One of the great joys of watching Game of Thrones is seeing the quality of the actors they consistently get for many of the roles. It’s still amazing to me that Charles Dance agreed to do GoT and Dance has always spoken about how much he loved working on the show, and how much he loved working with Peter Dinklage and Lena Headey in particular. Sean Bean has always talked about his love of the show too, so much so that he would be all for coming back for a cameo or something. Personally, I’ve always had a great deal of affection for Stephen Dillane. He’s usually cast as the posh types in British films and TV shows, and seeing him play the charisma-vacuum that was Stannis Baratheon was a great joy. He was at times heart-breaking, brutal, needy, crazy and terrible. It was an excellent performance over the course of four seasons. But Dillane, it seems, never really “got” the show, nor did he really care for the work. Sad.
Speaking to French magazine Liberation about his time on the fantasy series, Dillane’s words were translated as follows:
‘“I do not regret having done Game of Thrones, but I have nothing to say. I understood neither the series nor its success when I was attending. The experience was very strange, it passed under my nose. For a role like it to me, I must get interested could, which was not really the case. I was a bit overwhelmed.” Why, then, it be undertaken? Long silence, increasingly exasperated. “Among other things, for the money.”’
In this interview, he apparently also confirmed (SPOILER) that he’s not returning for the new season in any form, whether by corpse, ghost or icy vampire. He also said that GoT was “difficult because it is a big machine.” I can sort of understand that argument – Stannis was one of the few characters going far and wide throughout Westeros, and Dillane probably got tired of the weird hours and travel. That being said, it’s sad that he doesn’t think much of the series or of his work on the show, because he was outstanding.
Photos courtesy of HBO/GoT.
Good. The show has lost its way majorly.
It’s because HBO lost Sue Naegle. IMO, she really kept all the HBO shows in line and the quality was incredible while she was the president. Now all the HBO shows have gone downhill.
He sounds a bit curmudgeonly here. A bit… Stannis-y
totally. i read that and thought – way to stay in character
seriously he didn’t enjoy it because apparently he is stannis.
This is funny to me because he totally sounds like Stannis.
And what a weak send off for his character. D&D really botched his story line. I was clinging to the theory that Brianne only cut off his leg and that Stannis would end up in the Night’s Watch and lead the battle against the white walkers when they attacked the wall. And that’s how he would die.
It was a weak send off for the character and they did botch his story line. Not too surprised he is not a big cheerleader of the show…did he even do any press for it when he was on it?
I thought he was very good in the role and I just wish the show had done more with the character having such a talented actor in the role.
Agree. It looked like they didn’t know what to do with his character from the beginning so they half-assed his whole storyline :/. That’s unfortunate because I really like Stannis in the books.
Also, Dillane is a great actor so this was such a waste of his talents 🙁
I agree Stannis was such a strong character. He deserved a send off worthy of the One True King. Not dying in such a weak way against a tree. Shame they ended his story like this.
So weird – I don’t remember him dying. I watched it, too. Scary. Anyway, I thought he was great as Stannis and I liked and empathized with the movie character much more than the book one.
GNAT, they left it so vague regarding his “death” that I thought for certain Brienne spared his life. They showed his sitting against the tree & Brienne swinging her sword – end scene. I thought that was deliberate. Maybe it was just lazy & cheap.
Stannis=Jeb Bush
Please clap.
Followed by bored reluctant clapping 🙁
Perfect
THIS IS AMAZING.
Does that make Robert Baratheon Dubya? 😀
Stupid pointless wars that ripped his nation apart…sounds more like Mad King Aerys Targaryen to me.
I can’t decide if Cheney is Tywin or Varys
Though if Dubya=King Robert, would that make Al Gore Rhaegar?
Cheney is definitely Tywin. He has neither the charm nor humor of Varys.
Lol Baratheon is Bill Clinton. Which I guess means that Hilary is cersei?
Touche
I don’t like where the character ended up on the show. *Spoiler alert* he’s still alive as of the end of book 5. I thought he was great in the role and will miss him
Too bad, I loved him as Stannis.
Well, at least you got to have my favourite name, Stannis Baratheon.
I imagine it’s tough being isolated and not seeing how you fit. I thought he might he headed for a bit of a redemption arc when he showed up and sort of accidentally saved Jon Snow. Then….LOL, nope!
Stephen Dillane, winter is coming for you !
He should have let Shireen live
Poor Shireen! What a beautiful scene when he was telling her how much he loved her to be followed up with her murder. Yikes. Yeah, she is your daughter, that’s why melisandre’s plan might work. Ugh, what a fall he had.
He sounds like Stannis in this interview. That translation doesn’t sound kosher though. I know sometimes when I see Spanish to English translations the tone and content is totally off base from what is actually being said.
The translation (back?) into English is way off — so I think it’s likely that the tone and commentary were intended to be much more subtle or neutral.
Sounds like a case of lost in translation squared to me.
I’m just looking forward to seeing Tobias Menzies in GOT. Seriously, the only reason why I’m going to give this season a go. That man is amazing.
Since Outlander, I can’t see him as anything but a woman-hating rapist. But he’s believable as her kind husband, too.
@ DA – is Tobias back for Season 6? You saw him in the earlier Red Wedding season, right?
Stephen Dillane was so good as Thomas Jefferson in the HBO John Adams series.
That sounds quite churlish for him and he isn’t really the churlish sort. If I weren’t so lazy, I would look up the original to see.
Presumably, he’s shilling the second series of The Tunnel, which is a British/French remake of the Scandi noir The Bridge. Love Dillane as I do, I still have to say The Bridge is a bazillion times better.
He’s normally very professional so i think the meaning has been lost in translation. He’s a great actor and his performance on the show was a highlight but his character was under used and the story arc was effed up by the showrunners. The Stannis story arc is much better in the books and he’s still alive at the end of the last one.
There recently was a dustup in the Danish media about why Kim Bodnia left Btoen (The Bridge) after season 2).
Yes! I saw! I was so upset when he left. I like Henrik and his imaginary family though!
It’s kind of ironic, the reasons he gave, since season 3 has a recurring theme of the Danes mocking the Swedes for being too politically correct. If that isn’t a totally tactless thing to say.
Things are going wrong everywhere, aren’t they?
HAHAHAHA. I think this is hilarious. He just doesn’t get it. And that’s okay – not every job is going to be a passion project. Not to mention, Stannis was always a lame character. I’m amazed how many people think D&D botched his story, because it wasnt a great story to begin with.
Sexy man. Will miss his Stannis.
I think he’s really sexy too. I liked Stannis , but what he did to Shireen was unforgivable. Will miss him on GOT!
How interesting. Well, either he’s a very good actor, or his lack of passion for the role translated very well for the character. In a way, it worked perfectly, because he was overall, a bit weak. He seemed to rely more heavily on the hope and promise of prophecy rather than his own ambition and desire. And let’s face it – after his daughter-thing – he deserved a much worse fate than he got.
Well if he hated every minutes of it, it didn’t show. He didn’t phone it in – the scene where Shireen dies was amazing.
I will miss him correcting grammar.
Fewer. That correction always made me give a gleeful little clap.
I loved Stannis as a character since SD was so good I the role. I’m still annoyed at how his story wrapped up. Side note–his son plays the teenage son on Fear the Walking Dead.
Assuming that Stannis was next in line for the throne since Baratheon’s children are NOT his children in reality, who is now in line for the throne? Stannis murdered his only child, so there is no heir. Renley, the next brother in line is dead. Whom do Stannis’ followers turn to as the rightful king of the Seven Kingdoms now?
Technically, it would be a lesser Baratheon, but it seems like they were determined to end the line in the show. I have no idea who his incredibly lawful followers can turn to now since they never brought up any Baratheons apart from Robert, Stannis, Shireen and Renly. They’re probably going to all go mad for Jon Snow or something stupid that his followers would never do in the books. Personally, I think they should just crown Davos. Davos is awesome.
In all seriousness, I could imagine the show doing the following:
Mel revives Jon > Stannis stans see it as a miracle of the red god > Mel declares Jon AA > followers dedicate themselves to Jon Snow.
It’s the only logical thing for them to do. Stannis made all his army convert and killed the ones who didn’t, so they all follow the Red God now. If Mel is seen to perform some miracle through R’hllor like Thoros, and she declares Jon Azor Ahai or whatever, they would probably follow him. I think they had Mel meet Thoros way back so they could set up her reviving Jon like Thoros did with Beric.
He looks awful in the header pic, but that was his death scene.. I agree he can be sexy at times!
Yeah, not surprised given how the show didn’t seem to understand Stannis or like the character. Dillane was amazing, but the show writers did seem to have a hate-on for Stannis. He’s a really interesting character in the books.