Carice van Houten: Melisandre is “Pivotal” In Season 6

Will she or won’t she? 

How many cliffhangers in romantic comedies are predicated on the above question? It seems like we’re always asking how the lady will choose to proceed in her life. Will she say yes? Or will she say no? Will she pick John Doe or will she pick Jon Snow, or will she ride away on her horse and follow her Red God into the Night, which as we know is Dark and Full of Terrors?

Well, ok, that last part isn’t part of any romantic comedy subplot I’ve ever seen, although when Melisandre brought up that co-worker she was interested in seeing in that Seth Meyers Baby Shower sketch, she made is sound like she and him were the Jim and Pam of Westeros. That might be because, as Carice van Houten (no relation to the Springfield van Houtens) tells The Wall Street Journal, in her homeland, she’s known for the more lighthearted roles.

As she tells WSJ, the audience response to Melisandre, especially from the Stannis and Shireen fans who blame her for wiping out the Baratheon line, is very different from what she’s used to.

It’s sort of cool to be hated that much, because in my own country (the Netherlands), I do very light roles. I’m known for much lighter stuff.

So will she or won’t she? When it comes to resurrecting Jon Snow, Van Houten insists she couldn’t possibly be expected to do such a thing. But she promises she’ll be playing “a pivotal role” this season. Interestingly, she also says Melisandre undergoes “a sort of ‘transformation.'” What exactly that means, I haven’t the beginning of a clue. (She doesn’t turn into a dragon, does she?)

Until then, Van Houten can be seen in the Jesse Owens biopic Race, where she plays “Adolf Hitler‘s favorite filmmaker, Leni Riefenstahl.” It went into wide release in the US over the weekend.