Kristian Nairn and Isaac Hempstead-Wright promote Game of Thrones in Toronto

Yesterday, Kristian Nairn and Isaac Hempstead-Wright were in Toronto, Canada for a whirlwind day of press to promote the Game of Thrones Season 3 DVD release!

Kristian and Isaac started off the day on Global’s The Morning Show where they discussed the Thrones phenomenon and how it transcends genres, if they are ever surprised by the scripts, Kristian’s work as a DJ and Isaac’s potential in particle physics, and more. Watch the video below:

Kristian and Isaac also visited Canada AM for an early morning interview. The pair discuss the Stark family’s bad luck, the unusual character of Hodor and his relationship with Bran, filming locations, and more. Click on the screencap below to watch:

Kristian and Isaac also made a stop at Kiss 92.5 for an interview on the Roz & Mocha Show. The pair discuss the filming schedule and security on set, how Isaac has grown throughout the years, the fantasy aspect of the show, and more. Click on the screencap below to watch the video:

Huffington Post Canada has a great text interview with the pair that showcases their friendship as they discuss the Game of Thrones phenomenon and their character’s journey throughout the past seasons and what’s to come:

HuffPost TV Canada: I don’t know if it felt like this for you, but it seems like this past season, the show’s popularity just exploded. Has working on the show changed at all from Season 1 going into Season 4, now that it’s become this massive worldwide phenomenon?

Kristian Nairn: What you say is very true. I definitely felt a shift in public interest in the show at the end of Season 2 and during Season 3 airing on TV. There was definitely a massive upward spike. I think it’s going to continue in Season 4, I really do. People are starting to ask, ‘Well, how can they keep it up… Most of the characters are dead, what’s going to happen to the storylines?’ But it just keeps going, and people will be surprised how many people we’ve still got to kill. [laughs]

Isaac Hempstead-Wright: Yeah, by Season 4, we’ve lost characters, we’ve gained characters, but also, all the characters that are there have completely changed. Bran in the first episode was a happy-go-lucky kid who wanted to be a knight and had a great time climbing the castle, and is now this hardy, steeled kid who’s lost half his family, who’s lost his legs, the only things that he really needed. I mean, every character has gone through something, whether it be good or bad.

HuffPost TV Canada: And you got to add two of those new characters to your storyline last season. Was that a nice change-of-pace for you?

Hempstead-Wright: Yeah, I think what’s nice about having them involved, is our storyline isn’t… not stagnating, but we’ve sort of been hanging around in the same place, doing very little. More just having other things happen. Our storyline is as a result of other things. So to have two new people who mix it up and add something interesting was really great.

Nairn: It definitely added a new dynamic to the group. I love the whole mysticism side of Bran’s story; it was nice to see that brought more into the fore.

HuffPost TV Canada: Do you enjoy getting to explore that even more this upcoming season?

Hempstead-Wright: Yeah, and what’s great about magic in this show is it’s almost as it would be in our world, in the sense that many of the characters are just as skeptical as we are about magic. You know, ‘Oh no, the White Walkers don’t exist,’ or ‘The dragons have been dead for years.’ So that makes all the magic that’s there all the more intriguing and exciting and rare. And to be a part of that is really cool, because I find it one of the most interesting parts of the storyline, because it could really topple the fate of Westeros.

Nairn: Which is weird, because it hasn’t really been shown in the show yet. There’s been very few demonstrations of magic. It’s almost there as a threat. And then something so small like ‘warging,’ eyes roll up and people completely freak out over it. It makes it feel really powerful, I think.

HuffPost TV Canada: Earlier, you mentioned ‘well, how can you keep finding characters to kill?’ And this show has become known for killing off major, beloved characters. When you get to the end of a season and you’re still there, is there a sigh of relief that you made it through another one?

Hempstead-Wright: [laughs] What everyone says is when they first get their scripts, they flick straight through to check they’re not dead.

Nairn: Because you never know. You never know.

HuffPost TV Canada: I know fans really feel it whenever the show kills off a main character, but you guys must too, because these are people you work with, that you see around all the time. Was there anyone that it was especially difficult to say goodbye to?

Nairn: Very much so. From Season 2…

Hempstead-Wright: Are you going to say Maester Luwin? That’s what I was going to say!

Nairn: Well, I’m going to say it.

Hempstead-Wright: Fine. You read my mind.

Nairn: [laughs] Maester Luwin, from Season 1 to Season 2, was played by Donald Sumpter, and in a way he felt like your real grandfather.

Hempstead-Wright: Yeah! He was kind, he gave us tips and tricks, because he’s been in the business for years.

Nairn: Yeah, he’s such an experienced actor, you really look up to him. We both learned a lot from him, and it was very sad to see him go. I know he had to film his death scene on the first day of the season, remember that? The first thing we did was to film his death.

Hempstead-Wright: Oh God, yeah. They’d said, ‘Yeah, we’re gonna try and do it in a more chronological order.’ Apart from the first scene, apart from the beginning.

Nairn: That was a very sad day. I remember genuinely choking up during that scene. It was definitely very sad.

Canoe.Ca also has some quotes from the pair joking that Kristian may have the worst job in television, having to carry around a teenager all day. Kristian also gives some brief words about Season 4:

“I might say it’s one of the best jobs, but I do know what you mean,” said Nairn.

Nairn is seven feet tall, but still, you know? So does Hempstead-Wright make up for it by having to bring Nairn cookies on set or anything like that?

“Maybe I should – naw, not gonna happen,” joked Hempstead-Wright.

“Sometimes I get thinking it would be nice to get a ‘thank you’ every now and then,” Nairn replied.

“Thank you, thank you, thank you,” said Hempstead-Wright, chuckling as he gave Nairn a hug.

“The pressure is increasing and the characters are feeling it,” Nairn said. “They’re weary. They’re tired. And that’s because things are getting even more serious.”

The Edmonton Journal has a great article with some new quotes from Kristian and Isaac.

ET Canada has a video interview with Kristian and Isaac but it is only viewable to Canadadian residents.

As more news from Kristian and Isaac’s day in Toronto pops up it will be added to this post!

• Published on 02/20/2014 at 9:00 AM CDT
• Last updated on 10/21/2016 at 12:43 PM CDT