Fresh interviews with the cast are pouring in as the new season approaches! There are minor plot spoilers for season 2 ahead, so proceed with caution.
- Carice van Houten discusses her role as Melisandre, and states that she’ll be appearing in episodes 1, 2, 4 and 10. The early portion of this interview covers her role in the film “Black Butterflies,” which co-stars our Davos, Liam Cunningham.
- In a fantastic in-depth interview with the University Observer, Aidan Gillen mentions that Littlefinger will “branch out and go on some travels too” and he touches upon the “sexposition” issue. Gillen also says:
“I’m actually trying to get out of playing villains now –maybe signing up for six seasons as Littlefinger goes against that, but I don’t see him as a villain, more a brilliant strategist and survivor in a cut-throat world.”
- Kit Harington wins “Best Hair” for San Diego Comic Con and discusses with Young Hollywood what it’s like to see people cosplaying as Jon Snow.
- And Richard Madden talks with 1883 about working with Sean Bean, and says about S2:
“This season you go deeper into a lot of the characters. Robb Stark has more confidence – he’s learning by doing – we have a little love story or two, there are some new faces, some people get more evil, some get smarter and of course there’s a bit of death thrown in there too.”
Fury: The Aidan Gillen piece is a great read and I recommend reading the entire article. He has a lot to say about Game of Thrones. The sudden onslaught of interviews really brings home how soon season 2 will be here!
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87 Comments
Nothing overly new, really. Thanks for posting it anyway.
Also, FIRST.
Bad DogQuote Reply
Interesting about the episodes Van Houten will appear in. Looks like she’s absent from the middle of the season until the very end, which is a little odd. If she’s in episode 4, that must be the episode where Renly dies. I’m guessing the scene in episode 10 is either a new one or moved up from ASOS, because from what I remember she wasn’t in ACOK after giving birht to the shadow baby.
Arrogant BastardQuote Reply
Yeah interview with Aidan is very well done. He is an interesting guy.
btw, I am doing the happy dance on Carice s confidence over S3!
The RabbitQuote Reply
Arrogant Bastard,
Maybe she is there just to tell Stannis I told you so.
AstalnarQuote Reply
Well, you say it yourself. Since she is largely absent from ACOK after the shadow baby, it’s natural for her to be largely absent from the second half of season 2.
Bad DogQuote Reply
Really enjoyed the interview with Aidan Gillen. He seems like a pretty likeable guy, both smart and down-to-earth. Interesting line about the six seasons, too.
InduQuote Reply
Great news day!
Thanks for all the tidbits!
Just think, the real onslaught of publicity hasn’t even happened yet.
There will still be a lot more trailers, just like season one.
And then we will have to resurrect…
Brotherhood without Previews!
HollyoakQuote Reply
Bad Dog,
Yeah, I forgot to add that I expected Renly’s death a little later than episode 4, which I’m assuming (there’s a good chance I’m wrong) will take place in that episode if it’s the last one Carice appears in before episode 10.
Arrogant BastardQuote Reply
Is he joking about signing up for SIX seasons?
Because I hope he’s not joking.
Theon GreyjoyQuote Reply
Arrogant Bastard,
Ok, it makes perfect sense now. :-) And I agree with your theory. After all, Renly will need a bit of time to establish himself as a major player to the TV viewer, only to be “removed” again unexpectaedly soon.
Bad DogQuote Reply
I thought everybody assumed Renly would die in Ep 4 based on the information that came with the 17 pictures that were released two weeks ago. The pictures of Stannis, Mel, Renly, Brienne and Cat were all from ep 4 (according to the embedded info) and the Brienne pic showed her in Renly’s tent. Renly’s death was about halfway through the book, so episode four or five would’ve been my guess. I wonder if Carice’s episode list then suggests that her second shadow baby will also be in episode four, or if it’s been cut out (that’s the likely answer, and a little disappointing, though I realize cuts have to be made and that one would make sense; Mel and Davos’s scene together in the book was pretty great, though), or maybe Carice just misspoke or was misinformed. Gillen’s interview also had an interesting and unfortunate realization: it was already clear from the pictures that Petyr would also be in episode four at or near Renly’s camp, and people had already commented on how he must leave King’s Landing much earlier, but I hadn’t thought about how this cuts down on the opportunities for him to interact with Tyrion this season. I wonder if they’re going to want to bring him back to the city before the battle, but that wouldn’t really make sense since I’m sure they’d want to keep the surprise attack of the Tyrells and Lannisters on Stannis’s forces at the BotB.
JackSparrowQuote Reply
Yeah, I caught that too. Is that a book spoiler, or has he just not committed yet to the end of the series?
AsaZernikQuote Reply
Holy crap, my immense respect for Gillen just quadrupled during that interview, what a wonderful cool person.
KnurkQuote Reply
I think he’s just spitballing. I think standard TV contracts for series regulars are five seasons, though that could certainly vary.
JackSparrowQuote Reply
I’m guessing the interviewer just made a mistake with this bit
or else Littlefinger really does get to do some travelling in Season 2 ;-)
Not only does Tyrion send him to meet with the Tyrells but he gets him to travel up to beyond the Wall to see what Jon is doing.
MormegilQuote Reply
That makes sense, I never looked up or knew what episode those pictures were for. Episode four seems a bit early to me, but I’m sure they’ll make it work fine. Unfortunately, I think the second shadow baby has been cut–I don’t believe Cortnay Penrose was cast. Agree about Littlefinger, being at Renly’s camp by episode four seems early. Plus, not sure if this has been discussed, but it seems weird for Petry to even be at Renly’s camp. The only reason he goes in the book is to court the Tyrells for Margaery to marry Joffrey, which obviously wouldn’t happen when Renly is still alive. Intersting to see how they explain that on the show.
Arrogant BastardQuote Reply
The episode list for Melly Sanders also means she won’t be present for the Blackwater (as in the book), although many were speculating that she would appear alongside Stannis in his command tent. And as someone else mentioned, her appearance in Ep 10 almost certainly means we’ll be getting the equivalent of the first couple Davos chapters from SoS.
the goatQuote Reply
I think Carice mispoke, she knows circa what episodes she will appear. There is no reason to put Renly’s death and Storm’s End shadow in the same episode, and we saw her giving birth to a shadow baby in the teaser, right? If Renly dies in episode 4, Storm’s End is captured in episode 5. Only other option is if they changed the story and cut Storm’s End story, and we see Melisandre giving birth to a shadow for Renly.
Mean25Quote Reply
the goat,
Well, it was a plot point that she was left at Dragonstone. So it makes sense.
MagnusQuote Reply
Why do you assume he wasn’t cast? They don’t normally make casting announcements for characters who only appear in one scene, do they?
mummerQuote Reply
Possibly, but we could easily just have a Stannis/Mel scene back on Dragonstone while Davos is still stuck on his Rock till Season 3. We don’t need Davos back there as a Point of View afterall.
As to the 2nd Shadowbaby, wasn’t the scene of Davos/Mel in a boat filmed? I suppose the show could have them using a boat to get near Renlys Camp rather than under Storms End.
MormegilQuote Reply
fyi in the interview carice said they are filming season 3 this summer
soap on popeQuote Reply
Mean25,
We didn’t see that in the trailer, the quick image was of her having sex not giving birth. It is disappointing though if it’s true she disappears after the 4th episode until the season finale. She’s a really interesting character that I think will be even more entertaining on screen than in the book. The actor who plays Loras says he is in 6 episodes this season. Why would a character like that get so much screen time instead of a really cool interesting character like Melisandre.
JamesLQuote Reply
Magnus,
Yeah I know, I was just mentioning it because a lot of people were thinking that Mel would be at the Blackwater once we found out that the battle would include scenes of Stannis commanding his army.
Mormegil,
True, of course. In fact, Mel & Stannis don’t even actually appear in those early Davos chapters, but if we’re getting some post-BotB scenes with them, I bet we also see Davos getting picked up and meeting with Sallador. His final scene will probably be getting thrown in the dungeon for conspiring to kill Melly.
the goatQuote Reply
I’m pretty sure Carice van Houten will be in later episodes than ep4. There’s no way Renly dies before ep3. And the shadowbaby will defintely not be born before ep5 or 6. I do think they’ll exclude her from episodes after that but that’s still like 5 or 6 episodes she will be in.
PS: For anyone wanting to watch Black Butteflies: it has Carice van Houten and Liam Cunningham going for it. But nothing else. It’s arthouse gone wrong imo
WinterdarkQuote Reply
Oh gawd Richard Madden doesn’t read ahead…poor guy.
A_S00Quote Reply
Now that I think about it, we will be seeing the shadow birth scene but the shadow will be for Renly not Cortnay Penrose. They didn’t even cast Cortnay Penrose or Edric Storm but Davos and Mel did film a scene on a boat and I remember some of tweets that Carice and Liam made that implied they filmed that scene.
JamesLQuote Reply
A_S00,
He may not have read ahead but he knows what happens to his character. There is no way he would have been able to avoid finding that out.
JamesLQuote Reply
mummer,
Last year, they had the casting and pictures for both Hot Pie and Lommy, who only appeared in one scene.
JorgeQuote Reply
JamesL,
Dunno, it was so fast I’m not sure what it was. I hope they don’t show her having sex with Stannis. It should be a mystery and maybe reveled in later seasons.
Mean25Quote Reply
Great interviews. The Carice one bored me.
Goddamn I want Kits motercyle boots….those are awesome!
HildaQuote Reply
I’m guessing they put the leaches scene in Ep. 10.
In the books the scene has to wait for Davos to return and get back in good graces so we can have a viewpoint. The show can do it without Davos, and it actually kind of makes more sense for Stannis to order it shortly after the battle.
Can’t wait.
JamesQuote Reply
I like that Gillen doesn’t see Littlefinger as a pure villain but instead as a manipulator and survivor. Brilliant way to play the character from that p[oint of view, as that is how Littlefinger would see himself. Aidan Gillen is such a wonderful Littlefinger.
LangkardQuote Reply
Winterdark,
Sorry, but I gotta agree with some others that its looking like Edric & Courtney have been cut, and the shadowbaby birth scene will be the one that kills Renly.
the goatQuote Reply
YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS
userjQuote Reply
Yes! Lots of new stuff to devour!
-While the Kit interview was mostly fluff, I have to say that I agree: he has fabulous hair. That and I would happily watch him read the phonebook. He has a really nice speaking voice (i.e., some actors are very monotone and shy; he speaks well.)
-Aidan Gillen interview was awesome. I am a huge fan of The Wire and have been disappointed in the past when stars such as Idris Elba don’t seem to want to relive their time spent on that series. Great to know he’s a fan of it (season 4 was the best, I agree). Also, how cool that he’s A Song of Ice and Fire fan and has read the books?! I hope what he says about 6 seasons is true!
-The biggest thing I took away from Richard Madden’s interview: he will be appearing shirtless. Yes! J/K . I would actually love to see some of his other work. I wish we had more imports of British/European series in the US. So far I’ve stumbled across some GoT actors/actresses in The Fades (Natalie Dormer) and Misfits (Michelle Fairley, the actor playing Pyp).
-Carice interview: she’s a sexy lady. The major takeaway is she confirmed filming of season 3 this summer. Yes!
DreamlifeQuote Reply
Dreamlife,
Watch Season 1 and 2 of The Tudors it’s worth it for Dormer’s Anne Boleyn alone. Best AB portrayal to date if you ask me. Also Dormer is the horny GI that makes out with the titular character in Captain America.
Joshua TaylorQuote Reply
Of course Aidan Gillen has read all the books! It’s great method acting that he would be one of the few actors who has read them. This way even the actor can be two steps ahead of everyone else in the Game.
Joshua TaylorQuote Reply
He’s probably signed on for six seasons but that doesn’t mean we’ll get six seasons.
TheBullQuote Reply
Damnit there WILL be, at least, 6 seasons!!!!
Handmaiden of DanyQuote Reply
Carice is extremely beautiful.
TrappingsofpowerQuote Reply
I can’t remember the last time I was floored by an actor’s beauty like I am with Carice. Wow. She and Stephen Dillane are going to give us new highs in acting for TV.
DigitalSerfQuote Reply
Handmaiden of Dany,
Six seasons and a movie! Oh no, did I just jinx the whole thing…
SkipjackQuote Reply
OT:
I just saw the end of a Game of Thrones season 2 commercial during the Laker game I’m watching on KCAL 9 (Southern California station). Looked mostly the same, I tuned in during Dany saying “with fire and blood” but there was a shot of the “War is Coming” title card and a longer shot of The Hound about to slice open an enemy with what looked like fire in the background, which I’m pretty sure is new. Still, it’s cool to see that they’re already advertising for the 2nd season on other channels than HBO.
Arrogant BastardQuote Reply
For Kit fans, I highly recommend his fashion spread in Men’s Journal. *fans self* There is one picture in particular that made me think “Why is Jon Snow wearing modern clothes?!” and another where he’s not wearing clothes at all (okay boxers, LOL).
MegQuote Reply
Actors are commonly signed on for a large number of seasons at the beginning of a series, regardless of the show getting that many seasons.
Assuming that the show is renewed to that point though, it would make sense to sign the actors to six seasons, as that would get us through the current books that have been released.
SteelyuhasQuote Reply
Jorge,
Oh, come on. Hot Pie and Lommy only show up briefly at the end of season 1, but they’re obviously going to be part of a major storyline in season 2. Penrose has one brief speech and then he dies. And we don’t really even need to know the guy’s name or hear his speech in order for that particular event to happen.
mummerQuote Reply
OT …but for all the Toronto and Ontario Game Of Thrones fans HBO is teaming up with The Toronto Film Festival organization for a special GOT exhibit and it’s free !….apologies if this has already been mentioned ….http://www.nationalpost.com/m/wp/arts/blog.html?b=arts.nationalpost.com/2012/02/22/winter-is-coming-toronto-to-host-game-of-thrones-exhibit
http://www.nationalpost.com/m/wp/arts/blog.html?b=arts.nationalpost.com/2012/02/22/winter-is-coming-toronto-to-host-game-of-thrones-exhibit
Coltaine777Quote Reply
mummer,
No need to get indignant, you asked a question and I answered it. Why ask if you’re just going to get all pissy about it. But if that’s not good enough for you, even the assassin who was only in one scene and then Summer ripped out his throat was reported before season one even started.Penrose likely wasn’t cast or it would either been announced or someone would have found his name on the actor’s CV or something.
JorgeQuote Reply
Thanks Coltaine!
spacechampionQuote Reply
Mel doesn’t need to be in the episode where Storms End falls. There could be a conversation between stannis and davos. something like. “I don’t like what she is doing. There is no honor in that.” – Davos
And it also might be, that she made a mistake and she appears also in other episodes.
What i liked more is the information that Dany’s story gets pimped with action.
Matthias HinkelmannQuote Reply
Carice is exceptionally beautiful… Perfect for Mel. Let’s hope for a Stannis / Mel sexposition scene lol. Stephen is also going to be genius as Stan, I can sense it in my iron bones!!!!
StannisQuote Reply
Carice = Beauty!
Sofa she is sitting on = Horror! lol!
Anyway, always good to get these tidbits. Gillen’s interview especially. Travelled 3 months in Ireland and didn’t get to see Dingle. Now I want to go back and visit Dingle during the Christmas season
UdiQuote Reply
Epic one,
Littlefinger never becomes a pedophile. Pedophiles are attracted to prepubescent children. You can consider his relationship with Sansa inappropriate but it doesn’t make him a pedophile.
JameLQuote Reply
JameL,
Exactly. Thanks for pointing that out. In Westerosi society, Sansa is considered an adult after her “flowering”. They have no concept of adolescent. Either you’re a child, or you’re an adult. There’s no phase inbetween. Daenerys, too, is an adult in the books at the age of 13.
Bad DogQuote Reply
Considering Aidan says he’s read all the books, I’m pretty sure he knows exactly where things are leading. He’s very good at playing scummy characters, and Littlefinger is as scummy as they get. I, for one, am hoping the theory of Sansa murdering Littlefinger is true. I hope we get far enough in the TV series for that to play out and for Cersei to get strangled by the valonqar.
DreamlifeQuote Reply
Definitely looks like S3 and S4 will be filmed back-to-back if filming starts in the summer. Fingers crossed for a short gap between the airing of the two seasons.
Moving into shallower waters; Carice is beautiful. That is all.
HouseLarkQuote Reply
Goddamn i can’t wait till i see the dragons and direwolves.
BalerionQuote Reply
“Of course, I run a chain of brothels in the series, so there’s always going to be something going on, but hopefully, it won’t be too distracting. WE HAVE DRAGONS NOW, ANYWAY.” Ha ha…that was my favourite bit! Of course dragons trump sex, why wouldn’t they? He is too funny and sounds like a lovely, insightful person – well, the Irish often are.
LanaQuote Reply
Congrats to Littlefinger as his “girls” (Roz and friend) who won the latest GOT award! Yes, I heard this morning from “Mr. Skin” that Roz and friend got the best “girl on girl” award for 2011 in a motion picture or tv event! Yeah!
Jen@House StarkQuote Reply
Nice to see that Carice says that Mel is “not a very sympathetic character”. This means that they’re not spilling the beans on her being a pretty-well intentioned person, and that it will come as a proper surprise in e5.
IdaanQuote Reply
Littlefinger may not be a pedophile in Westeros but he’s definitely one of the biggest creeps! :D
JonhoQuote Reply
Did anyone else catch Carice saying “… season 3, which we will be shooting this summer…”? Not that surprising, but still nice to hear.
MWQuote Reply
I wouldn’t really count this as confirmation that season 3 is a 100% sure thing, the contracts signed and all. Theres always that microscopic chance that not enough viewers will tune in for the season 2 premiere, and if so, it might not happen. I assume HBO are waiting to see how it goes just to be sure.
sjweningsQuote Reply
sjwenings,
I’m pretty sure season3/4 have been unofficially greenlit. To get that kind of commitment from the various production/location you’d need to notify them well in advance. The fact they haven’t confirmed it, is just a marketing ploy to entice people to keep on subbing after they release the premiere. As for the actual numbers, i’ll be very surprised if GoT does not break many records (definitely its own for sure). HBO’s marketing department has a good track record and for the amount of investment they are putting into GoT it’d be silly to think otherwise.
DrfunkQuote Reply
I completely agree with Aiden, Littlefinger is doing what is necessary to survive in that world. Although is obsession with Sansa is slightly creepy. I’ve not finished ADWD yet so I don’t know what’s happened with him yet.
The KingslayerQuote Reply
Dreamlife,
Ygritte and Jorah are in Downton Abbey.
MagnusQuote Reply
It’s nice to know Aiden has read all of the books, I wish some of the other actors would do the same.
The KingslayerQuote Reply
Wait, is Epic being censored for good or was it just this one comment?
KnurkQuote Reply
+1.
AlanQuote Reply
http://www.accesshollywood.com/tv/access-countdown-to-game-of-thrones-season-2-qanda-rory-mccann-talks-sandor-clegane-the-hound_article_61074
New Access Hollywood interview is out.
FlourideQuote Reply
sjwenings,
There is no way HBO would cancel this show anytime soon. This show has one of the most passionate fan bases all over the world and creates tons of buzz and excitement for HBO. It is going to be making HBO tons of money for years to come from DVD and merchandise sales. The audience is continuing to grow and the shadow tease trailer already has almost 5.5m viewers on youtube. HBO won’t cancel Treme with its tiny ratings, it won’t cancel Luck with its abysmal ratings of less than 500,000 viewers, how could possible think there is even the smallest chance there won’t be a 3rd season for Game of Thrones. There was an article is variety saying that no show is more profitable for a TV channel than Game of Thrones is for HBO.
JamesLQuote Reply
There’s no way this show won’t get another season. Seriously, they’re just waiting for the ratings for episode 1 to drop in to make the officfial announcement. They’re probably already working hard on the next season.
johnQuote Reply
On the other hand, I fear this means that D&D simply don’t understand her character and have given Carice rather one-side of the story. I’m especially worried when she says that she manipulates Stannis, as if he’s some hapless victim. As far as I’m concerned from the pre-aDwD text, Stannis knows exactly what he’s dealing with – in fact he wouldn’t be dealing with “it” (R’hllor & Melisandre) if he didn’t know they had powerful magic. Melisandre is honest with Stannis, in fact. She really does believe he is AA reborn, etc. It’s not “manipulative.” In my opinion the furthest you could go is that both Melisandre and Stannis are using each other, but I think to be honest that they both consider their arrangement a partnership. Her PoV in aDwD wasn’t at all surprising to me and was perfectly consistent with how she acted in the previous 3 books.
An actor should be given a sympathetic as possible perspective on their character so that they can play them convincingly. This all makes me think she’s going to be totally one-dimensional.
userjQuote Reply
Not just Westerosi society. If you’re attracted to pubescent teenagers you aren’t a pedophile in America either. You can be charged with statuatory rape if you have sex with one, but that does not make you a pedophile. Sometimes the word “pederast” is used if you have a specific fixation on young men or women who are between the ages of 12 and 15. But LF doesn’t fit that definition either since obviously he is sexually attracted to women his own age as well (e.g. Catelyn).
In any case, the concept that a pairing could be inappropriate due to a large difference in age is clearly operating in Westeros much the same way it is in our society today.
userjQuote Reply
JamesL,
Yes, I read somewhere that he knows what happens to Robb.
KarenQuote Reply
userj,
Dude wait till the show airs why don’t you? also it seemed Carice had a difficult time saying what she wanted to given the language barrier, she can act and emote in english yes but slog through a tedious interview in something that is not your first language….I dunno. I would give D and D the benefit of the doubt.
Joshua TaylorQuote Reply
The Aidan Gillen article was great. My respect for that actor is through the roof. Count me as one who is very, very impressed by his having read and loved all the books. Couldn’t agree more with whoever said they wish more of the actors would read them (seriously, how could you possibly not read the novels your cash-cow is based upon..) Also think he is on the money about Littlefinger being a survivor and not a black-and-white villain. People love to talk about how creepy and pedophilliac his character is. I don’t see that at all and I’m someone who believes in the death penalty for first time offenders of crimes against children. LF has plenty of chances to molest/rape her and he doesn’t.. at worst he is capable of saying ‘creepy’ things and lightly touching her hair. Yet somehow he is a pedophile and the other adult who wants her (Sandor) is given a pass just because female fans titilate over him for some reason only God knows..
Jerod BaratheonQuote Reply
Joshua Taylor,
I said I fear this was the case. Where did I say I was absolutely certain it was true?
Anyway, it comes down to a difference of interpretation. From what I’ve read online there actually are a lot of readers who seem to think that Melisandre is pure evil and Stannis her hapless victim. I disagree totally with this interpretation, but it wouldn’t surprise me if D&D happened to agree with it.
userjQuote Reply
Dreamlife,
Re: Richard Madden’s other work. Sirens, Birdsong and Hope Springs have links, hopefully still, at http://www.tv-links.eu. Worried About the Boy is on YouTube. It’s about Boy George; Richard plays Kirk Brandon.
KarenQuote Reply
Don’t know if we’re allowed to link but here’s an interview with Aidan about his latest project in Singapore. Just thought you might want to see how nice he is when he isn’t being Littlefinger!
http://video.xin.msn.com/watch/video/aidan-gillen-is-enjoying-his-time-in-singapore/tn3q2h2a
Also – met Conleth Hill last night after his performance in the play “Uncle Vanya”. He’ll be here in the summer……………………..
SilverjaimeQuote Reply
The Gillen interview is great. I love that he’s so enthusiastic about both The Wire and Game of Thrones.
Tom HiltonQuote Reply
Silverjaime,
Lucky you! I would love to see what he can do with that play. Which character?
andreaQuote Reply
If will not be flashbacks with Ned Stark it will be bad!
CibQuote Reply
Conleth was Uncle Vanya himself – wonderful performance!
SilverjaimeQuote Reply
Gillen is a masterpiece.
the other interviews I’ll have to watch later, because I’m without my headphones now T.T
Thiago SlashQuote Reply
Clarice seems so subtle…
also, please, Kit, don’t dress as Daenerys.
but if you do, PLEASE take a picture hahahahahha
Thiago SlashQuote Reply
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