Xaro Xhoan Daxos actor thinks he could have helped Daenerys win the Game of Thrones

The last time we saw Xaro Xhoan Daxos on Game of Thrones was in season 2, when Daenerys Targaryen locked him in an empty vault and left him to die after learning his part in the plot to steal her baby dragons. As Dany’s people closed the massive vault door, Xaro pleaded for his life, promising her ships and help invading Westeros in her bid to reclaim the Iron Throne for House Targaryen.

Fast forward to season 8, and Daenerys is down two dragons and one Jorah Mormont, most of her khalasar, half her Unsullied, the combined armies of Dorne and House Tyrell, and some key members of House Stark. If she had listened to Xaro and allowed the powerful spice merchant and briefly self-crowned King of Qarth to provide her with the gold and ships she required, might it have made a difference?

Actor Nonso Anozie, who played Xaro, thinks it’s possible. “She shouldn’t have locked me in the safe,” he told Showbiz Cheat Sheet. “She should have let me out and then I could’ve come and help her. I mean I was essentially the King of Qarth. There might not have been anything in my safe. But being the king of the whole city, which is the wealthiest city in the world. We could have had some work done but you know. She wanted to lock a brother in a safe.”

I’m sure it’s been played out in a fanfic somewhere.

Anozie also address the fan backlash that occurred after the series wrapped back in May. “I think what happened was people didn’t get any warning as to the fact that it was going to move at the pace that it moved at,” he said. “The final season did have characters move through Westeros quickly to wrap things up. It also didn’t help that the season was shorter.”

"I mean I honestly think that if Game of Thrones had ended any other way people would still be upset because they loved it so much and that it was. I honestly do."

After the series finale, Anozie posted some pics to Instagram; swipe right you’ll see a cool behind-the-scenes photo of the cast chilling in Qarth:

Finally, Anozie touched on the topic of diversity in Game of Thrones. In the books, Xaro Xhoan Daxos isn’t described as a man of color, and he doesn’t die. In fact, he’s still around in the latest A Song of Ice and Fire novel, A Dance with Dragons.

“I think Game of Thrones I probably would like to see a little bit more inclusion,” Azozie said. “I would have liked to see it. I think in the future we’re hearing reports of an African Game of Thrones. We’re hearing reports of Children of Blood and Bone getting made into a TV show. These are things I’m excited about.”

When Thrones scribe Bryan Cogman wrote the role of Xaro for the show, he changed the character a bit from the books. Xaro becomes an outsider merchant of color, instead of the fair-skinned highborn member of city’s well-established elite, the idea being that it would give Daenerys someone in Qarth she could relate to and sort of trust. Interestingly, True Detective star and future Blade actor Mahershala Ali auditioned for the part before Anozie landed it.

Nonzo Anozie’s stars alongside Meryl Streep in a Steven Soderbergh movie, The Laundromat, which will hit Netflix on September 27. Glad to see he got out of the vault.

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h/t Think Progress