Game of Thrones is one of the most popular shows of the 21st century. The HBO series dominated conversations about TV for a decade, and its influence can be felt throughout the industry, not only with the upcoming slate of prequels but also the many networks and streaming services creating their own expensive fantasy shows to fill the void the ending of Game of Thrones left behind.
However, we can only sing the show’s praises for so long before we get to incredibly divisive final season. For a lot of fans, season 8 simply didn’t cut it, and that view includes some of show’s cast members as well.
For instance, Charles Dance (Tywin Lannister) — who’s out there promoting his role as William Randolph Hearst in the Netflix movie Mank — talked about the ending to the series with the Los Angeles Times, and he didn’t mince words:
"I was underwhelmed. I thought, “No, come on. Really, guys, you could do better than that.” But, never mind."
Dance’s exit from Game of Thrones was one of the most shocking in the entire series. Tyrion Lannister struck his father several times with crossbow bolts…all while Tywin was sitting on the toilet. “I’ve died in almost everything I’ve done,” Dance said. “It would be nice not to die. There are a few things that I’ve managed to stay alive in — but most of the time, I’ve died a very ignoble death. Especially in Game of Thrones, that was quite a death scene, darling.”
Funnily enough, his Game of Thrones costar Sean Bean (Ned Stark) is even better known for his characters always dying. Ned Stark died in the first season of the show, establishing that any character could go at any time.
Looking to the future, Dance is seeking to change his acting profile a bit. “I think I am going to say it with a vengeance now: No more villains. I think I’ve done enough villainy. Though, they can be enormous fun.”
But he’s not quite done with baddies yet. Dance is playing Roderick Burgess, a guy who literally tries to capture Death, in Netflix’s upcoming adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman. So, maybe no more villains after that?
Charles Dance isn’t the only Game of Thrones star disappointed with parts of the show
Speaking of actors expressing disappointment in Game of Thrones, Michael McElhatton (Roose Bolton) recently admitted that he found himself disappointed with Roose’s death. “I probably was slightly disappointed, I might have liked something really spectacular,” he told Express.
At the same time, he gets why his death went the way it did. “But I understand it’s kind of the mirroring of killing Robb Stark (Richard Madden) and stabbing him in the heart and stuff like that – I thought it was very, very apt.”
HBO isn’t slacking on new Game of Thrones content, and has several spin-off series in the works. In a few more years, we’ll probably hear many more actors discussing their character’s death scenes, hopefully in a good way.
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