We just gotta say it — actors need to quit this thing where they *need to believe they’re the good guy* in order to portray their character properly. It’s not like all y’all are playing Ruth Bader-Ginsburg all the time!
Every time we see one of these thespians in an interview saying, “Well, from the cannibal rapist’s point of view…,” we roll our eyes like we’re ready to warg into Hodor.
So naturally this latest interview with Nikolaj Coster-Waldau gave us a little bit of the UGH factor.
The traditionally handsome Danish film star has been trying to win us back for seven seasons of Game of Thrones, ever since his character Jaime Lannister tried to murder a 10-year-old boy who caught him having sex with his twin sister in the show’s pilot.
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In his recent Men’s Health cover feature, Coster-Waldau talks all things Thrones, including admitting to getting “a bit of dust” in his eye on his last day on set.
He also says while he’s sad to not be returning to set this year, he’s glad the showrunners “stuck to their guns and said, ‘This is the story we wanna tell; we’re not gonna extend this.'”
“I’m sure HBO would have loved another couple years of this show. There’s an audience for it, for sure. But I think everyone who watches the show will appreciate that it’s finished — that it was one story from episode 1 to episode 83, and we told it.”
Of course he can’t give anything away about season eight, only jokingly revealing Jaime’s hand grows back “but not in the way you think.” Womp womp.
So instead he speaks about Jaime generally and gets into some truly ewwy areas through which the show has trod.
On the incestuous relationship which drives Jaime’s every action for seven straight seasons, he says he actually thinks people can relate. (Ooh, sorry, poor choice of words.) Anyway, he said:
“I think most people have at least been attracted to someone you shouldn’t be. Not your sister, but someone you really shouldn’t fall in love with. Like your best friend’s girlfriend.”
Not the same. Not even close. Come on, man! He goes one further, saying:
“It’s one of the few true love stories in Game of Thrones — Jaime is dedicated to this woman.”
No! It isn’t! It’s a sick psychological co-dependency!
Just once we want an actor to say, WHAT?! NO, I DON’T RELATE TO MY AWFUL CHARACTER, IT’S MAKE-BELIEVE! WHAT AM I, A PSYCHO??
(Actually, come to think of it, Iwan Rheon had some sense. He told all of his fans NOT to empathize with the sadistic Ramsay Bolton.)
Coster-Waldau takes the idea of his character being forgiven a step further, bringing the convo to his views of political correctness and how “there’s no forgiveness” for bad behavior. He explains:
“We’ve had this, also, at home. There’s a song that is from 1800-something. It’s a beautiful song. I’m translating—’The Danish Song Is a Young Blond Girl.’ And suddenly someone was offended because she was not young and she was not blond. You kind of go, ‘What?’ For me, anyway, maybe it’s because I’m old and I’m insensitive, but I also think that there is a point where you have to — being offended is also a choice. You can choose not to be offended. Because if we don’t, if we constantly have to censor each other and ourselves, then that’s a scary future.”
Are some people playing up their umbrage? Is the Internet constantly in a state of pearl clutching? Sure.
But we’re pretty sure when it comes to incest and attempted murder to cover up that incest, and then multiple more murders that follow, and then incestuous rape at a wake? Yeah, people are probably pretty sincerely offended by these things and don’t necessarily *relate* to Jaime.
And you don’t need to either, bro.
Oh, sorry, not “bro.” Anything but that… LOLz!
What do YOU think of Nikolaj’s take on Jaime? Do you think Jaime’s relationship is relatable??
[Image via Game Of Thrones/YouTube.]
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