Your storylines as Meryn have kept you mostly with characters like Cersei and Arya, but what has it been like to act with the epic cast of Game of Thrones?
In terms of acting with Lena [Heady], and also I’ve met several strong women in the cast, and I’ve had the pleasure of working mainly with Lena and Maisie [Williams], but also with Sophie Turner, with Dame Diana Rigg, with Natalie Dormer. It has just been the most wonderful experience of my life. To work with such incredible talent has been something that I have cherished, and that I will cherish for the remainder of my career. It’s certainly a career highlight for me to work with such an incredibly talented cast — and some of the best actors in the world — and I’m sitting in the same room with them! You can’t help but be flattered by that… you have to pinch yourself every so often!
I remember when we were filming season 4, and it was the Purple Wedding, Joffrey’s death, and we were filming in Croatia. The first day, we were all sitting in the tent with all the actors, and I took one look around the room and there was Peter Dinklage, Lena Heady, Sophie Turner, Dame Diana Rigg, Natalie Dormer, Gwendolyn Christie, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Conleth Hill… this incredible list of talent — Charles Dance, for goodness sakes! I really did have to pinch myself, to be there.
Did you take any mementos with you from the set?
I didn’t actually, funnily enough! I think I took socks, I think a got a guilty pair of socks. The one thing I really would have liked to have taken — I didn’t have a chance to even ask for it — was the leather coat. The leather coat under the Kingsguard armor was absolutely gorgeous, I would have taken it home with me if I could have. I just think, if I were going to go clubbing, that would be the coat to wear! That would be such a good coat to wear. But unfortunately, no, I didn’t take anything with me, apart from the very best wishes of everybody I worked with — and I suppose that was gift enough.
As always, there were a ton of deaths on the show this year. Aside from Meryn’s, which death made the biggest impact on you?
The one that horrified me the most… [well,] I deliberately ask the production team not to give me the scripts. I just get my scenes, because I literally don’t want to know what happens next. I’m a huge fan of the show, and I didn’t for a second imagine that they would kill Jon Snow.
That death completely, totally horrified me, and completely broke my heart. That just blew me away. I was sitting there for half an hour afterwards. I ran to the fridge to get myself a huge glass of wine, I think I was shaking! And then I had to rewind it and play it again — to see the life go out of his eyes, I just thought, “Oh my God, oh my God.”
That broke my heart. [It’s] next to the Red Wedding. The Red Wedding has a special place in my heart, because it was just so incredibly well done, and it was just so incredibly shocking. But Jon Snow was right up there, that horrified me.
There are many fan theories that Jon Snow may come back to life — do you have any theories of your own?
I have none at all. One of the very few good points of me not being there anymore [is], as a fan, I am now completely and totally in the dark. I cannot wait for season 6 — and also because book 6 [in A Song of Ice and Fire] hasn’t been released yet! There isn’t any indication whatsoever about what may or may not happen, and what direction all these different storylines will take. So I am in the dark as much as anybody else, and I just can’t wait for season 6. I will be absolutely glued to the television screen. In fact, I’m seriously thinking of flying to America to see it the night before!
So if you could ask Dave and Dan, or George R.R. Martin, one question — what would it be?
Funny enough, my one question would be, “Is Tyrion going to be there at the end?” Please, tell me he’s going to be there at the end! That would be my one question, because as a character, Tyrion Lannister is my personal favorite, and Peter Dinklage portrays him so perfectly. They couldn’t have got anybody better to portray this character.
I think that’s probably Peter’s question too!
I’m sure it is! [laughs] Dave and Dan don’t tell anybody! Until your time comes, you don’t know. I think I might kill myself if they killed Tyrion, I might have to book myself into a hospital or something.
There really should be hospitals for Game of Thrones fans in withdrawal.
Absolutely! There should be Game of Thrones offseason clinics, to help people get through the time until the next season comes out! I think there really, really should be, and I think it would make a fortune.
Okay, I’m patenting this idea.
[Laughs] I’ll be your first patient!
Game of Thrones season 5 is now available for download from HBOdigitalHD.com.
We want to hear your thoughts on this topic!
Write a comment below or submit an article to Hypable.