Westeros

Gethin sounded like Renly but looked like a normal guy. A normal, very handsome, guy, that is. His hairstyle was way cooler than in the series, IMHO, and the many girls queuing in front of me seemed to agree and approve the whole package, judging by the pretty heavy swooning and giggling. Such was the presence of the late Renly Baratheon, First (and Last) of His Name!

The man did seem to be having a good time: he smiled and laughed profusely, shook hands a-plenty, spoke cheerfully and had nice words for all and each fan, all while deftly personalizing the items people offered him. And he still found the time for posing for more selfies per minute than the World Health Organization would recommend.

When my turn was about to come, I felt I might squee a little, but I managed to contain any inadmissible sounds within my vocal apparatus. Gethin stood up to greeted me (so nice of him; 100 points to House Baratheon) after washing his hands clean with some sort of magickal elixir. His grip was strong, as one would expect from a king wearing a t-shirt and a pair of jeans.

Interview

Marino: Hello Gethin!

Marino: Thank you very much for taking the time to talk to me.

Apparently, Gethin was positively excited about my interviewing him, which is neither that extraordinary nor flattering. You see, you would also be thrilled at the prospect of being interviewed by a starving bearded Spaniard in a yellow slicker-jacket-thing.

Marino: So, how are you doing?

Marino: Well, sweaty…

Gethin laughed hard at this burst of unprofessional honesty and gave me a wink. I reckoned it meant “I feel for you, bro.” The high concentration of positive energy had this not-so-glamorous bodily side effect.

Marino: So, what did you think when you read how Renly was going to be “dismissed” from the show?

Marino: Since you read the books and you are now part of the audience, how do you see the series and the novels compare? Having being an insider, do you understand the changes made for TV?

Marino: Some of your greatest performances were those shared with Finn Jones there and Natalie Dormer. How hard was to get into such intimate, sexual scenes?

(The not-repulsive-at-all Natalie Dormer was supposed to attend the London Film and Comic Con but had to cancel at the last minute and it made me a sad Dornish panda T_T)

Marino: It’s funny because Renly really doesn’t like Margaery that way; I mean, you and Loras… Let’s see if I can get to the point…

For some reason I could not properly articulate a question with a subject and a predicate, so I just LOLed and shook my head. Whatever happened once again with my spoken English? Teh same as wiht me written Eeenglish gnaw.

Marino: Yeah. As actors, you are getting along so well and yet you have to pretend Renly is repulsed by Margaery. How was that possible?

Folks, Gethin is a PRO, but I had put him in a somewhat embarrassing situation. He could not help but laugh a bit. Like a SIR. But, I mean, that’s why he is an actor and we are not: we could not pretend Natalie Dormer repulsed us. (If you can, you are dead inside and/or you should devote your life to acting right now. You are welcome.)

Marino: And do you think Margaery would be a good queen?

Marino: OK, that’s going to be it, so all these people can get to you; thank you so much!

Thank you people queuing behind me, patiently waiting for this madness to come to an end. Not having offered me to R’hllor or Galactus is a testament to your serenity!

I did that. You can ask them.

Marino: Yeah, see you later in the photoshoot!

And so we did, as you can see. Much to the astonishment of other more restrained and better-mannered people, I went again for my instant classic: “The Apparently Manly Hug”, and Gethin kindly obliged. I could feel how much he wanted to hug me; so badly it was almost obscene. OK, I might be exaggerating BUT all the physical contact depicted is real; no hug stunt doubles. “Closer than a Rainbow Guard”, that was my mantra.

And now, for something completely different… A bit of Payne!

About the Author

Marino Santirso is a biped hailing from Northern Spain who writes, translates and edits words for companies such as… can’t really tell you. He collaborated in the Spanish edition of “A Dance with Dragons” and is in charge of the Spanish versions of the “A Game of Thrones” LCG and board games. He loves Dorne because “Ser Arthur Dayne had a magic sword” and “OMG the Red Viper is almost a Maester!” He also likes to stick his finger into béchamel sauce when no one is watching and won’t probably be allowed to write anything else for anyone else anywhere ever. He is a gentle soul; please handle with care.