Richard Armitage Talks About His New Show Berlin Station

Our own Chris Killian chatted with Richard Armitage, who is best known for playing Heinz Kruger in 2011's Captain America: The First Avenger and Thorin Oakenshield in Peter Jackson's The Hobbit trilogy, and asked the 45-year-old English actor to discuss working on Berlin Station, EPIX's new ten-episode espionage drama television series.

"Working with that cast, Richard Jenkins, Rhys Ifans, Michelle Forbes, it was so exciting," Armitage told ComicBook.com. "My character interacts with Rhys, a lot. And he's such a kind of comedian; he's such a fun person, playing such a dark character. We had a great time together.

"I love the genre," he continued. "I love anything John le Carré. I love the spy-thriller. And, who doesn't want to see that on film?"

Killian pointed out that in the first episode Armitage looks incredibly fit. Did he workout for the role?

"I'm glad you think I'm in good shape," he said with a smile. "I thought I was looking a bit flabby. I did a bit of work for Red Dragon and hung onto it for a little bit, because you just never know when you are going to read a stage direction in a script that says, 'He drops his pants.' So, you have to be kind of ready for it, man."

Berlin Station is a contemporary spy series that follows Daniel Miller (Richard Armitage), an undercover agent who has just arrived at the CIA station in Berlin, Germany. Miller has a clandestine mission: to determine the identity of a now-famous whistleblower masquerading as "Thomas Shaw." Guided by jaded veteran Hector DeJean (Rhys Ifans) Daniel learns to contend with the rough-and-tumble world of the field officer - agent-running, deception, danger and moral compromises. As he dives deeper into the German capital's hall of mirrors and uncovers the threads of a conspiracy that leads back to Washington, Daniel wonders: Can anyone ever be the same after a posting to Berlin?

The cast features Richard Armitage as Daniel Miller, Richard Jenkins as Steven Frost, Rhys Ifans as Hector DeJean, Michelle Forbes as Valerie Edwards, Leland Orser as Robert Kirsch, and Tamlyn Tomita as Sandra Abe.

Berlin Station airs Sundays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on EPIX.