Roger Ashton-Griffiths (Mace Tyrell) on what it’s like to die on Game of Thrones

Roger Ashton-Griffiths played Mace Tyrell, the lord of Highgarden and Margaery’s father, for three seasons on Game of Thrones. Affably clueless, Mace wasn’t a hugely important character, but he was well-liked for his ability to inject levity into the show’s darker moments, of which there were many. Ashton-Griffiths recently gave a very lengthy interview to the New Statesman where he talks about everything from his audition to clashing with the show’s composer to dying and more.

To start, Ashton-Griffiths revealed that, like Conleth Hill, he didn’t originally audition for the role he ended up getting. He was on the show’s radar as early as season 1, when he was up for the role of Illyrio Mopatis (the part eventually went to Roger Allam). He was also offered the role of the High Septon, but didn’t think it was good enough (Paul Bently ended up playing that part).

But when the role of Mace came along, things came together, not that the audition was flawless. “I remember…getting Tyrion and Tywin’s names mixed up, and they had to correct me and stop me, so we went back and did it again.” That confusion continued into the first scene he filmed: Tyrion’s trial for regicide in “The Laws of God and Men.”

"I had expected there would be some sort of introductory booklet, explaining that these are the characters, this is where we’re at. But no, it was basically, “Oh, do come in, you’re sitting there”…I just said the lines, but I was thinking, “I don’t really understand any of this…” I didn’t know that Tyrion’s father was my co-judge, or that this nasty girl giving evidence against him was his sister. I had no idea! I said to Pedro during a break, “Why has he [Jamie Lannister] got a gold hand?” He fell of his stool laughing; he thought it was the funniest thing he had ever heard."

After that, the production gave him some boxsets to watch, and he became more familiar with the role and its many characters in time. But thinking about it, isn’t it kind of perfect that the actor who played Mace Tyrell, a character known for being a bit of a dumb bulb, was at a bit of a loss for how to play his first scene? It reminds me of when actor Stephen Dillane, who played Stannis, said he “didn’t get” his role on the show. That was about the most Stannis-like thing he could have said, and Ashton-Griffiths being confused about his situation is the most Mace Tyrell-like thing that could have happened to him. This show’s casting talent goes deep.

Before he became a movie and TV actor, Ashton-Griffiths was an opera singer, as anyone who remembers his serenade to Iron Banker Tycho Nestoris in “The Dance of Dragons” can probably believe. Ashton-Griffiths relates that showrunners David Benioff and Dan Weiss only put that bit in after he discussed his early opera career at a cast party, and uses it as an example of their ability with detail. “It was unexpected, but it’s organically perfect, because it meant that Meryn Trant [Ian Beattie] the mad Kingsguard, they could then pull focus onto him infuriated, saying, “Who is this utter twat singing?” so he can go off and murder girls instead. Nothing is wasted, nothing’s superfluous. If it’s there, there’s a reason for it.”

This also led, strangely, to a clash with Game of Thrones composer Ramin Djawadi, who’s currently traveling North America playing music from the show.

"There were words written, and I said, “Oh, I’ll write my own tune, shall I?” Which I duly did. But for reasons which are difficult to really grasp, the composer decided that he needed to have done it. And this is to do with contracts… I thought my version was rather better, to be honest, and I’ve still got my copy to prove it! They were in touch with my agent talking about release rights and music and arguing with her, and she phoned me up and said, “Is it going to become a hit, this song?” and I said, “No! It’s just eight bars of nothing!” So the composer’s getting very upset that someone else’s music might be in it."

He may have sung his version in an unused take, by the way. There’s an outtake waiting to surface.

Finally, there was Mace’s death. Like many other cast members, Ashton-Griffiths received a phone call from Benioff and Weiss letting him know it was over. “Who was it who said, “There’s only two things you can be sure of in life, death and taxes”? Well, there’s a third thing, which is your character death in Game of Thrones.”

It was Benjamin Franklin and I think “death on Game of Thrones” might be included in “death,” but whatever.

"I had hoped my character’s TV path would reflect more closely his book path. So I had expectations, which were… dumped on. But I thought it was a pretty good end, and in a glass half full sort of way, I was grateful to be part of this extraordinary machine."

In the books, Mace is currently Hand of the King to Tommen Baratheon, although Kevan Lannister is the real power behind the throne. (Or was…) As to how or whether Mace will die on the page, we can’t be sure, as the season 6 went past where the books ended.

Ashton-Griffiths enjoyed his time on the show, but admits that, after it’s over, it’s like any other gig.

"One of the things that Thrones and all shows have in common is that once you’re out, you’re out. I don’t get the newsletter, I don’t get invited to get-togethers, I’m just gone. You’re out, you cease to be part of it. Even if you still feel part of it. I’ve always likened being an actor to being a plant with no roots, so if I rocked up now on a set with half a dozen actors I didn’t know before, by the end of the day, we’d be best buddies, in the bar, having a glass of wine, for sure. But then we’d go away and never see each other again. And Thrones is just like that."

Well, almost like any other gig. Being on Game of Thrones comes with some added notoriety, and gives Ashton-Griffiths the opportunity to go to cons where he can experience the power of celebrity. “Some people, for maybe no good reason at all, will listen to you, particularly the people that come to these comic cons.”

"But the thing about the community of people who come to these events is that they are supportive and loving and they welcome people in…At one event, I saw a man dressed as Darth Vader, but his costume was made entirely out of twisted balloons. And his cape billowed out behind him. But the extraordinary thing was, no one popped one. No one. He was completely respected for what he’d done, for this achievement. It was magical. Nowhere else in the world can you find such complete, uncritical acceptance."

Other highlights (this was a long interview):

• Ashton-Griffiths had fun aping the accents of some of the actors in the Night’s Watch. “They’ve all got that accent because Sean Bean refused not to do his own Northern accent, so they all had to do Seaaan Beeeean. That’s what’s going on there. But Kit of course has a rather refined home counties thing, he’s not Noooortthherrnnnn at all.”
• On what makes Mace special: “I think one thing nobody predicted was the great sense of homeliness that came out of this character, how much he cared for his children: that is what mattered to him more than anything else, which ultimately made his end so telling, that he went with his children.”
• Ashton-Griffiths ruminated extensively on what sets Game of Thrones apart from other shows:

"[I]t’s got this extraordinary following. And I think it probably has something to do with semiology, and making meanings from things which aren’t there. Somehow in Thrones, the viewer makes more of it, there’s something very strange about it. That was what I wasn’t expecting, and that was the curious part of the process.The other critical thing about Thrones, one of the things that makes it special (and this is about money, ultimately), is that it’s one of the few things I’ve been on where you get the perfect conjunction of intention, ability and resource: they really want to do it well, they really know how to do it well, and they’ve got the money to do it well. Often you get two out of three, but not all three in the same place."

Ashton-Griffiths can currently be seen alongside fellow Thrones alumni Jonathan Pryce (the High Sparrow) and Oona Chaplin (Talisa Stark) in FX’s Taboo. “But I don’t think I’m going to be attending a Taboo convention any time soon.”

To read the rest of the interview, head to the New Statesman.