Current and Former Game of Thrones Actors Discuss the Show at MCM Comic Con: Birmingham

Four actors from Game of Thrones attended the 2015 MCM Comic Con at Birmingham, and talked about their experiences filming the show.

The 2015 MCM Comic Con at Birmingham, England, opened it’s doors on November 21, and some of Game of Thrones‘ most beloved actors were on hand for interviews. Ian McElhinney, who played the much-mourned Barristan the Bold, was there, as well as Ian Beattie, whose character Meryn Trant was murdered in the eyeballs by Arya No One in Season 5. Eugene Simon and Roger Ashton-Griffiths, who play living characters Brother Lancel Lannister and Lord of Highgarden Mace Tyrell, were there as well.

All four actors got together for a talk about what it means to be part of the world of Game of Thrones and how much they love the fans. They also discussed what they consider the Golden Age of Television.

I could listen to Ian McElhinney talk about Game of Thrones and A Song of Ice and Fire all day long. He really was the perfect choice to portray Barristan Selmy, and we shall never see his like again…to take a page from the Night’s Watch eulogy, or Shakespeare, depending on your comfortable reading range. I also find it interesting that McElhinney mentions that filming his actual scenes for Game of Thrones didn’t take up that much of his life, which was the opposite of what I thought.

Here’s Eugene Simon’s parts all cut together. What I like about Simon is that he’s a huge nerd who has read the books thoroughly. In fact, besides McElhinney, Simon’s in-depth knowledge of his character from the books is really quite unparalleled among the cast members.

That story about Simon originally auditioning for Joffrey has floated around for a while now. It’s hard to imagine him outdoing Jack Gleeson, so things seems to have worked out for the best.

Next, Roger Ashton’s parts are singled out:

Roger Ashton seems like the nicest guy in the entire world. If Ian McElhinny was the perfect Barristan, then Ashton is matching him as Mace Tyrell. Notice how he is all compliments about the crew and cast of Game of Thrones, and didn’t get grumpy about the phone ringing…such a friendly guy.

I think my favorite part from Ashton-Griffith’s interview was the “Mace Tyrell probably owns a private zoo” segment. He has a point: the Tyrells are likely the richest family in the Seven Kingdoms. (Recall that, before the death, Tywin Lannister mentioned that the gold mines owned by the Lannisters had run dry.) So I could totally see Mace Tyrell owning an elephant…I just never noticed any elephant buckles on his costume before.

I dunno, I don’t see elephant buckles on his costume here (Ashton-Griffith mentions he wore them in Braavos), but then again, they may have not shown up on screen. Also, I wonder what other three roles he was up for before he landed Mace Tyrell.

Next: The Mountain celebrates his birthday by breaking another strength record