William Moseley is no stranger when it comes to royalty. He originally played Peter Pevensie in the Chronicles of Narnia series, where he ruled over the Kingdom of Narnia. And now he's Prince Liam in the upcoming series The Royals, starring Elizabeth Hurley as Queen Helena (his mother on the show).
But in his current role, William gets to be a little more of a playboy as he attempts to navigate his way through love, family and obligation along with the rest of the members of the monarchy in the new series which is centered around the lives of a fictional modern-day British royal family.
We sat down with the young star to find out how he prepared for the most intense scenes on The Royals, why he's a natural rebel at heart, and his secret desire to play the villain in a Shakespeare production.
In the series premiere of The Royals, the family find themselves in the wake of a sudden tragedy when Prince Liam's older brother Robert dies. As it turns out, William had just gone through a personal tragedy of his own, which reflected in his role.
"It was really weird," he said. "My grandfather had just died and the day that he died was the day I found out I got the job but everyone was in the hospital. In the first episode Liam's brother dies, so it was a bit weird looking at a casket in a real church and then a week later I was looking at a casket on set. It was fresh in my mind."
And similar to his character, who rebels against his mother's strict manner and the expectations that are placed upon him, William is also a bit of a rebel in real life.
"In some ways I wouldn't want to do things the way everyone wants me to do them," he explained. "I want to live my own life and I don't want anyone to tell me how to live my own life. I would rebel against it."
Despite Prince Liam's playboy ways, he is a good guy at heart. And while William enjoys his role as the sweet prince with a little bit of a wild side to him, he's already got his sights set on other dramatic roles and admits that he's a big fan of Shakespeare.
"I love Shakespeare and would love to do Othello," William revealed. "The character of Iago is my favorite. They say he's the greatest villain in history. He's a villain because he's so nice. He's like your best friend who hangs out with you and doesn't want to tell you the bad news but then he'll break it to you and that's how he manipulates an entire situation. He's a little mischievous."
William admitted that his guilty TV pleasures include The Wire, Breaking Bad, True Detective and Game of Thrones, but he also enjoys channeling his inner creativity when he gets the chance.
"I like going to art galleries and getting back to the countryside where my parents live," he said. "Relaxing in the garden, exercising a bit. I was writing while I was filming so that was a separate focus. I was always writing a script which is really hard work."
E!'s new scripted series The Royals premieres this Sunday, March 15 at 10 p.m.! Follow The Royals on Twitter and Facebook for the latest updates!