Nikolaj Coster-Waldau discusses the evolution of Jaime Lannister

Nikolaj Coster-Waldau finally earned an Emmy nomination this year, for Best Supporting Actor in a Drama for his work in Game of Thrones season 7. The actor has been turning in Emmy-worthy performances as the constantly evolving Jaime Lannister for several seasons now, and hopefully, his first ever nomination will yield a shiny golden trophy to match his character’s hand.

Speaking with Entertainment Tonight, Coster-Waldau says that Jaime was “was a bit of a douche,” in the first couple of seasons. However, with each season’s passing, his character began to reveal layers of emotional and moral depth. “In season three, you felt this shift in the way that audiences perceived the character,” he said. “They might have liked him as a character, but they didn’t like him as a person.”

"But the nature of the show, you get to know someone more and more and it’s like, ‘OK, he’s having sex with his sister, but there’s more to this guy.’ And I think the fact that he left at the end of season seven, there was a sense of relief."

In the season 7 finale, “The Dragon and the Wolf,” Jaime decided to leave King’s Landing and his sister Cersei’s side after she revealed to him she meant to break her newly formed alliance with Daenerys Targaryen and Jon Snow — an alliance formed to fight the Night King and his army of the dead. Coster-Waldau says that final scene between his character and Lena Headey’s Cersei was a memorable moment for him.

"We had seven years to build up to this moment where he finally says no to her. His whole life has been about trying to navigate around her and protect her and do whatever he could to do to be there for her. Now, suddenly, he can’t do what she wants him to do. She’s overstepped her boundaries, and clearly they have been stretching, but this time something snapped. Working with Lena has always been a joy."

Diana Rigg (Olenna Tyrell) has also been nominated for an Emmy this year, and Coster-Waldau recalled that pivotal scene the two shared in episode 703, “The Queen’s Justice,” when Jaime saw to Olenna’s death by poison, but not before she revealed that it was she who caused the death of his son, King Joffrey.

"It was a great scene. [Jaime] had to do what he had to do, but he did it with such grace. But of course, the beauty of the scene is that at the very end, she flips the power dynamic. It was very thrilling to be a part of Diana’s last scene on Thrones."

But season 7 is done, and there’s only the eighth and final season of Game of Thrones to look forward to now, and Coster-Waldau is happy to have been a part of the final six episodes. “I was talking to Lena about this before we both found out. I was going, ‘At this point, now that we’re so close, you just want to make it to the end,’” he said. “If you had gone out in season three or four, it would have been fine. But now, we’re so close. It was definitely a relief to be a part of it.”

The actor notes that since filming has finished forever, he and his castmates have been saying goodbye with “hundreds of farewell dinners” that will last through the promotion and marketing for season 8, as well as various awards ceremonies. “I’m really going to miss working on a scale and a level like we have for the past nine years.”

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