No one will say how Game of Thrones will end. It’s all very cloak and dragon
Star of smash-hit show tells how cast won’t reveal secrets
If anyone should know the secrets of the Game of Thrones final series, it’s Ron Donachie.
The actor has starred in HBO’s award- winning blockbuster, as does his son Daniel Portman, and he knows the creator of the bloody fantasy series, author George RR Martin. But when it comes to any sneak- peak information about the f inale, winter has well and truly arrived for Ron. He said: “Nobody is giving any secrets away. People who are involved are all saying it’s worth waiting for, but beyond that, nothing. “Daniel is really discreet about it and you have to be. As actors, we sign contracts now where they can shoot you into space without any air if you breach them so nobody’s saying anything.”
It’s not something that the Dundee-born actor, 62, would push anyway. After all, he knows what it is to feel cold steel on your neck after his own stint on the show as Ser Rodrik Cassel came to an end with a bloody execution.
He said: “I get killed in series two – betrayed by a boy I had looked after since he was a child. I had a grisly death, even by Game of Thrones standards. I had a botched beheading so they ended up kicking my head off. It was particularly gruesome.”
Ron’s demise on Game of Thrones was no surprise to him as he had read the books before joining the series, as well as others Martin had written. He got to know the writer through his knowledge of his work.
He said: “I’m still in touch with George. I like the books very much but I was also acquainted with an earlier novel of his called Fever Dream.
“I read it by chance because a pal gave it to me in about 1981 and the first day I met George I told him. He’s an interesting man, great fun.”
While the finale will leave millions of fans around the world bereft, Ron says that, for many of the young cast like his son Daniel, 26, who plays Podrick Payne, it’s also exciting to leave it behind. He added: “Dan
If it was me, I’d be in Game of Thrones for life
started in series two and, while it’s going to be a big hole in their lives, they are looking forward to it with great excitement because they have other things to do now.
“Game of Thrones has been a fantastic opportunity but, when you are in your 20s, you want to broaden your horizons. If it was me, I’d be in it for life. But for the younger actors, they will be looking forward to other things, although they wi l l miss the great camaraderie and security.”
Game of Thrones is a highlight in a busy and varied career, which includes John Byrne’s celebrated series Tutti Frutti, blockbuster film Titanic and Downton Abbey. He has also featured in Doctor Who and has been a screen cop in shows such as Fields Of Blood, The Bill and Casualty.
But the one he’s played most is Inspector John Rebus, br inging Ian Rankin’s Edinburgh detective to life in BBC radio adaptations.
And now he is getting to step into his shoes for real with the stage adaptation Rebus: Long Shadows, which comes to the Theatre Royal in Glasgow next week.
He said: “In an odd way, it’s kind of the end of a journey for me because I have done the TV series as senior police
off icers. I was a detective ve chief superintendent in John hn Hannah’s version and I was as the assistant chief constable le in Ken Stott’s.
“I have been also doing it for 15 years now with BBC C Radio Scotland.”
The play made its debut last t year but it has gone down so well that the run has been extended, with datestes in England and Wales after Glasgow.
Ron takes over the role from Coronation Street star Charles Lawson.
He added: “It’s very y well written, very y well crafted and is a cracking production.” ”