Having been a core part of HBO’s Game of Thrones saga from the get-go, it takes a lot for Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (Jaime Lannister) to be repulsed by the machinations of Westeros.
And yet, the actor just couldn’t bring himself to watch two particular scenes from previous seasons, one of which involves Lady Lysa Arryn and her intolerable son, Robin Arryn. But more on that later; up first is Coster-Waldau’s reaction to the death of young Shireen Baratheon, who was burned at the stake in order to curry favor for Stannis’ rebellion.
Even by Game of Thrones‘ own lofty standards, it was a brutal, excruciating scene, as Stannis was brainwashed into thinking that murdering his own daughter in cold blood would have appeased the gods and, ultimately, help him win the war. That wicked sorcery couldn’t have been further from the truth, and Coster-Waldau admits to Variety that Shireen’s death “was just cruel. I understand why they did it, but I just couldn’t watch it. And it was difficult to even read.”
Another Thrones segment that forced the actor to turn away from the TV was the one in which Lysa Arryn is seen breastfeeding her son Robin at the ripe old age of 7…
It was so weird and wrong on every level.
On a more positive note, the actor is overly confident that the show’s impending finale will be a satisfying one, as Game of Thrones‘ writing team “couldn’t have done a better job.”
They just couldn’t have done a better job on ending our story. We’ve worked harder than ever before. We spent twice as much shooting these six episodes than we did on two full seasons before. No expense has been spared. We’ve gone all in.
Game of Thrones reaches its long-anticipated finale next April, and we couldn’t be more excited. Many of the show’s power players are beginning to bid farewell to Westeros, too – Emilia Clarke included – signalling that it really is the beginning of the end.
