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Cardiff actor Matthew Rhys is about to appear in one of the most talked about shows of the past half decade - Girls.

In a departure from the Cold War drama The Americans, Rhys will play writer Chuck Palmer, a literary idol of the lead character Hannah - who is played by Lena Dunham, the creator of the HBO show.

Speaking to WalesOnline about the role, Rhys revealed that filming the much-loved series was shrouded in secrecy and that Dunham works in an "incredibly daring" way.

"Lena and Jenny Konner - the showrunner - have such great minds. They are doing the kind of provocative writing which is very healthy and apt at this juncture of history," said the 42-year-old.

"They are great at challenging audiences and provoking and poking them.

"When the script came along they thought of me... which when you see the episode, you might wonder what they were thinking!"

The episode, called American Bitch, airs in the UK on Sky Atlantic on February 27 and its synopsis reveals that Matthew's character has been subject to some disturbing allegations.

The very adult show is famed for its controversial but ultimately truthful handling of the extremes of female relationships and nudity.

The actor added: "There was one bit where I thought to myself 'I'm not sure if I want to do that'... but I did it anyway. It's a two-hander between myself and Lena and we have that age-old debate about society, men and women, the dangers of the world. It's a beautiful script."

He says working with Dunham was a freeing experience in terms of how the show was made.

"On The Americans, we have a very specific way of filming which can be a little limiting or restraining sometimes," said Matthew, who shot into the American consciousness thanks to his role as Kevin Walker in Brothers and Sisters.

"Lena comes from the point of view that when you have the essence of a scene nailed down, she'll tell you to do it in your own words, which is incredibly daring in this day and age. TV is a writer's medium now."

It's not only Dunham who Matthew worked with closely on Girls - Adam Driver, who plays Adam in the show, learnt his Welsh accent from the Whitchurch native.

"I was actually doing a play about five years ago, Look Back In Anger, with Adam who told me he'd done a pilot for a new TV series and it was Girls," he explained.

"He was playing a Welsh man and I was helping him with his accent. One performance, we had Carwyn Jones in the audience and I told Adam the First Minister was coming to see the play and I explained to him who Carwyn Jones is. He said: 'So basically the king of Wales is coming and is going to see me play a Welshman?'

"He couldn't believe it. His accent was alright - I did coach him mind," he laughed.

Girls continues on Sky Atlantic, Mondays, at 10pm