Game Of Thrones: Fire and ice

LONDON — You’ve seen them banter and bicker endlessly on HBO’s Game Of Thrones (GOT) as Jaime Lannister and Brienne of Tarth.

And in person, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau and Gwendoline Christie were almost exactly the same as their characters. Besides, of course, the fact that they were not covered in blood and mud.

The pair has become a favourite among fans of the TV series based on George R R Martin’s fantasy novels and set in the fictional lands of Westeros and Essos.

Coster-Waldau plays the charming but morally questionable knight Lannister, while Christie plays the lumbering female knight Brienne, who is charged with bringing Ser Jaime back to his family in exchange for Catelyn Stark’s daughters.

So it’s hard to imagine, when they first met on the set of GOT, that Christie found Coster-Waldau absolutely terrifying.

“I walked into the make-up car because I was told that he was in there. I wanted to say hi,” Christie shared during an interview at Corinthia Hotel ahead of the fourth season of the series.

“I felt nervous. I hadn’t worked with this person — I was new on the show! I said hello, and he just regarded me. He regarded me. And I felt absolutely terrified.

“And then it started. And it hasn’t stopped.”

Season 4 of Game Of Thrones premieres Sunday, April 13, 10pm on HBO / HBO HD (StarHub TV Ch 601). Meanwhile, HBO Asia will be airing the uncut premiere episode in a free one-night-only advanced screening on April 4, 6.30pm, at GV Grand, Great World City. To score an invite, identify yourself as a Games Of Thrones fan on HBO Asia’s Facebook page and spread the word about the event by: Liking HBO Asia’s Facebook page, sharing the event post with the hashtag #GOTAsia13Apr or leaving a comment on the same post to explain why you are the greatest GOT fan in Singapore.

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Q: Why do you think this show is still so successful after three seasons?

Coster-Waldau: The Red Wedding in Season 3 last year kind of explains that a little bit. On YouTube, there was this video of reactions of people watching the Red Wedding. And the passion and the horror ... it was so much fun to watch. But also it just explains that the audience has really invested in these characters. And so it’s one of those things, like when I watch Breaking Bad, I want to see what happens next. And then I think (GOT writers) DB Weiss and David Benioff have done a really good job of exploring and opening up this world in an exciting way. So you still get surprised like you did in the Red Wedding.

Q: Were you fantasy fans before you were involved in this show?

Christie: It wasn’t something that (would make me say) “that is my genre”. But it’s something I’ve grown up watching, like Terry Gilliam movies. What I loved about this one, when I first saw that first episode, (there was) something about it — I think it was the aesthetic, it was that storyline, it was the weight of Sean Bean (who played Ned Stark), that I thought was just great. And I didn’t think, “Oh, it’s a fantasy show!” I just locked into it. And increasingly it’s just got really riveting, exciting storylines that we can relate to the human emotions in them, outside of our everyday sort of experiences. That’s what I think makes it exciting.

Coster-Waldau: That was not the question...

Q: How did you respond to the Red Wedding yourselves?

Christie: Nikolaj got really upset with me because I said that I got upset.

Coster-Waldau: No, I wasn’t upset!

Christie: You were!

Coster-Waldau: I loved the fact that you cried! And I think...

Christie: I’m embarrassed about that now...

Coster-Waldau: Why are you embarrassed about that now? Is that after the eight hours at the gym?

Christie: No. That day I hadn’t done my eight-hour swordfighting training. An eight-hour long obstacle course.

Coster-Waldau: Right, sorry.

Christie: Shutting you down now on that in this room (of journalists). It’s a new room.

Coster-Waldau: You really should. Well done. The question was what was your reaction to the Red Wedding?

Christie: Thank you. I knew it was happening, but I was really caught up by it. I thought the performances were really moving. I was moved to think that I wouldn’t be working with those people again. I thought everybody did a really sterling job. In the books it’s really, really powerful. And you wonder how that extraordinary scene is going to be brought to life. And I thought they did a really fantastic job. And it’s wonderful when the justification is that people have connected to it so strongly emotionally that it produces these responses of people videoed and put on the internet. I was quite overwhelmed by it.

Q: What kind of responses do you get from people in the street? Aidan (Gillen who plays Petyr Baelish) said he got a curse put on him in Poland.

Christie: (Laughs manically)

Coster-Waldau: I’ve only had positive experiences. I’ve come across strange ones, but positive. I was in the gym, I was in the shower. And then suddenly this guy said, “What are you doing here?” And I was like “What?” And he was like why are you in the gym? And I was like well, I’m working out. So there are those moments.

Q: Fans love the relationship between your two characters. Did you two know each other before?

Christie: It’s taken a lot, lot, lot, lot of work.

Coster-Waldau: Like this…

Christie: I can tell you...

Coster-Waldau: Do you remember as a kid you’ve got like...

Christie: I walked into the make-up car because I was told that he was in there. I wanted to say hi. I felt nervous. I hadn’t worked with this person, I was new on the show! And I said hello. And he just regarded me. He regarded me. And I felt absolutely terrified. And then it started. And it hasn’t stopped.

Coster-Waldau: It’s been hard work.

(Both laugh.)

Q: Gwendoline, if you were to get into a swordfight, how long would it take for you to take Nikolaj down?

Christie: He would win if it’s (between) us, because he’s naturally very gifted and has a lot of experience and can learn swordfighting via Skype.

Coster-Waldau: And she’s spent, what was it, six months, eight hours a day...

Christie: I didn’t say that. I said it’s three to four days a week, then I spend another three days at the gym.

Coster-Waldau: But it’s paid hours.

Christie: Yeah, they get me. I am sorry.

Coster-Waldau: Never mind. But she could beat me for sure. That’s because of her anger. There’s so much anger boiling up.

Christie Yeah, you’ve done a good job. You’ve done a very good job.

Q: You seem to really get along. How necessary is it for co-stars to get along with each other?

Coster-Waldau: To be honest, it’s not a necessity. I mean I’ve worked with people that I didn’t necessarily get along with. But I prefer to have fun with the people I work with.

Christie: I prefer not to get along with someone. (Laughs) It’s a bit more spicy isn’t it?

Coster-Waldau: That’s your choice. But no.

Christie: Yeah, it’s nice.

Coster-Waldau: And you’re in location all the time, we’re in Belfast or somewhere else. You do have a lot of time in the evenings. It’s nice to have someone to share a meal with, now and then.

Q: Is there a reason why Jaime gets a new haircut next season?

Coster-Waldau: Well he’s kind of been stuck with this long hair and mud and beard.

Christie: You told me you wanted to get it cut like mine!

Coster-Waldau: I was minding you off, for God’s sake.

Christie: You didn’t, you stated it.

Coster-Waldau: (Jamie) wants to clean up. And you know, I like the fact that we did it because there has been a lot of change. But that’s it, it’s just a change.

Q: Some people say you look like Prince Charming.

Coster-Waldau: Well that’s another reason why it’s good to get rid of the hair.

Q: Gwendoline, your character isn’t so feminine. How do you transform for the role?

Christie: It’s really, really exciting to play a character that is not about the way that you look, it’s not about being attractive. It’s about something else. And whenever those characters come up, you relish playing them. Because it’s flexing your acting muscles. It’s stimulating, it’s exciting.

Coster-Waldau: It is true. It is a huge transformation. Because you are such a girl. And I don’t mean that in a negative way. She’s a real girl. And she has to play this.

Q: Feminine, I think, is the word you are looking for.

Coster-Waldau: Feminine. Sorry, feminine!

Christie: I don’t take offense at the use of the word “girl”.

Q: What can you tell us about acting with no hand, Nikolaj?

Coster-Waldau: It’s kind of like acting with a hand. It’s the same. You pretend. For this character, it’s a big problem. That’s great. It’s an obstacle, a huge obstacle that he has to deal with, and on so many levels it forces him to stop for a second and maybe re-evaluate a lot of things. So it’s great.

Q: Did you have to do things differently?

Coster-Waldau: You mean just the physical aspect? Well, yeah in Season 3 they had a stump. It’s already been in the preview, so I can say that he gets fitted with a golden hand. And that has its own difficulties. But it’s great. You have to use your left hand, and I am right-handed.

Q: What did you think about Jaime’s character? He’s been going through some big changes.

Coster-Waldau: He’s a very conflicted man. He is a product of his upbringing. And on top of that he has made some choices in his life that he has to deal with now. And he’s a great, great character in the way he’s been written. It’s just beautiful.

Q: You have a movie career that has been running parallel the show. Do you think it is because of Game Of Thrones?

Coster-Waldau: It certainly doesn’t hurt to be on Game Of Thrones and I’ve done this for a long time, and I have been very lucky being able to work. But you’re absolutely right that now there are more choices.

Q: Are you doing more English-language stuff?

Coster-Waldau: Yeah, but also I am doing stuff back home. I just wrapped a film in Denmark. In an ideal world I would like to do different projects all the time because that’s fun.

Q: Are there any scenes in the new season that will make people cry, like the Red Wedding?

Christie: Loads.

Q: Can you tell us a little bit more?

Coster-Waldau: No, we can’t. I think (Brienne) is now with me in King’s Landing or I’ve brought her there. They have this thing that they need to do, and she is insisting on that, which is a real pain in the arse for Jaime. Because he has to deal with his family and being Lord Commander of the King’s Guard. Huge responsibility. There’s so much on his plate that she is such a nuisance. That whole dynamic in the Lannister family is very much at the core of Season 4. Another big thing, as you know, has been set up: the whole Stark war. The Wildlings are starting to attack. Let’s see what happens.

Q: Anything that made you cry?

Coster-Waldau: Oh yes.

Christie: Oh God, I’m always crying, aren’t I?

Coster-Waldau: No, I don’t cry.