Kristian Nairn (Hodor) recently visited India to attend the Delhi Comic Con. Game of Thrones has a strong following in India, to the point where there’s been talk of an Indian remake of the series, but more on that later. In the meantime, the The Times of India got some interesting stuff out of Nairn, including insight into his initial audition for Hodor, who was working as a DJ before landing the role:
"I had an agent through my work in music and stage performance, so occasionally he would send me to theatrical auditions. He was confident that I had “something”. It was a stage audition, not the usual type. I had to demonstrate my ability to show a huge range of emotion without using words. Believe me it’s easier said than done. The rest, as they say, is history."
Nairn elaborated on his initial reaction to the part over at IBN Live:
"When I first heard the role, I was like, ‘Really just one word?’ But after a while, I learned to love the character. It is a very different style of acting…There is a lot of facial expression and body language involved…I love Hodor and I’m really going to miss him when the series ends."
The actor has certainly made the most of his one line (when asked the definition of the word ‘Hodor,’ he said it means “whatever I want it to mean, and whatever you do too”), and we can take his talk of missing the character after the series is over as confirmation that it won’t continue indefinitely. I know that’s probably a given, but you can lose perspective when deep in a fan-hole, and it helps to state the obvious every once in a while.
Anyway, Nairn also weighed in on the possibility of an Indian remake of Game of Thrones. We heard a while back that something like this was in the works—there were even Indians actors put forward for the roles of Daenerys Targaryen, Cersei Lannister, and Jon Snow—but things have been quiet for a long time. Nairn is all for the idea, so long as HBO wraps up its adaptation first.
"Maybe [an Indian version] will work. The book is incredible, so it will be interesting to see a different take of it. But wait until our version is finished first. Then may be give it a go. I would like to see that."
I think a lot of people would be curious to see that, for a litany of different reasons.
Moving on, Nairn picked Brienne of Tarth as the person he’d most like to see sit the Iron Throne, which is an uncommon choice, but I can see the logic behind it. She’s pretty committed to justice.
Brienne of Tarth, first of her name, Ruler of the Andals and the First Men, Defeater of Hounds, Pod-master, Lord of the Seven Kingdoms, and Protecter of the Realm
Nairn says that, as the show has gotten more popular, more and more people have come out to hear his music. Hopefully that’ll spur his career even after the show has wrapped.