KRISTIAN NAIRN

Hodor

(Seasons 1-6) How long did it take you to figure the character of Hodor out? There were grand plans, but nobody knew apart from George rr Martin...

I tried to ask him… But even for me, for the first season or two, Hodor was kind of an enigma… who he was and where he came from. But after about season two, I really started to enjoy playing him, and I kind of projected my own backstory onto him. I asked George, numerous times. I bought him whiskies, vodkas, everything… never worked. He had a really good poker face. But a theory I had, being a big guy, maybe he was another of the Clegane brothers, and something happened to him as a child, like it did with the Hound, having his face burnt, which made him the way he is.

Hodor had an incredibly powerful death scene in season six. When did you find out what was going to happen?

I actually found out from a second source. It was Finn Jones, who plays Loras Tyrell, also Iron Fist. We’re good friends, and he got the script before I did. We all have this thing, “Am I going to make it to the end of the season?” And so I asked him the question, he was silent… I said, “Really?” Then he said, “Yeah… but you’re going to love it.” And that would have been about a year before the public saw it. So I had to keep it quiet, which was really hard.

What’s it like suddenly finding out that you’re out of the show?

I’m still really sad about it, actually. I miss playing him. I miss the character a lot. I always knew that he had an important part to play. I wasn’t sure what it would be, but I just knew he was there for a reason. So yeah, still sad, but also really happy.