Carice Van Houten on her bathtub encounter, and a confusing future for Melisandre

It’s been a quieter season for the Red Preistess thus far, with less shadow babies and leeches, and more awkward Baratheon family moments. We’ve enjoyed dinner with a mistress, and a naked confession that potions weren’t necessary to seduce the one true King, but now Team Dragonstone is getting ready to set sail.

In a new interview with GQ, Carice Van Houten teases the future for Stannis and company, revealing that they’ll see things that confuse even Melisandre herself, and discusses the season so far.

Stannis was beaten so bad that his claim to the throne seems like a joke. Why does Melisandre stand by her man?
She can manipulate Stannis in all sorts of ways. In the future, I think he’s going to see so much more that might confuse him, and she’ll see things that’ll confuse herself. It’s hard to say more than that, because I was emailing the writers the other day asking a really vague question, and they were like, “Spoilers.” They’re even stern with me, so I have to be careful or it’ll cost me my head.

So, Episode 2’s dinner with Melisandre, Stannis, and his wife Lady Selyse…it wasn’t very pleasant.
I’ve actually heard people compare that dinner scene to Jesse Pinkman’s meal with Walter and Skyler White in Breaking Bad. I can totally relate to Aaron Paul in that moment, because his character was supposed to bring some comedy to it by pulling faces. Our dinner was sort of funny, too, in a cruel way. Dining with a married couple can be uncomfortable. I also love to do scenes with no lines, just eyebrow acting.

Let’s talk about her bathtub encounter with Selyse.
It includes nudity in a great way, because there’s no men there. I really shows how comfortable Melisandre—not the actress—is in her own body. She almost sees it like an instrument. When Selyse comes in, I’m very relaxed, and you can see my tits just floating there. There’s nothing sexual about it, just a body in water. After she gets out of the tub, she shows Selyse her cabinet of magic powders and potions, one of which makes men horny. Selyse asks, “Did you use this on Stannis?” In one take, I say, “No.” In another, “It wasn’t necessary.” I asked them to keep that one, but they thought my face said enough.

For more from Carice, including her thoughts on the Lord of Light, and if she’s expecting another shadow baby, visit GQ.

Will Dany Use Her Sexuality to Control Her… by winteriscoming

• Published on 05/23/2014 at 9:00 AM CDT
• Last updated on 10/21/2016 at 12:41 PM CDT