Tom Wlaschiha, Jaqen H’ghar in Game of Thrones’ second season, is featured in a new Q&A published today by Access Hollywood. Wlaschiha discusses the pronunciation of his character’s name (he says “Jack-in”) and reveals that he has read the first two novels in the A Song of Ice and Fire series.
Tom speaks vaguely of his mysterious character in the interview, avoiding spoilers (great for newbies!) and says of Jaqen’s famously two-toned hairstyle:
“…in the books it’s clearly two colors — the grey or white and red. A lot of people are very concerned that might look ridiculous in real life, but I think they did an incredible job – [the] makeup people. I thought it [looked] perfectly natural. The last time I had long hair, I was 24. That’s quite a while ago, so it felt good to have long hair again.”
He shares what it was like working with Maisie Williams:
“She’s great. I mean, it’s incredible. Everything seems to come really natural with her. You don’t have the impression — I mean how old is she?… I think she’s 14 now and she’s totally cool and doesn’t seem to be nervous. [She] just does her stuff and delivers perfectly.”
There is also a great interview with Carice van Houten (Melisandre) at Vulture.com. Carice discusses her new film Black Butterflies, which features her Game of Thrones costar Liam Cunningham. This interview has a few spoilers, so you may want to pass on it if you haven’t read the ASOIAF series.
About her character Melisandre’s appearance, Carice says:
I have big sleeves, and a big wig, great red hair. Everybody has a wig, except the girl who plays Arya. She cut her hair. And I have a big ruby, but I don’t think it is glowing. And my eyes aren’t red. I think they’re trying to make Melisandre look a little more human.
Carice confirms she originally was asked to audition for the role of Cersei, and is questioned about onscreen nudity, something expected in both her Game of Thrones and Black Butterflies roles:
“We kill everyone in films, we see blood, we see war, we see killing machines, but you cannot see a breast that your mother has. It needs to be in an elegant way, of course. But who has their bra on during sex? It’s so much easier if you just let it all loose. Let it hang. Let people see some flesh. It’s not necessarily my favorite thing to do; it’s not like I’m running around with my bra off on every set, or going, “Hey, when can I take my bra off?” But I’m lucky enough to still be young enough where it’s okay. I could understand not wanting me to do that if I were older. But if you’re making love in a film, you gotta take the bra off.”
Ours is the Fury: I love these interviews! Tom seems really charming, and I am beyond excited to see his Jaqen. I’ve always pronounced it “Jay-ken” in my head, though! Carice’s interview is very interesting, and I appreciate her attitude on nudity.
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34 Comments
Glad they are keeping the two toned hair, that is a pretty iconic image for a minor character
DavidQuote Reply
I can’t wait to see jaqen
Ted furthmanQuote Reply
Looooooove what Carice has to say about the nudity. There’s all kinds of awful stuff happening in this series and people bitch about naked people.
JonhoQuote Reply
It’s good to know they are going to be faithful to the books in relation to Jaqen’s hair! As he said, I believed it could look a bit unrealistic. But if he says it looks good, I am more relieved.
It is always good to hear from actors that we don’t really know (at least I don’t) and that are portraying characters, minor or major, in Season 2! Good interview! :)
Jonho,
I totally agree with you. To make things realistic and truthfull you have to be 100% focused on it and you have to try and make it as realistic as possible. If nudity is required, then there is no need to make a fuss out of it!
RobbetQuote Reply
So excited for Jaqen… & Tom is a tasty treat for the eye. And I’m glad they’ve kept the hair, I was so worried they wouldn’t! I can’t wait… and not long till the DVD is out, my TV is gonna go into melt down from over viewing!
houndloverQuote Reply
I think that sexposition is overused on the show. I didn’t really pictureMel’s upper half being naked while birthing but she is stunning, so I can’t complain. As long as they keep the nude scenes tasteful it will do justice to A Song of Ice and Fire, but I think the first season was not always so tasteful. Roz and Pycelle?
DavidQuote Reply
I keep trying to be patient; but it’s getting more difficult as the season premiere approaches. They kept Jaqen’s two-toned hair! I love it. I’m so stoked. How long? 31 days. Blah! I need more caffeine.
LangkardQuote Reply
He sounds like a great guy, with a really good understanding of Jaqen’s characters.
Clare DugmoreQuote Reply
You know I just assumed they were going to drop the two tone hair with Jaqen..I’m very happy to hear they kept that aspect of the character ! thx D/D ..he’s my Boba Fett for this series, but way cooler !.. as for Carice ? there was some debate about whether she was sexy enough on another thread ? she’s sexy enough for me , what a hottie imo….can’t wait to SEE her lol ..
Coltaine777Quote Reply
Good man! I must smile, because the German translation is very disputed.
YES! Grey + Red hair. I’m so excited.
Today I ordered a TV and a Blu Ray Player only for GoT. (This sounds crazy)
No-OneQuote Reply
From Carice’s interview:
Liam Cunningham plays someone who loves you in this movie. In Game of Thrones, he plays someone who hates you. [Editor's note: He plays Ser Davos Seaworth.]
It’s so funny to work with him again. And this time, I get to throw him in a prison.
Looks like I may be right about where this season will end!
the goatQuote Reply
At the risk of sounding shallow, he has the most beautiful eyes. Looking forward to his portrayal of Jaqen.
Michelle Yvette PeeplesQuote Reply
David,
are you joking? tasteful..? the sex in the books is like 1000x more graphic than it is in the show. the show’s sex is absolutely mild compared to the books… and its not even close
space popeQuote Reply
Really? I guess you must have missed GRRM’s description:
“Beneath she was naked, and huge with child. Swollen breasts hung heavy against her chest.”
Sometimes I wonder if some readers just mentally block out the plentiful and explicit depictions of sex/nudity in the novels.
LarsQuote Reply
What a handsome man. In Nina Gold we trust!
The wait is even more difficult now that we’re getting so many trailers and interviews.
TheBullQuote Reply
I enjoyed both of these interviews so much. I love when the supporting players get a chance to talk about the show, particularly new cast members, and both Carice and Tom seem to have a very genuine sense of this show being Kind Of A Big Deal. I really dig when actors “get” the fan anticipation. I appreciate that Carice seems to be such a good-humored, practical, no-bullshit lady and Tom definitely seems to be enjoying the mystery surrounding Jaqen. Absolutely dying to see both of them on my TV screen.
And thanks for the Natalia interview earlier, WiC! Her enthusiasm is infectious.
H, aka VeeQuote Reply
NICE!!! I always I got the name pronunciation right
FacelessQuote Reply
Carice van Houten is great. I loved her in Black Death.
Alexander DubrovskyQuote Reply
Well, nobody’s perfect. ;-)
Mike ChairQuote Reply
Sooo relieved and glad they’re keeping the red and white hair. Still can’t wait to see it!
BridgetQuote Reply
I’d always pronounced it Jake-in as well – as that was how Roy Dotrice pronounced it in the audio books.
But, he pronounced Petyr as “Puh Tire”
NewJeffCTQuote Reply
Jaqen always was a favorite of mine. Arya’s arc and his place in it is one of the reasons CoK is my 2nd favorite book in the series. I’m thrilled they’re keeping the hair. I want to see his scenes!!
Also just reading Carice’s interview. Love her attitude too :D
ZackQuote Reply
but it was never stated anywhere in the 2nd book that Melissandre had sex with anyone… am I missing something here?
HERP-DERPQuote Reply
HERP-DERP,
I thought the same and post it in the “Scripting Episode 2″ comments:
And he is right. Someway…
No-OneQuote Reply
I always pronounced it “Jacque-in” (perhaps subconsciously because of the accent… Frenchy).
Varamyr FourskinsQuote Reply
Carice was in Black Death ? I don’t recall seeing her.
The KingslayerQuote Reply
The Kingslayer,
She was the village herbalist. See her here.
MachaQuote Reply
I’ve always said “ja-quinn” which i realize is ridiculous so maybe I’ll go with “jack-in” or rather “jack-ing” now.
loving these interviews! can’t wait ’till i have the discs in my hands! #soexcitedomg
JessQuote Reply
Wow I had a way different prounonciatino thatn everyone else apparently for Jaqen – it was something like zha-quinn. lol… Jack-in is fine. :)
userjQuote Reply
good stuff WiC, keep it coming! 4/1/12 needs to hurry up, tv is so boring with out GoT
bigswergQuote Reply
TW is simply droolworthy. Here’s hoping the wig doesn’t detract from that. Unexpected eye candy is the best!
EleanorQuote Reply
he seems a pretty nice guy!
Acesso Hollywood is conducting great interviews! kudos!
Thiago SlashQuote Reply
Gosh, even with the new trailer, there’s still not a single depiction of Jaqen! I’m gonna be sick with the expectation before April 1st, I just know it!
SamaraQuote Reply
To me it’s always been “Ya-gen”, but then, I’m Finnish.
UkkoQuote Reply
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