Liam Cunningham and Carice van Houten talk Game of Thrones

Liam Cunningham (Davos Seaworth), and Carice van Houten (Melisandre), teamed up for an interview with The Red Bulletin, and the pair had loads to say about Game of Thrones Season 5 and the show as a whole. Most of the interview centers on “Team Stannis” and their new home, the Wall, but they do discuss what it has been like for them on Game of Thrones, and where they feel they will be in the end of it all.

TRB starts off the interview with a question about the parallels between Game of Thrones and real world situations, and while I personally prefer my fantasy genre to be separate from the ugliness of the real world, one cannot help but draw parallels between the two. Liam Cunningham answered this question.

“If actors and writers and artists are doing their jobs properly then they should hold up a mirror to society. The show is about people in extreme situations, about paranoia, revenge, power, legacy and control. When people are finding similarities between our show and what is happening in the real world, especially around the Middle East and the Ukraine and all these kind of places, then it is time to get a little bit scared.”

He’s not wrong. The political landscape of the Seven Kingdoms is one that could be easily compared to the strife and upheaval in the Middle East. Noble Houses killing each other over the rights to land is uncomfortably recognizable.

Carice van Houten was asked about the increasing presence of strong female roles in today’s movies and television shows, and how things are looking for her character on Game of Thrones.

“Oh, how am I going to say this without spoiling anything? Let’s say it is my favorite season so far for my character. I had more to do than ever before and also there are slight shifts in her focus, ahm … I’m not allowed to give anything away.”

What happened next was an interesting and fun interaction between Liam Cunningham and Carice van Houten, in which she almost dropped a major spoiler for Season 5.

“LC (jumps in): She has an incredible journey, yeah!

CvH: This is a good year for me.

LC: Yeah, maybe not for other people! Maybe!

CvH (laughs): There was a scene where I, when I read it …

LC: Careful!

CvH: I was shocked…

LC: Yeah, I think I read it at the same time and I was like: What?!? There were certainly many WTF moments…”

What scene is Carice talking about here? Without revealing any spoilers for the books, there are many situations from A Dance with Dragons where Melisandre could be involved in some absolutely shocking moments. Then again, she could be involved in a scene that was made solely for the show, and it will be a major shocker for book readers as well.

When asked who they would like to see sit the Iron Throne, besides Stannis of course, both actors had great answers.

“CvH: I want to live in a world where Sam Tarly is king.

LC: I want to be Joffrey!”

Carice’s answer is of course cute, while Liam’s seems to be a moment of jumping the shark, as it were. I mean, who in their right mind would want Joffrey as their king? Liam expounds on his answer.

“He is a badass. And it is great to play f—kers like him. It’s so evil, man! I love playing bad guys. I have played lots of bad guys. I love playing Davos as well, I love that intricacy and the politics of dealing with these two, Stannis and Melisandre.”

I wouldn’t exactly characterize Joffrey as a badass…not even remotely. I can understand the allure of playing the bad guy, and Liam has had plenty of movie roles where he is in fact that bad guy, but Joffrey is on a completely different level when it comes to evil characters. Instead of badass, I would describe him as a simpering, mewling, psychopathic coward…but maybe that’s just me.

“But when you look at someone like Joffrey. I mean he is so black and white evil. When Joffrey walks into a room everybody s–ts themselves. They don’t want to make eye contact with him. This ripple effect from him was extraordinary. We really miss him on the show, don’t we?”

Okay, I can get behind that. Yes, with Joffrey, there was no grey, only black and white pure evil. And yes, people sh*t themselves when he walked into a room because he could command the Kingsguard to carry out whatever evil impulse hit him at that moment. Joffrey was unpredictable.

You can read the entire interview at Redbulletin.com. Liam Cunningham also did an interview with Entertainment TV News, where he discussed his role on the show, the fact that Season 5 will catch up to the books, and whether he’d read them.

“I think it’s fair to say Davos is one probably one of the most noble characters in the show. He’s principled and decent. This guy comes from the lowest of the low and mixes with guys who are educated and have power, status and money – so he shows how none of it can make a man, or a woman, of you.”

He’s absolutely right. Even more than Jon Snow, Ser Davos is an unwaveringly loyal and principled man. Throughout the show and the books, he has had the chance to abandon Stannis and go his own way, but his sense of duty, honor, and purpose really sets him apart from most every other character in A Song of Ice and Fire/Game of Thrones.

In regards to the constant battle between books readers and the Unsullied, Liam had this to say:

“There’s a sense of ownership with people who have been into the books. So you are always going to get a few idiots who want to spoil the fun for everybody. But it’s not a scoop to get a spoiler. It’s destructive; you have to be particularly stupid or evil to spoil it. One of the great things about the show is the surprise element.”

Liam doesn’t pull any punches with his comments about spoilers, and I can appreciate that. Not only does he portray one of my favorite characters, on the show, but he’s quickly becoming one of my favorite actors, as well.

Then there’s the good side of book readers. The ones who refuse to spoil the show for the Unsullied, and in fact go to great lengths to ensure the Unsullied stay that way. Liam referenced the YouTube videos of unspoiled viewers watching the Red Wedding and losing their minds, videos that have garnered millions of views.

“These are people who have read the books and are getting a great deal of enjoyment out of these people being shocked. They’re there going, ‘yeah it’s pretty bad. And it’s going to get a whole lot worse’. It’s a weird thing.”

On if he’s read the books:

“I’ve never opened the book. A book. Never mind the book. We’re about to overtake the books, so nobody knows what will happen. All the smug book-readers will be in the same position as their friends. It’s going to make it more interesting.”

It almost sounds as if he holds some sort of contempt for book readers. His replies smack of someone who reads message boards and fan sites, where some troll has ruined the plot for everyone.

Finally, when asked who he thought would win the Iron Throne in the end, his answer was coy, at best.

“It ain’t going to be who you would expect. If this was being made by a $200 million film studio, it would be obvious that Daenerys (Emilia Clarke) would win it, but the beauty of the show is that with George Martin behind it, you’re completely in the dark.”

For a man who claims to not have read the books, Liam Cunningham has a solid grasp on how George R. R. Martin writes. Of course, working on Game of Thrones most assuredly gave him this insight, but he is spot-on in his answer. Daenerys is the easy pick to win the Iron Throne…almost too easy. You can read his entire interview at Entertainment TV News.

• Published on 04/08/2015 at 3:30 PM CDT
• Last updated on 04/08/2015 at 3:30 PM CDT