Following fellow Game of Thrones castmate Kit Harington’s lead, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau appeared last night on Jimmy Kimmel Live! The interview was mostly light, but he did have something interesting to say about the resurrected Jon Snow. Watch below:
“Jon Snow is dead,” Coster-Waldau said. “Jon Stark-Targaryen has risen from the dead.” Oh, really? “I’m just making it up,” he quickly said, but his comments play into a theory that Jon Snow will find out that he’s actually the son of Lyanna Stark and Rhaegar Targaryen, as was hinted at in the season 6 finale. What will he do with that information, when and if he finds out? Stay tuned.
While he was at it, Coster-Waldau talked with Kimmel about the time he took pictures for Google Maps and when he beat Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson (the Mountain) in a pull-up contest. Oh, the fun they have on set.
Coster-Waldau also showed up alongside Harington, Indira Varma (Ellaria Sand), Nathalie Emmanuel (Missandei), Jacob Anderson (Grey Worm), Iain Glen (Jorah Mormont), Jerome Flynn (Bronn) and Gwendoline Christie (Brienne) on Good Morning America, where he assiduously refused to give away where Jaime and Cersei stand in their relationship. He did say that “there are a couple” of huge battle scenes coming our way in season 7, though.
Other takeaways from the interview:
- What are Daenerys and her crew in Westeros to do? “To mess stuff up,” according to Anderson. “That’s the polite way of putting that.”
- Harington: “I think the major difference with this is the pace at which it moves. It becomes a completely different TV show.”
- Christie: “Each scene is really vital…This season is so much about the story.”
Speaking of Christie, Coster-Waldau debated with her about who’s going to ultimately sit the Iron Throne during an interview with Extra TV.
So Coster-Waldau thinks Daenerys or the Night King have the best odds, while Christie favors Bran Stark. Whatever the answer, it’s frankly adorable to watch these two argue. I feel like that’s the important thing to take away.
Coster-Waldau addressed Jaime’s possible feelings for Brienne in an interview with Haute Living. “I think there are a lot of feelings that he’s not aware of, that he’s not acting on,” he said. “There’s a definite connection between them, there’s no question about it. You can see that in the way they act together. He gave her a whole suit of armor!”
He notes, however, that he doesn’t see any evidence of romantic love between the two. It’s more about mutual respect. “He’s called her a lot of horrible things, and she’s also called him all the worst things you can call someone—I think she gave as good as she got,” he said.
“That’s how they connected, the fact that neither of them would stand down and that they were both very strong-willed. She’s physically strong and mentally strong. He couldn’t break her. He respects her a great deal.”
And even if Jaime were interested in Brienne, he still has a life-long affair with his twin sister to deal with. According to Coster-Waldau, that could be more difficult that some fans think.
"What’s interesting is that so many people are invested in this. So many people want to know about Brienne and Jaime, and [want him] to leave Cersei because she’s terrible. I think that… once you’re committed to someone for that long—they’ve been together since he was 16; that’s 25 years!—you don’t just throw that away. It’s always been dysfunctional, it’s al- ways been messed up and it’s always been tricky, but this is a couple that have had three kids together and have gone through pretty much hell. So whatever he does, whatever he chooses, is not going to be easy."
Still, will Jaime leave Cersei? Any word on that. “Jaime won’t kill Cersei in Episode 1” is as much of a spoiler as Coster-Waldau will give us. Well played.
Beyond that, Coster-Waldau ruminated on where the character has been, saying that he knew about Jaime’s bathtub confession scene to Brienne very early on, and used it to craft his performance. “I thought, ‘Wow, this is so cool.’ He’s wrongfully known for something, which in any other context would be considered the most heroic thing anyone has ever done. He’s saved all these people and now he’s just being hated for it.” The complicated relationship with Cersei intrigued him, as well. “I was drawn to the layers, to the secrets.”
"I think that, in many ways for me, Jaime Lannister is a hero and he’s a good guy. He tries to do good, but there are scenes where his actions are horrific and he causes a lot of pain to a lot of people. But that’s interesting. I don’t think I know anyone who is just good or just bad. It has to be written really well. You can only do so much as an actor—if it’s not in the page, it’s not going to work. [Jaime is] not a saint, that’s for sure."
As for the end of the show, Coster-Waldau says he’s “not sentimental about it,” although of course he’ll miss seeing the cast and crew every year. But as he points out, even after the show ends, “here’s probably going to be some kind of five-year reunion thing, right?” There’s always that to look forward to.
Next: Sophie Turner, Kit Harington and Aidan Gillen discuss the rise of Sansa Stark
Take in the continuing adventures of Jaime Lannister on July 16.