Nikolaj Coster-Waldau on Jaime’s evolution, losing a hand, and Season 4
Nikolaj Coster-Waldau recently spoke with Reveal.Co.Uk at a Game of Thrones press junket in London.
In the new interview Nikolaj discusses why Jaime is such a great character to play, and his evolution since Season 1. He recalls filming the pivotal scene in which Jaime lost his hand, and the obstacles Jaime will face without it. And of course he gives a small tease of what we can expect from Season 4!
On Jaime
“Jaime is a great character to play. I like the fact he’s so conflicted and has all these secrets, it’s good writing. He seems like a whole human so there are always things you can identity with. I think most of us dislike when people jump to conclusions about who you are. Sometimes it happens when you’re an actor, as they see you in a part and presume you’re that role. [I sometimes get], ‘Hi Jaime, how’s your sister?!’ That happens for Jaime on a huge scale as he is known as the Kingslayer.”
On that scene where he lost his hand
“Noah Taylor, who played Locke, was so scary. The night we shot that scene I was sick which was actually very perfect. I felt really bad and he was acting very violent, as he should be. They built this huge knife, a version that he could whack down on me. Of course, he had to be very accurate – and he wasn’t always! That was good for my reaction. It did actually hurt because he went for it. There was another day we shot a scene after that where I fall off the horse and he beats me up. It was so muddy and he had to kick me in the stomach. That isn’t dangerous but you have to be specific about the kick. Because it was so muddy and we were rolling around, he missed and hit my rib, which took a month to get over. They had to reshoot it three times as Gwen (who plays Brienne) was laughing.”
On the obstacles he faces now his character is without a hand
“As an actor obstacles are gifts. For a guy who is defined in many ways by his ability with a sword, to lose that part of him is a huge obstacle. The writing was so strong and so good that the scenes after that were a lot of fun to shoot.”
On whether Jaime has evolved since series one
“It seems like a huge change and there are obviously some changes in him, but I think it’s all about point of view. If you’re told before the scene in episode one where he’s having sex with Cersei and pushes Bran out of the window, that, yes, it’s his sister but it’s true love and they want to be together – it’s horrible but it’s a romantic love – and there’s a horrible, evil boy climbing the wall. If that horrible boy tells anyone what he saw they’ll have to kill Cersei’s children and she would die and he would probably die, it would be a different scenario. You might think differently.
“He does something because he’s about loyalty and family and protecting the people he loves. That goes through to what happens with Brienne, I think. The fact he meets this woman is huge for him as he’s forced to spend so much time with her. For the first time, I think, he does something for someone outside his family and risks everything for this woman.
“I think the biggest change is the fact he loses his identify in many ways and has to reevaluate and rediscover himself. That goes back to the scene with Brienne in the bath where he reveals this huge secret that he’s carried since he was sixteen. He tells, of all people, this woman because I think they have connected and he sees himself in her. The big question, of course, is what happens when he gets back to King’s Landing? That’s where we’ll find out what has changed. At the end of season three something has changed but he doesn’t know what it is. I think he surprised himself and doesn’t really know why he went back and rescued Brienne from the bear pit.”
On what season four has in store
“I think for Jaime it will be the fact the Lannister family is together for the first time on the show. That will be very interesting to explore. It’s a very dramatic season and where before you’d have one or two episodes that peak, here there will be a lot of peaks.”
For more of Nikolaj’s interview, including his reaction to the Red Wedding and some words on Thrones’ directors, visit Reveal.Co.Uk!
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