Through the Night with George R.R. Martin and Sibel Kekilli

Back in December of 2014, Sibel Kekilli made a trip to Santa Fe, New Mexico to do a Q&A at George R.R. Martin’s theater, the Jean Cocteau, for her film Head On–the German-Turkish drama that launched her acting career. But it appears there was even more filming going on that night, as the European channel Arte produced an episode of their documentary film series Durch die Nacht mit… (Through the Night With…) featuring George and Sibel enjoying a lovely evening together.

Check out the video below!

The entire hour is worth watching just for the chemistry between the two, who seem to share genuine affection for each other, but there are a couple of highlights worth mentioning.

The episode starts with Sibel arriving at George’s house, where he shows off the piles upon piles of toy figurines he has meticulously laid out. (He also has Robby the Robot from Forbidden Planet programmed with all the dialogue of the film, which is the nerdiest thing I have ever wanted in my life.) As he’s showing the Game of Thrones figurines he has (which are actually based on the book characters and therefore share no likenesses to the actors), he mentions that the dragon figurines are inaccurate; his dragons have two legs rather than four. “There are no such creatures with four legs and wings,” he says.

In between locales, the two have fascinating conversations about Sibel’s political activism, the difference between German and Turkish food (according to Sibel, Thrones co-creator David Benioff does not recognize the difference), and George’s life growing up in a poor family from Bayonne, New Jersey and his lapsed Catholicism. George also talks about how show-Shae is very different from book-Shae, saying that book-Shae “wasn’t a deep thinker” and “only saw what was right in front of her.” He expressed concerns about how David and Dan were going to make Shae’s betrayal work, though both agree that they ultimately pulled it off.

And while it’s not strictly Thrones-related, there is a surprise guest in Melinda Snodgrass, who drops by the Jean Cocteau and regales us with stories of filming a TV pilot (Star Command) in Germany. It’s a warm surprise in an episode with a lot of drinking, a lot of laughter, and a lot of heart. It ends with Sibel giving George a picture of the two of them at the Emmys, which feels at once sentimental and bittersweet, since we know Sibel will no longer be going to the Emmys for Game of Thrones. Or as Sibel half-mockingly puts it: “Thank you… for killing me!”

• Published on 03/24/2015 at 11:00 AM CDT
• Last updated on 10/21/2016 at 1:05 PM CDT