Rory McCann reveals the Hound’s “most emotionally demanding scene”

Rory McCann has played the gruff and fearsome Sandor Clegane, aka the Hound, for six seasons on Game of Thrones. And while he might look like he’ll murder you for saying the wrong thing, inside he’s just a fluffy teddy bear…well, not quite, but speaking at the Tampa Bay Comic Con earlier last week, McCann did open up about what he considers to be the Hound’s most emotionally demanding scene:

"I would say when the Hound went on the road trip with Arya and he started opening up about what happened to him with his burned face. That was a big thing for the Hound because guess what, he never ever told that story."

The story of how the Mountain, the Hound’s older brother, shoved his face into a fire when they were kids is indeed a sore spot for him, and it’s heartbreaking to hear him pour his heart out to Arya, who at one point seemed the last person to lend him a sympathetic ear. “There’s no way he would ever discuss that, especially to a little girl,” McCann continued. “So it was a massive thing. It was quite deep. I was touching on things that I hadn’t done before. It was a lot of work just to get that wound over. Hopefully it worked.” Hound-Arya reunion now, please.

Also, a fun bit of trivia: apparently the speech the Hound gives to Arya in that scene was cut from the first season! I’m guessing that, in an earlier draft of the season, the Hound gave the speech to Sansa, as happens in the Song of Ice and Fire novels. On the show, Littlefinger fills her in.

Moving on to happier topics, McCann talked about who he’d most like to see the Hound kill. “First off, I’m not going to say the Mountain.” Too obvious? Or maybe he doesn’t want to talk about it because we all know it’s going to happen in Game of Thrones season 8? have to say it because we all know it’s going to happen in season 8? #CleganeBowlConfirmed, #GetHype.

But seriously, McCann said he “would have loved to have killed Joffrey.”

"It would have been much slower, none of this poison thing. A real slow torture. Me and the Hound have got no time for bullies so yeah, it would’ve been him for sure."

Ah, what could have been. You can watch McCann’s nearly hour-long question-and-answer session below:

Other bits from his talk:

• What does McCann have in common with the Hound? He’s grumpy and a bit of a loner. “People know not to mess with me if I haven’t had my breakfast.”
• McCann worries what Game of Thrones fans will do after the show is over, since he’s dealing with it now and it’s “like losing a limb.” At least he says we have “another year of amazingness.”
• When he first started the series, McCann worried that all the younger actors could be a problem, since child actors don’t exactly have a great reputation, but he’s been delighted by all of them. “They’ve all grown up and they’ve really handled it well.”
• Audience member: “What is your favorite one-liner from the Hound?” McCann: “Well, there’s children here.”
• McCann injured himself filming the scene where he climbs up on Drogon in “Beyond the Wall.” “It’s got a big ass, that dragon.”
• If McCann could play another Game of Thrones character, it would be Bronn or Tyrion.
• Although he stressed that he wasn’t giving anything away about the final season, McCann thinks that, at this point, Arya could probably defeat the Hound. “I’ve taught her too well!”

Yarp.

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h/t Metro UK