A brief but excellent interview (in Danish) with Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, the Danish actor who’s been building an international reputation, about HBO’s pilot for Game of Thrones which recently completed filming. Playing the role of the knight Jaime Lannister, a good part of the interview is devoted to questions about the filming. The most notable pieces to come out of it? Lena Headey is pregnant, not so far along that one can tell when she’s dressed, but which required her to have a stand-in for a nude scene; as far as we can tell, this is the first time this particular news has been made public. Coster-Waldau is also taking part in a Danish TV series after New Year.
It does seem rather probable that pre-production on the series can likely start right after HBO gives its approval, but it seems increasingly unlikely that filming will be able to take place as quickly, given that other actors (such as Jennifer Ehle) are known to have work commitments through March or April.
Below you’ll find our translation of the relevant parts of the article:
How was it like to work together with an international star like Lena Headey?
It was a really good experience. She’s really cute and smart - and she’s also a lot of fun. She was also pregnant during filming, but not so far along that you could see it clearly. But she had to have a stand-in in a nude scene with me.
A nude scene? But aren’t you playing brother and sister?
Yes, that’s true… but nevertheless she’s completely naked. I can’t really tell you why. Maybe you’ll see in the series.
When you play the king’s squire, it probably means that you must ride a horse?
Yes, I ride around a lot. I’ve tried it a few times before, so it went very well. Of course, it always depends on what kind of a nag you get to set up with (ha-ha).
I have read that American fans of ‘Game of Thrones’ think your nose is wrong?
It’s true that some think that my nose is weird, because there’s a break in it. They think that I generally fit nicely into the role of Jaime Lannister, but that my nose doesn’t. I broke my nose as a child - the result of some wild pranks, I guess. So it looks a little rugged. But I wouldn’t even think of doing anything about it.
What is your relationship to roleplaying and fantasy universes where ‘Game of Thrones’ fits in?
I’ve only tried role-playing once in my life. It was in high school when I was playing ‘Dungeons and Dragons’. I had eaten a hash cake, which affected me greatly, and it ended badly. I ran around in the woods with a stick and tried to catch the others. I think they had placed too much marijuana in the cake, since I can remember that I finally sat and blabbered about my family and various problems. So it was a very traumatic and sad experience. Generally I have little experience with drugs and stuff.
Do you have any other foreign or Danish TV projects in the pipeline?
There’s nothing overseas. But just after New Year I will be a part of a Danish TV series. I can’t say anything about what it is exactly.