Natalie Dormer on Margaery Tyrell starting from scratch after a politically disastrous Purple Wedding
If Margaery Tyrell was hoping for an unforgettable wedding day, her wish was certainly granted. In a new interview with Entertainment Weekly, Natalie Dormer talks about what’s next for her character in the wake of the Purple Wedding, her unique Game of Thrones strategy, and more.
Margaery plays the game of thrones quite different from some of the other characters, who often resort to manipulation or violence. Natalie explains, “She brings a very sort of modern PR angle to it, sort of canvassing the common people’s hearts and minds type of thing. I think of her as like a hybrid sorts — Michelle Obama, with a Kate Middleton or a Princess Di. That’s what she’s aiming for.”
She also believes that it isn’t all for show, “I think she definitely cares. The Tyrells are not the Lannisters, and it’s more interesting if she’s sincere.”
Westeros has proved to have a poor track record for weddings, but so has Margaery Tyrell, losing her first husband to a shadow assassin, and her second to poison. So where does she go from here?
“Well, politically, it’s a disaster, to lose one husband is bad but to lose two husbands is careless! It’s really bad PR for Margaery. So regardless of what she thought of Joffrey as a human being, it’s not a good place for her to be in. So she’s like cursed or tainted goods … Margaery has to recuperate after Joffrey’s death. She feels like she’s failed. And that’s where Olenna [Diana Rigg] is very important again at sort of galvanizing her. That’s why I like Margaery because she’s human. You see that she’s been traumatized by watching Joffrey die. That goes back to my saying about her being a genuinely sincere, sensitive person. She’s just strong at hiding it. She’s lost her husband, and she’s lost the queenship in one fell swoop. So she has to start from scratch again, which is a tall order.”
We’ll begin to see the Tyrell ladies pick up the pieces on Sunday, which won’t be easy, as Natalie promises that the relationship between Margaery and Cersei is “going to get really nasty.”
For more from Natalie’s interview, including the fan reaction she’s received so far, working with Jack Gleeson, and her new role in The Hunger Games visit Entertainment Weekly.
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