Joe Dempsie (Gendry) on the possibility of returning to Game of Thrones

Whatever happened to Gendry? That’s a question that’s been on the minds of Game of Thrones fans ever the character, played by Joe Dempsie, rowed away from Dragonstone in “Mysha,” the Season 3 finale. The usual answer? He’s still rowing that boat.

Dempsie is currently doing interviews for his new BBC One series One of Us. Digital Spy asked him if there was a chance we could see Robert Baratheon’s bastard son again on Game of Thrones.

"I’m as in the dark as anyone else. It’s a bit of a loose end, and they don’t make a habit of leaving them untied – and actually as the series has progressed, the more ‘forgotten’ characters that have returned, the more Gendry sticks out like a sore thumb."

Dempsie is right about forgotten characters returning. In Season 6, we saw the returns of the Hound, Beric Dondarrion, Rickon Stark, Walder Frey, Benjen Stark, and more. Is Gendry next?

"There’s a lot of unanswered questions about Gendry and the longer it goes on, the more obvious his absence becomes. I mean, God, the amount of flippin’ memes I get sent on Twitter… whether they’ll bow to that pressure or not, I don’t know. But fingers crossed, because it’d be lovely to go back."

He’s right about the memes, too. They are legion.

Dempsie said that he would “love to be involved” in the ending of Game of Thrones. Now it’s just a matter of making it happen.

The actor also gave his opinion on the decision to end Game of Thrones with two shortened seasons. “There are inevitably going to be fans that are disappointed they’re not going to get as many episodes as they’re used to, and that there is an end in sight, but I think it should be a positive thing,” he said.

"How many series have been eked out for too long and really lost their momentum? I think it shows a real bravery and a confidence in their story arc, that they’re willing to trim these seasons down and just say ‘Right, there’s going to be two more – that’s it’."

Finally, Dempsie talked a bit about One of Us, where he plays the grieving brother of a murder victim. He compared the show to Game of Thrones, saying that’s it’s much more focused on one character, but here’s the money quote:

"I wasn’t oiled up like some kind of porno blacksmith!"

So there you go: Gendry is a porno blacksmith. Happy Monday.