Clarice van Houten reflects on saying goodbye to Game of Thrones, and what’s next

Melisandre’s life may have been dark and full of terrors, but the same can’t be said for actor Carice van Houten, who played the Red Woman on HBO’s Game of Thrones. Speaking with Entertainment Weekly, van Houten shared her thoughts about the future of her career. She’s excited to be delving into new experiences, even if she does miss Game of Thrones as much as the fans do.

Van Houten spent a lot of time talking about her upcoming part in Instinct, a film that follows a psychologist who becomes increasingly infatuated with her client despite the fact that he’s a sex offender. It’s a dark premise, but van Houten likes that it’s a role that she can “really put [her] teeth into.” Clearly, the woman who burned Shireen alive at the stake isn’t scared of roles that push the envelope.

Still, van Houten did made it clear that she’ll miss the experience of working on Game of Thrones. “I really loved the idea of [Game of Thrones] being a family and something that returned, and it was a constant factor in my life and it was a great role,” she said. “I met beautiful people, but, yes, it’s seven years of this character and at some point you have to let it go—and, luckily, she actually died so there’s no return. In a really nice way, I say that.”

It does help that Melisandre had such a satisfying end, taking off her necklace in the wake of the Battle of Winterfell and blowing away in the wind as the sun rose on the North, the purpose of her long, mysterious life finally fulfilled.

Van Houten was content with Melisandre’s final moments. “I really like that we finally know what she came for, and it’s the end of her journey. ‘I can go now, my work is done’ — without it being really dramatic,” she said in another interview. “It’s a life that’s been hundreds of years that’s come to an end now.”

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Melisandre’s journey may have come to an end, but van Houten’s is far from over. Fans interested in following her career and seeing what she does next can watch Instinct when it comes out on October 3. It may not be as action-packed as Game of Thrones, but it sounds almost as controversial and dramatic.

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