Music career comes first for Game Of Thrones star Jacob Anderson aka Raleigh Ritchie

He may be best known as Grey Worm, leader of the fearsome Unsullied army in Game Of Thrones — but Jacob Anderson is now ready to pursue his true calling as a musician under the stage name Raleigh Ritchie.

He is signed to Columbia Records and his first single, Stronger Than Ever, has already had more than 1.2 million hits on YouTube despite only being released this week.

The 24-year-old is ready to put his acting career, which has included roles on stage with the RSC and the Young Vic as well as ITV drama Broadchurch, on the back burner.

He told the Standard: “Acting was the happiest accident I could hope to have had. My drama teacher at school encouraged me to audition for a TV show ... and it just spiralled out of control from there.

“I really love it, but music is what I’ve been doing since I was at school and I never really stopped.

“It’s kind of weird when people say that I’ve made a transition because to me there hasn’t been any transition. I never stopped writing songs. Music was first.”

Ritchie, who lives in north London with his girlfriend, Mr Selfridge actress Aisling Loftus, is finishing his debut album which he hopes to release early next year. He added: “My attitude with music is always either people like it or they don’t and there’s not really a lot I can do.

“If people can’t see past Games Of Thrones or anything else that I have done then that’s out of my control.”