"It was crazy": Game of Thrones stars explain how it changed their lives | Television and radio

Carice van Houten (Melisandre)

Now filming Sky Temple Series and a movie called The glbad house. Had a child with his partner, actor Guy Pearce

When Carice van Houten goes out in public, she often notices people staring at her, as if they could not be where they had seen her before. When a woman approached and asked him to answer that, van Houten replied, "The night is dark and full of terror" – a key line of her terrifying priestess Melisandre. "The girl almost screamed," she recalls with satisfaction. "Not just because she recognized someone from the TV, but as if she really thought I was scary." What was fun! "

Prior to Game of thrones, The Dutch actor is best known for his performance in Paul Verhoeven's 2006 thriller Black book, play a Jewish singer who joins the resistance against the Nazis. She joined the show at the beginning of season two, after declining an audition as Game of thrones Cersei Lannister a year earlier.

Melisandre, she admits, "was a struggle at first. What I did before, in the movies or the theater, were tragicomic roles focused on human flaws, fears and doubts. This confident, religious and extreme character seemed to lack all of this. So I really had to work hard.

In the fifth season, Melisandre reveals his weaknesses, but not before having created some of the most horrible scenes in the series. "When I had to kill little girl Shireen [the daughter of Stannis Baratheon, whom she burns at the stake], I thought, ok wow, this character went to the next level. I was quite shocked to read this, but at the same time, I thought it was such a bold and audacious scene to do.

She remembered shooting in Northern Ireland for seven years, especially when she had to give birth to a ghost demon in a wet cave. Fortunately, she had Liam Cunningham and Stephen Dillane (who play respectively Davos Seaworth and Stannis Baratheon) to entertain her. "They are so opposed, like Laurel and Hardy," she says. "Stephen is quieter and more introverted. While Liam is just a nonsense and never stops talking, it's a lot of fun, but at times you mean, "Shut up!

Van Houten has changed a lot since his arrival Game of thrones in season two. She met Australian actor Guy Pearce after playing in the movie Sulfur and gave birth to their son Monte in August 2016. ("I'm happy to have made the Shireen scene before having my own child," she says.)

As for her career, "the show has definitely opened doors," she says. "Everyone knows what you're talking about Game of thrones. I had a role in The simpsons, which was my biggest dream when I arrived in LA "- she told her cousin Annika van Houten in 2015 -" and that would not have happened without Game of thrones, I am 100% sure. "

There's more TV coming soon – she's playing alongside Mark Strong and Daniel Mays in Temple, a remake for Sky from the Norwegian series Valkyrien, and she will also appear in a film adaptation of Simon Mawer's novel The glbad room. "I hope it will not stop with Melisandre and that people will know me for other things. And with a little luck, she adds, reflecting on the threat surrounding her most famous character, "it'll be a little clearer next time." KF

Who is your favorite character?
Samwell Tarly. This is the really good person in the series. You just want the world to be full of people like him.

What is the secret of the success of the series?
It's a bit like Shakespeare: there's something for everyone and a mirror for society.

The most enduring souvenir of the series?
Ride. I was terrified every time.

John Bradley (Samwell Tarly)

Bradley is shooting two movies later this year, including Tale of the Wet Dog. He goes out with a reporter who interviewed him about the show

"Game of thrones It was my very first audition, "says John Bradley, who had just left the Manchester theater school, where he is from, when he starred as Samwell Tarly, an unhappy but adorable rookie of Night's Watch. "I just wanted to make a good impression on my agent, I did not even think about getting the job," recalls Bradley. Now aged 30, he is one of the oldest members of the group. Game of thrones discard.

While his character mingled with Jon Snow in Castle Black, Bradley forged a "lasting friendship" with Kit Harington, who plays Snow, after eight years of filming in Northern Ireland. They got closer to football (Bradley is a fan of Manchester United) and Alan Partridge. During a 10-day break, they retreated to the Bradley Hotel room in Belfast to frantically watch "a DVD compilation of Michael Parkinson's greatest interviews while sharing a bottle of pink champagne, such as Harold and Maude. We did not have the fever of the cabin at all. Last year, he attended Harington's wedding with co-star Rose Leslie.

Bradley also credits Game of thrones not only in his career but alongside Stanley Tucci and Natalie Dormer in Patient zero last year and will be filming Tale of the wet dog in New York this summer – but his own love life too: he spoke with his girlfriend, entertainment writer Rebecca May, after interviewing her about Game of thrones. "The Thrones I've been in my twenties for years, which is a formative time for everyone, but to spend it with amazing people, to make this amazing show was only a dream. " he says. KF

Isaac Hempstead Wright (Bran Stark)

About to start university for the second time, study neuroscience

Like many 19-year-olds, Isaac Hempstead Wright will be going to university in September – but in his case, not for the first time. He has already tried once to study music and mathematics in Birmingham, but discovered that he was just too famous for student life.

"I ended up being badigned to a campus police officer," he recalls. "It was really complete and I felt completely overwhelmed. I could not get out of my hallways without being harbaded or having to take selfies. Everyone knew where I lived. Because you are on the university's email system, I log in to get my clbad notes and receive 40 random stranger messages saying, "Hello, Raven with three eyes!" Hempstead Wright left school more early. Older now and much wiser, he hopes this time it will be different.

Bran Stark ("I had an audition for a pilot episode and I did not even know what it meant"), he was barely 10 when he was chosen: "It's an education unique, growing the biggest TV show in the world. But I stayed at school all the time rather than leaving and becoming a full time theater kid, so I still had a relatively normal existence. Game of thrones became six months of the year when I was going to do this crazy and totally different thing. I learned riding, climbing, shooting at the bow, it was like a summer camp.

Indeed, he led a rare double life: "Sometimes the juxtaposition was just weird. I would be on the set, then I would come back from Belfast and a car would drop me off right away at school. Now I am in a geography lesson. What. Is. Go. Sure?"

Adolescence can be a difficult time, but Westeros has provided many shoulders on which to cry: "I had essentially an extended family. Kristian Nairn [who played Hodor] became my big brother. Julian Glover [Grand Maester Pycelle] would give me acting advice. It was a huge support network to tap. Working from 10 years in such an adult world means learning the skills of people: talking, listening, taking directions, being professional. This has allowed me to mature faster in this respect. "

As for keeping the secrets of the series, Hempstead Wright is an old man. "I'm good at saying absolutely nothing with a lot of words," he laughs. "But the magnitude of the last season is huge. The big, separate characters all arrive at Winterfell. The stories come together and come to life. And what about his own clairvoyant character, seen for the last time dropping the bomb of Jon Snow's filiation? "Bran's story arc is fantastic," he says. "He is a handicapped child in the toughest environment, but he does not just survive, he triumphs. It's such a good message. He is not traditionally glamorous, he is not an action hero, but he could save the world. "

There were tears when Hempstead Wright completed his last scene. "These people have seen me growing up," he says, "so it was like saying goodbye to the family." I'm happy to see Bran's wheelchair record. The medieval ones were not designed for comfort. " MH

Who is your favorite character?
Controversial, Jaime Lannister. Even though he pushed me out of a window of the tower.

Who should finish on the throne?
Hodor. It would be a peaceful kingdom with him in charge.

Secret of the success of the series?
We owe much of the original material of George RR Martin. He created a whole world.

Jonathan Pryce (The Great Sparrow)

Will become the pope Francis against Anthony Hopkins like Benoit XVI in the movie Netflix The Pope, to be released later this year

Because of his aversion to dragons, Jonathan Pryce almost missed his chance to appear in the biggest TV show in the world. "Nearly ten years ago, I sent a first script and said no, because swords and witchcraft were not a genre I liked," recalls the Welsh actor. "Without me, of course, the show was a huge international success. Fortunately, they returned to me a few years later with the role of the great sparrow. "

Pryce, trained by Rada, has played most of the great artists on stage, has won two Olivier trophies and two Tony, a star in Hollywood successes and a villain of Bond. But he has never been so recognized as for Thu thrones.

"It happens every day," he says, "so when I come out of the house, I think," Oh my God, I'd better look presentable, "otherwise there will be this clbadic Daily mail peak, unshaven air, leaving the license with two tight wine bottles under my arm. It also happens in the strangest places. I was turning The Venice merchant in China and went to an isolated fishing village. As I was getting off the boat, people were heading up sparrow! High sparrow!

Pryce was truly shocked by the reaction of the fans to his zealous religious character. "I was surprised when people called him like that horrible villain. I would be very offended for him. At first he went out among the people, washing and feeding the poor. His opening words to Diana Rigg [who plays Olenna Tyrell] were: "You are the few, we are the many", which is almost Corbynesque. "

Comparisons between the Labor leader and the High Sparrow came online when the two came to power in 2015. "That was part of the gray look and quiet nature of the High Sparrow," says Pryce. "It's also compared to Pope Francis, so it's ironic to see him play since."

With bare feet and the simple tunic of the great sparrow, Pryce was one of the cast members who needed the least maintenance. "The mornings were easy," he smiles. "I would come, put on a bag, and throw me dirt. It was my makeup diet. Going barefoot was not a good thing to film in a dirty, wet cave just outside Belfast, but it was good in Croatia and Spain. "

Spectators enjoyed the finale of the sixth season when the High Sparrow was sprayed by a giant green fireball. But to shoot his death was more prosaic: "On the set, the explosion was just for me, standing on a box and leaning slightly back. I have not seen all the CGI forest fires until the episode is on TV. I went out for breakfast the next morning, ordered food and the waiter said, "Do not worry, it will not be green."

Despite his initial skepticism, swords and witchcraft grew on Pryce. "I knew I was only there for two sets, but at the time of dying, I really enjoyed it and wished I could blow it up." MH

Who is your favorite character?
Cersei. Partly because I have to get him down a coat hook or two.

Prefer Eu scene?
The Hardhome mbadacre. An extraordinary film.

Who should finish on the throne?
It should have been me! … as the song says.

The most enduring souvenir of the series?
The sunsets in Dubrovnik after a day of shooting were magical. And the opposite of being in a wet bloody cave in Belfast.

Gemma Whelan (Yara Greyjoy)

Next seen in front of Suranne Jones to come up Gentleman Jack, BBC era drama. Had a little girl with her husband

Thu thrones meatless diet of Gemma Whelan in ruins. "It was my first day on the set. I had never done anything so big before and I was terrified, "she recalls. "I am a pescatarian, but in the indications of the scene for my first scene, it is written:" Yara is gnawing on fleshy bones. "I was too nervous to let them know that I was not eating of meat, so I ended up eating chicken legs all day long.But hey, I had a huge boost of protein and I grew up an inch in one night Who knew?

Pre-Westeros, Whelan was best known for her comedy, portraying her character as Chastity Butterworth on the stand-up circuit and appearing in sitcoms, including BBC2. Upstart Crow She was delighted to play a dramatic role: "It's hard to ride both, because people tend to put you in a box. I hoped to do drama, so everything happened by chance. Thu thrones changed my career in terms of taking seriously. "

I note that a similar trajectory went very well for Olivia Colman. "I guess she did a good job," Whelan mocks. "She is my idol. His career, please! "

Yara Greyjoy did not arrive until the second season, so before her audition, Whelan decided to see what was happening. "I thought, 'Oh, God, dungeons and dragons, I'm not a big fan of fantasy, but let's take a look. "Seventy actresses were up for the role.I was certain that they would hire a big name.Then I was surprised when that happened as I l ​​& rsquo; had done.

Described by Whelan as "a salty pirate in smelly leather pants," Yara is a fierce sailor whose role in the show has gradually expanded. "She is strong and autonomous. I did a little bit of combat training, but it's the stuntmen who make you look really badbad. "

Now, Whelan is about to leave for the last time. As she says, "Yara was last seen beaten and bleeding after being taken hostage by her uncle Euron. She will never be seen again. Where is she? "

Whelan took her little girl with her during the shooting of the last series: "She knows how the show ends. If only babies could talk, it could ruin everything.

Like everyone else, Whelan compares the cast and crew of the show to a big family. They stay in touch with a WhatsApp group and, after our interview, she meets Alfie Allen (who plays Yara's brother, Theon) in South Bank, London, for coffee and gossip.

"It's a small meeting of Greyjoy," she smiles. "Alfie and I agreed right away and stay dear friends. Thu thrones maybe finishing, but the love continues. MH

Who is your favorite character?
Tyrion, for his wit and intelligence.

Prefer Eu scene?
Battle of the bastards [season six, when Jon Snow and Ramsay Bolton face off]. I have never watched TV so physically. When Kit was buried in these bodies and choked, I forgot to breathe.

Who should finish on the throne?
Arya, please! With a Joffrey resurrected like his hand.

Secret of the success of the series?
Someone described it as The Sopranos with swords. You can not scroll through social media when you watch, it catches all your attention.

Iain Glen (Ser Jorah Mormont)

Next appears in the movies L & # 39; flooding with Lena Headey and What about love? with Sharon Stone

After returning from an audition of Iain Glen for the pilot episode of Game of throneshe tried to tell himself it was just another cast, but "I could not stop thinking about it," he says.

Nearly ten years later, his character, Ser Jorah Mormont, the exiled Northern Knight in the service of Daenerys Targaryen, is one of the few to have survived the violent, often fatal, turns of the vast plot of the drama, which made him enjoy exotic Mediterranean places: Spain, Croatia, Morocco, Malta. "Other actors [on the show] would have very different stories about being really, really cold and dirty in some kind of nonsense that was supposed to feel horrible, and that's true, "he says. "I was joking with [showrunners] Dan and David recounted how much I was troubled by the change in my script and now it seemed to me that I was in a cold, shitty place to which they should think. But wherever they go, he was impressed by the scale of production and access. at places of unusual beauty.

Glen was one of the most established actors in the series, with acclaimed roles in the film (The iron woman, Rosencrantz & Guildenstern are dead) and the theater (he was nominated for Oliviers at once The blue room and The crucible) with a part in Downton Abbey. But his turn as a valiant Knight dedicated to Daenerys of Emilia Clarke, or Khaleesi, saw him catapulted around the world. (He knows the nickname of Ser Friendzone fan well – because of his unrequited love for Daenerys – although he says diplomatically: "I am a social media idiot, I do not really understand what it is. is.")

A notable meeting with a fan occurred at an airport. "I pbaded this middle-aged American and I could feel her body language changing, so I thought," I just bend my head, keep walking and get my coffee. "But on the way home, she managed to stand up. in front of me and said, "Excuse me, do you want to do me a favor? Could you just look me in the eye and say Khaleesi? 'So I did it.'

Glen's career is in "poor health – Game of thrones has been beneficial to all of us ": in recent years, he has performed in numerous film and television roles, including alongside Ruth Wilson in the BBC drama Mrs. Wilsonand the movie 2017 My cousin Rachel. But the difference is more marked for young actors, including Emilia Clarke, with whom he shared most of the scenes. "She had a huge weight to bear," he says. "We became very close. I really liked seeing her become a star and handle all this incredibly well. "

He has a particular memory of the series that Glen will always cherish, he says. They were filming a gladiatorial sequence in an arena in Osuna, Spain, and his family had come to visit him. his daughter Mary was then eight or nine years old. "The Game of thrones her family took her out and dressed her like Ser Jorah, put her in a little kilt and put her blood marks and cuts, made her really dirty, gave him a little sword and sent him back to the decor. The director asked her to sit next to the monitor and call 'Action!' And 'Cut!' In a small, high-pitched voice, since a gigantic battle sequence was animated. It's a very good memory and she always talks about it. KB

Prefer Eu scene?
The Bran thrust of the tower at the beginning. He sort of captured everything that was going to be good about The Thrones: the unpredictability of it and the psychological strangeness.

Who should finish on the throne?
No surprises: Daenerys.

Secret of the success of the series?
A beautiful writing, a good distribution, and this element of the "beyond our ken", of things that happen and that we can not understand, are well painted.

Jacob Anderson (gray worm)

Currently recording his second album under the pseudonym Raleigh Ritchie, try to write screenplay

The first time Jacob Anderson saw himself Game of thrones he felt mortified. Before joining the show, he had loved the first two seasons. "So, I was watching the third, I had a blast, then my little baby face appeared and I thought," Oh, weird, what's he doing over there? "

Anderson, 28, grew up in Bristol and juggles two acting careers (credits include In adulthood, 4.3.2.1. and Broadchurch) and music (he released his first album You are a man now, my boy under the pseudonym Raleigh Ritchie in 2016). When he auditioned for the role of Gray Worm, commander of the Unsullied warrior-eunuchs, he was surprised to receive some leaves in an invented language. Later, when shooting the first scene in an oasis in Morocco, he was convinced that he was going to get fired. "I thought I was going to ruin everything."

Instead, he is one of the oldest members of the cast, performing grueling battle scenes for the last season. "I will always remember a night photo shoot," he says. "I could not see any cameras or technical equipment, and I was completely immersed, with snow puffed snow and hundreds of extras – it was a surreal moment when I forgot my role. It was rather terrifying, but also really exciting.

When he is not questioned by strangers in the street about eunuchs – "I'm not an expert" – Anderson's main concern is music. Inspired by musicians such as Amy Winehouse, Stevie Wonder and Donny Hathaway, he began writing songs at age 14. "It was a way to express myself, because I did not really have people to talk to about things when I was growing up," he says. "I have always responded very well to confessional writing."

In the future, he hopes to have a role in a Marvel Cinematic Universe movie ("dream big") or, at least, in a few roles in English. But he will miss Thrones, even his heavy suit, so heavy that he left scars on his skin. "The last day," he recalls, "my dresser, Jade, took off my armor and realized that it was the last time I was going to wear it." I said, "Please, could I leave it for a few more seconds?" I did not want to let go. And I hated wearing that suit. It's really uncomfortable. I did not expect to be as moved as me. "KB

Hannah Murray (Gilly)

Featured in Charlie Says, a film about the Manson family, outside in May

When the first season of Game of thrones In 2011, Hannah Murray, born in Bristol, studied English literature in Cambridge and did not own a television. She had not seen the show when she auditioned for Wildling Gilly, but she realized that she was on something great when she started practicing her lines: "J & ## I realized how good the writing of this scene was, Sam and Gilly sitting around a fire – it was so rich and complicated and fleshy. "

The first day of the shooting, she had to do the CGI [computer-generated imagery] her work, which she had never done before: it was a scene with Ghost, the giant wolf, so she was basically acting in front of a tennis ball on a stick. There were donkeys and pigs in the background and she was holding a flayed squirrel. An old teen drama from E4 skins, in which she interpreted Cbadie in trouble, Murray was not prepared for the immersive and big-budget set in which she was: "The experiences are incomparable – skins It was a group of people the same age as us in the city where we lived, it was a complete world. "

When the actors went to the premiere of the season in the United States, with the New York Philharmonic playing the theme melody, they had to stay at the hotel to avoid being cluttered by fans. "It's sometimes hard to remember that I'm part of this very popular thing – there was Saturday Night Live sketches on us. One of our directors, David Nutter, met with Barack Obama, who was really unhappy about killing Jon Snow. It hurts me. "

Murray Credits Game of thrones to play it Detroit Directed by Kathryn Bigelow: "I know she's a big fan of the series. Game of thrones It's something I'll always be grateful for – it's such an amazing and intense experience. " KB

Kristian Nairn (Hodor)

Nairn is DJing at the spectacular immersive themed Rave of Thrones (following at the London Brixton Electric in April)

Game of thrones was Kristian Nairn's first real acting job. The beloved role of Hodor – the big stable boy named after the one word he's able to say – was not a bad place to start.

"I worked as a DJ and in musical theater," says Northern Irishman. "I had no real aspiration to act but my agent even offered me a role in Simon Pegg's film Hot Fuzz. Another word, oddly enough – it was 'Yarp'. I did not understand – by chance, he went to Rory McCann[quijouelechiendans[whoplaysTheHoundin[quijouelechiendans[whoplaysTheHoundinEu]- but the casting director has remembered me and four years later, he reminded me for Hodor.

"When I told my mother that I had made a strange hearing with a word, she panicked because she is a huge fan of books."

Hodor might have a vocabulary consisting of a single word, but Nairn developed 70 ways to say it. "There is a harmony table in a Belfast studio with me that makes dozens of variations," he says with a laugh. "But it also has to do with body language." Is Nairn tired of being shouted "Hodor"? "Not really, fans usually want a selfie or a discussion, but when I met Michael J Fox, he motioned me to say," Say it to me! "

Nairn finds it difficult to keep a low profile at 6 feet 10 inches: "I can not hide exactly. My friends liked to dine with me because I would be recognized and they could hide behind me, always incognito. "

You will not catch him anyway. "Game of thrones improved my life in many ways. That allowed me to buy a house for my mother, which I always wanted to do. This has taught me the profession of acting and has given me the confidence to be fair to myself. "

Now comes Rave Of Thrones, his club night live: "It combines two things I like, Game of thrones and DJing, and will be a fun way to celebrate the end of an era. " MH

Bella Ramsey (Lyanna Mormont)

Can be seen playing Mildred Hubble in the hit CBBC series The worst witch

When Bella Ramsey was chosen Game of thrones, she was not allowed to tell anyone about it until the episode in which she appeared appeared. "And then," she said, "madness has arrived. "Then, at age 12, she portrayed Lyanna Mormont, head of Bear Island's Mormont House, who stood up to the mighty male leaders with courage and conviction. The Hollywood journalist called him "the star of season 6". Les gens dans la rue ont commencé à l’appeler «M’lady». Peu de temps après, elle a été choisie pour jouer le rôle principal dans l'émission CBBC La pire sorcière.

C’était le premier rôle à l’écran de Ramsey, elle a donc pensé que l’immense décor était normal: «Le premier jour, nous avons filmé sur des chevaux, juste avant la bataille des bâtards. It was awesome. Un membre de l’équipage a pointé l’herbe et a déclaré: «Vous savez que l’on a employé quelqu'un pour placer ces touffes d’herbe dans des endroits bien spécifiques?»

Lyanna est venue naturellement: «J'aime sa dureté, elle ne prend aucune bêtise de personne. Elle est un dur à cuire, et j’aime aussi le fait qu’elle ne soit jamais condescendante ou méchante sans une très bonne raison. Dans le pbadé, les rôles féminins étaient souvent des demoiselles en détresse. Il est donc important d’avoir des personnages multidimensionnels comme Lyanna. "

Ensuite, elle sera dans La résistance, un film sur les enfants juifs dans l'Allemagne nazie. À l’avenir, elle aimerait faire quelque chose de «bourré d’action, peut-être jouer au football parce que j’aime le sport». En regardant en arrière Des trônes, Ce qui lui manquera le plus, c’est son costume. «Quand je vais mettre mes vêtements normaux le matin, je suis complètement Bella. C’est une transformation étrange. Dès que je rentre dans mon costume, cela me fait me sentir comme Lyanna. KB

La saison 8 de Game of Thrones commence le 15 avril sur Sky Atlantic