No more nudity for Game of Thrones star

Carice van Houten has a Dutch approach to nudity, on screen and off. ‘‘In my country,’’ says the 43-year-old Game of Thrones star, ‘‘being naked feels quite natural.’’

Today, she is dressed in a quirky maelstrom of Gucci: embossed satin jacket, gold paisley shirt, tartan skirt and luminous pixie boots. ‘‘Gucci used to feel out-there,’’ she says. ‘‘But I’m loving it now.’’

For her career-defining role as Red Priestess Melisandre, she got to wear some extravagant outfits – flowing scarlet robes, matching red hair, a necklace that literally took centuries off

her – as well as the chance to appear in . . . well, nothing. Having joined GoT in its second season, nudity came with the territory.

‘‘It was necessary,’’ she insists, ‘‘because Melisandre used her body and sexuality as a weapon, so I don’t regret it. But, in my time, I’ve done nude scenes that weren’t really necessary, and I was just too overwhelmed to see that. These days, I’m still willing to talk about the possibility, but I’m kind of over it.’’

Approaching midlife not long after starting a family (she has a 3-year-old son, Monte, with Australian actor Guy Pearce) has had unexpected side-effects for her career: suddenly less assured about her own body, she is, however, more confident about turning down roles with nude scenes.

‘‘Yes, it’s good to show that real bodies are different at 40-plus than they were at 22. But I don’t necessarily want to be the vessel of that truth myself,’’ she laughs.

Van Houten has a natural honesty and great likeability – partly, perhaps, because English isn’t her first language, so dissembling is an effort. She has also done a ton of psychotherapy, so she’s used to opening up. ‘‘Therapy isn’t something to be ashamed of,’’ she says. ‘‘It can be painful, embarrassing and hard work, but it’s also hugely rewarding.’’

In the flesh, she is friendlier, funnier, tinier and far more klutzy than you’d ever imagine, were you to confuse her with the formidable Melisandre, the character who, among much else, burned poor little Shireen at the stake, gave birth to a ‘‘shadow baby’’ and extracted blood for her spells by placing leeches on the genitals of Gendry, the royal bastard.

‘‘Melisandre was a real challenge because I had no idea what to tap into,’’ she says. ‘‘Personally, I’m not overconfident or a religious fanatic. I also like to laugh a lot. The opposite of her.’’

Before Melisandre, she’d had roles in notable films such as Paul Verhoeven’s Black Book and Bryan Singer’s Valkyrie, opposite Tom Cruise.

At home, too, she was voted ‘‘Best Dutch Actress of All Time’’ and has five Golden Calf awards, their Bafta equivalent. ‘‘People talk about Game of Thrones, and I think: ‘Oh, I wish you’d seen me in some of my other roles...’’’

We’re here to talk about her latest post-GoT project: Temple ,a quirky, eight-part drama (airing in New Zealand on Sky TV’s SoHo channel) in which she joins a cast headed by Mark Strong.

He plays Daniel Milton, a surgeon who creates a subterranean clinic beneath London’s Temple station for desperadoes needing treatment outside the system and to illegally treat his terminally ill wife, played by Catherine McCormack.

Van Houten plays Anna, a medical researcher drawn in, against her better judgment, not least because she’s had an affair with Milton. ‘‘The role ticked lots