prosperity lies a tragic tale of seemingly endless misfortune for the family.

From Tara Browne, who died following a car crash in South Kensington, to scandalous affairs and divorces and the tragic drowning of Honor Uloth aged just 19 in 2020, the family seems to have been dealt a series of devastating blows.

The personal losses faced by the Guinnesses have become so infamous that it is thought to be ‘cursed’, despite holding a fortune of over £900million today.

Speaking about the show, creator Steven commented: ‘The Guinness dynasty is known the world over – wealth, poverty, power, influence, and great tragedy are all intertwined to create a rich tapestry of material to draw from.

‘I’ve always been fascinated by their stories and am excited to bring the characters to life for the world to see.’

House Of Guinness is scheduled to premiere on Netflix on Thursday, September 25.