Odds and ends: Hodor shills for Samsung, Osha readies an album

We have some Game of Thrones-related ephemera for you, as we enter that fun period after most of the filming for Season 6 has wrapped up, but before HBO starts its marketing push.

During this time, I offer you: Kristian Nairn (Hodor) in an ad for the Samsung Galaxy Tab S2, which is Samsung’s answer to the iPad (or, as Nairn calls it in the ad, “those old iTablet thingies”).

Produced by Samsung Australia, this is a cute spot that’s actually been around for a while, but which somehow escaped our notice. Points for Nairn complaining about “all the lines [he] has to remember.” I’m not sure it’ll convince me to purchase a Samsung tablet, but I’m glad Nairn is getting work ahead of Season 6.

Another cast member who’s working on a side gig: Natalia Tena, who will be returning as Osha in Game of Thrones Season 6. Tena has done plenty of acting since exiting stage left back in Season 3, but she’s also kept busy with her band, Molotov Jukebox. A sample:

If you’re wondering what kind of music she’s playing, Tena describes it as “Latin/Balkan fusion with London roots” in an interview with The Herald. Incidentally, Tena is only one of several Game of Thrones cast members who are also musicians (Iwan “Ramsay Bolton” Rheon has a music career, Jacob “Grey Worm” Anderson performs under the stage name Raleigh Ritchie, and Nairn has released a couple of club mixes). She’s currently readying a new album called Tropical Gypsy.

As for what she’ll be doing in Season 6, Tena was predictably coy.

"I can’t tell you about that I’m afraid, sworn to secrecy. Anyway, no-one wants to spoil a good surprise!…When it comes to the show, what is one of its greatest strengths is that you never know what could happen next. I cannot wait to see the next season and read the next book."

Click here to watch Nairn’s ad, and don’t let him make you feel bad about viewing it on something other than a Samsung device.