Kristian Nairn on Hodor’s Season 6 role, and why he took the part originally

There are few characters more beloved in the Game of Thrones universe than Hodor. In a world full of characters who embody shades of grey, there’s something lovable about the simplicity of the character And shouting “Hodor” is fun for all ages.

But Kristian Nairn, who plays Hodor, admits in a new interview with the NY Daily News that he was initially hesitant to take the part. And can you really blame him? Most actors want parts that give a chance to show off their range and deliver great lines, but all of Hodor’s lines are…well, Hodor. Said Nairn: “When I first read the part I wasn’t exactly dancing with joy.”

I really didn’t get it at first — I’m a 7-foot-tall gay man who’s spent my entire life fighting stereotypes. People sincerely believe that when you’re 7 feet tall and look like me, you’re stupid. And at first I felt that by playing this character I was going to be putting myself in the kind of box I had been fighting to get out of.

Luckily for us, Nairn’s mother was a huge fan of George R.R. Martin’s novels and knew that Hodor had hidden depths. So when Nairn went home after his audition feeling like he was failing as an actor, she was there to tell him to look past the surface.

She explained that Hodor is a really great character and that I would enjoy playing him. She put to rest all of my concerns. Although Hodor doesn’t say very much, he’s really an important part of this story and there’s great depth to him.

However, to be fair, she probably didn’t foresee that the show would run Bran’s storyline a full book ahead of everyone else by Season 4, necessitating that Hodor and his companions and his companions be cut for the entire fifth season while the rest of the show caught up. Not that Nairn minded the time off—he’s taken his cult fame from the show and used to to build his career as a DJ. But now that he (and Bran and Meera) are back for more adventures, he tells the Wall Street Journal he’s glad, and says he missed the social aspect of seeing the cast everyday. And although it took a year to find out what would happen to his character, it was “worth the wait.”

"I’m happy. Obviously, I can’t say too much. I’m very happy how season 6 has played out for us. It’s a very cool turn of events."

As for those who might worry that Hodor won’t survive the season, Nairn doesn’t come out and say he’s going to be fine. But he hints that, as long as Bran is alive, Hodor will probably survive, too.

Really, what’s Bran going to do without him. They’re inexorably tied together. They can’t really survive without each other at the moment. They’re kind of symbiotic. I wasn’t worried they were just going to write [Hodor] out, [with him] left beneath this tree as a sort of fertilizer.

And what will happen to Hodor when Bran settles into his new position far beyond the Wall? I suppose we’ll have to wait and see. Until, here’s Kristian Nairn’s self-produced dance tracks.