Meet Marc Rissmann, who plays Golden Company leader Harry Strickland in Game of Thrones season 8

You might recognize actor Marc Rissmann from shows like The Last Kingdom, where he played the warrior Tekil; or Into the Badlands, where he played a character named Nos; or even from World War II zombie flick Overlord, where he plays Scherzer. So he’s been around. But in less than a week, he’s going to explode when viewers see him as Golden Company commander Harry Strickland in the eighth and final season of Game of Thrones.

Rissmann talked with DW Euromaxx about the role in what appears to be an abandoned fallout shelter:

The interviewer tries to get Rissman to spill stuff about season 8, but Rissman handles it with the grace of an old Game of Thrones pro. Fans will be happy to know that’s he’s loved the show since season 1 and read about Strickland in A Dance with Dragons to prepare.

RELATED PRODUCT

Cleveland Indians Game Of Thrones Ice Dragon Bobblehead

Buy Now!

Buy Now!

Anyway, we’ve briefly seen Rissmann in action already…or at least, we saw his back in the season 8 trailer:

Some highlights:

• Homeless Harry Strickland is chubby in the books, but Rissman clearly isn’t. Did he have to wear a fat suit or something? “Well, not really a fat suit, but you’ll see.” What does that mean?
• The hell is a “hair test”?
• Rissman started filming stuff around the end of October, and spent about a year flying to and from Northern Ireland to shoot scenes as needed.
• He mentions the attention to detail and how there were 500 extras at one point. I’m not sure if this was just an exaggeration to make a point or if he’s referring to a big battle or something.
• Rissman had to “bump up his physical game” for the role because it’s a “physical world and it’s a physical character.” So, Harry Strickland on the show may not be like his book counterpart, who was more of a desk jockey.
• There are two dialect coaches on set at all times to help the actors get certain words right.
• He met most of the cast members and is friends with Rose Leslie (Ygritte), so Kit Harington (Jon Snow) was one of the first actors he met.
• How much of season 8 is he in? “I don’t know.” Great, thank you.
• How much does he know about season 8? “Of course you know, you’re involved in arcs and you know what you have to do…and, I know quite a bit.” I think proving he could keep spoilers was part of Rissman’s audition.
• His favorite character on the show is “the dragon.”
• His least favorite character on the show was Joffrey because he was “a douche.”
• His favorite moment from working on the set of season 8? “I can’t tell you.”
• Did he get naked for the show? No answer.
• Did he die on the show? No answer.

As long as you’re here, DW Euromaxx also put together this nifty video about some of the show’s filming locations in Northern Ireland:

Harry Strickland and the Golden Company will arrive along with the rest of Game of Thrones this Sunday, April 14.

To stay up to date on everything Game of Thrones, follow our all-encompassing Facebook page and sign up for our exclusive newsletter.

Watch Game of Thrones for FREE with a no-risk, 7-day free trial of Amazon Channels