Nikolaj an his GAME OF THRONES co-star Alfie Allen (Theon Greyjoy) are in the latest edition of VMan Magazine. I’m going to see if I can get a hold of it at the newstands for HQ scans for the gallery, but until I do I have the online version for you. Of his character Nikolaj had this to say:

Nikolaj, on relating to his character Jaime Lannister: “I am very different from Jaime, but I do understand him and why he acts the way he does. You cannot excuse pushing a kid out a window, and I don’t think Jaime would, but he believed that he was left with no option. I relate to being ready to go to extremes to protect my children. And I think Jaime for all his arrogance and sarcasm — is a man of strong morals. You just have to do a bit of digging to find them.”

The article went on to further state: [NOTE: Typos are the responsibility of the source, not this webmaster ]

ALL THE KING’S MEN

THE WILD SUCCESS OF HBO’S GAME OF THRONES HAS REWRITTEN THE LAWS OF THE TELEVISION DRAMA, DUE LARGELY TO ITS BRILLIANT SOURCE MATERIAL AND ITS DASHING, MASTERLY CAST

PHOTOGRAPHY CUNEYT AKEROGLU FASHION TOBY GRIMDITCH TEXT JUSTIN TAYLOR

Game of Thrones—which you probably know as a bloody, sexy, thrillingly unpredictable HBO drama now in its second season—started life as a novel by George R.R. Martin, the first in a projected trilogy called A Song of Ice and Fire. It was published in 1996 (a year before Harry Potter came out in the U.K., two years before it hit the States) and did pretty well for itself. The follow- up, A Clash of Kings, came out in 1999 and eventually made the New York Times best-seller list. By the time the third book, A Storm of Swords, debuted as a best seller, in 2000, Martin had realized he was going to need more than three books to tell his story of dragons, pal- ace intrigue, dynastic wars, smugglers, slave revolts, religious fanatics, international relations, incest, the undead, and maybe a snowbound apocalypse. A Feast for Crows came out in 2005 and was another best seller, even though it pissed off a significant chunk of his fan base. The problem, basically, was that Martin’s vision had gotten so big that the next installment no longer fit into a single book. He decided to break his story into two 900-plus-page books that would take place more or less simultaneously. Feast is set in the more familiar territory of Westeros, but almost all of its protagonists are characters whom fans regard as bit-players. All the major storylines from Clash, meanwhile, were left untold until Martin finally finished the companion volume, A Dance with Dragons, which came out in 2011—an 11-year cliffhanger! (And you thought almost two years between seasons of Mad Men was bad.)

So why have people stuck around? To put it as simply as I know how: because it’s worth it. Fans bitched and moaned on message boards, and some even tried to confront Martin directly, but when Dance came out they lined up around the block because the Ice and Fire story—whether in book or TV form—is spellbinding. It’s gritty, it’s dirty (sometimes filthy), it keeps you guess- ing, and it feels real. Unlike classic fantasy, where you can figure out who lives and dies based on the color of their armor or the amount of screen time they get (spoiler alert: Harry Potter and Frodo Baggins both live), Martin’s world is more like a sexed-up medieval version of The Wire: you get to know a wide range of characters and factions, each with their own agenda and sense of eth- ics (or lack thereof), and the master narrative unfolds almost anthropologically, as the aggregate effect of everyone’s shifting alignments and competing inter- ests. HBO has done a remarkable job of retaining that all-seeing, all-over-the-place feeling (the story comes to span multiple continents) while doing a lot of stream- lining, without which adaptation would be impossible. Weirdly, the books almost feel like a director’s cut of the show—you get all the same major characters and plot points plus extra helpings of back- and side-stories from extended or deleted scenes.

Another thing that makes Thrones like The Wire is you get the feeling that no character is safe. Viewers of sea- son one remember the “Holy shit!” moment when (okay, real spoiler alert this time) eddard Stark is executed at King’s landing. Here was the nearest thing the show had to a main character, and suddenly he was gone, and it wasn’t even the season finale. I can’t help but wonder how the show will handle the later books. The idea is that each season is based on its corresponding novel in the series, and that’ll be fine through book/season three, but if they try to reproduce the narrative split of books four and five, the show will be canceled. For bet- ter or worse, TV audiences—and, more importantly, TV executives—are not half as loyal as hardcore fantasy nerds. So it’ll be interesting to see how they handle that, as well as the ongoing expansion of the world in which the story is set. (You might have noticed that the map shown during the opening credits had a lot more places on it in season two than it did in season one. Geography is coming!) Major characters will die, minor characters will become major, battles will be waged and won (or lost), and daenerys Targaryen’s baby dragons won’t stay babies forever. What I mean is that one way or another there’s a lot more “Holy shit!” in store.

 

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Here finally is the media for Nikolaj’s recent episode of GAME OF THRONES. Finally an episode with Jaime. I’d have to say he was in good form with Catelyn Stark (Michelle Fairley) in this episode. He also met Brienne of Tarth (Gwendoline Christie). I think I now know what Nikolaj meant when he said this was his best acting job to date. Jaime’s dialogue was perfect and Nikolaj delivered it pitch perfect. I loved his sarcasm with the “Dead Ned” part. I know it’s not nice but how Nikolaj performed it…sublime. A strong thank you has to go to Michelle Fairley for her strong performance as Catelyn. Without her I don’t think the scene would have been a potent. It was her reaction to Nikolaj that upped the “game” as it were. A special shout out too for four of Nikolaj’s co-stars. The first set of “thank yous” need to go to Charles Dance (Tywin Lannister) and Maisie Williams (Arya Stark) for their excellence in the Harrenhal scenes. I’m loving their story so much. Anything to see Charles Dance is a good thing. Adding in Amazing Maisie just made it that much more special. The other kudos needs to go to Peter Dinklage (Tyrion Lannister) and Lena Headey (Cersei Lannister Baratheon) for their scene involving the discussion of Jaime. Honourable mention must also go to Alfie Allen (Theon Greyjoy) for his crazy turn. I really do think he’s come into his own. Problem is: I feel another death on the horizon. Yep, I think it’s going to be Theon.

• [ 1527 ] SCREENCAPS: GAME OF THRONES – E2X07 A MAN WITHOUT HONOR
• [ 0001 ] MEDIA CLIP: GAME OF THRONES – E2X07 A MAN WITHOUT HONOR

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Finally, another episode of GAME OF THRONES with our guy. This episode is A Man Without Honor and from what I’ve read of the previews, this might be the episode that starts Jaime’s “redemption”. According to Nikolaj, this is his favourite episode of the entire series thus far. He has stated in many interviews it has his favourite scene. I can hardly wait.

• [ 074 ] SCREENCAPS: GAME OF THRONES – E2X07 A MAN WITHOUT HONOR
• [ 001 ] MEDIA CLIP: GAME OF THRONES – E2X07 A MAN WITHOUT HONOR PREVIEW

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The first of the double header I have for you is from a Danish interview Nikolaj did in his home country. Unfortunately I don’t speak Danish, though I wish I did, so I have no idea what he or the interviewer are talking about exactly. The only thing I can make out through the obvious clips from GAME OF THRONES is the show itself. If anyone does speak Danish and can provide a bit of a translation for NCW ONLINE, I’d be forever grateful. Just go ahead and post a comment by clicking the number 0 in the cameo of Nikolaj and Nukaka in the bottom right of the individual post windows.

• [ 631 ] SCREENCAPS: 05/03/2012 – FILMZ TV INTERVIEW
• [ 001 ] MEDIA CLIP: 05/03/2012 – FILMZ TV INTERVIEW

    

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Nikolaj is at the Toronto International Film Festival for his film HEADHUNTERS. With him is co-star Aksel Hennie and together they discussed the film, a sort of unintentional comedy based on the novel by Jo Nesbø. A teaser below. More below the cut.

“That’s also one of the selling points of this movie,” Coster-Waldau admits, “‘the guys who did Millennium.’ But it’s very, very different. If you laugh at The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, I don’t think it’s intentional.”

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There’s talk of making an American version of this. I’m hoping the producers appeal to the angels of their better nature. With what David Fincher did to The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, I hope it’s not done with this film. Sorry but there is only one Lisbeth Salander in the Larsson vein. And that is Noomi Rapace. With this film, there should be only one. C’mon Hollywood, come up with some original ideas for once.

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A new addition to the gallery. Nikolaj appeared in the April 2012 issue of Details magazine touting his work-out regime. He claims he hates sitting on an exercise bike or treadmill. It makes him bored. In the article he talks about his love of bicycling and shares a recipe his wife Nukaka has for an energy inducing smoothie. You can read the full article at the link below to the press section as well as view the original scan. I’m including the video off of Youtube.

• [ 708 ] SCREENCAPS: DETAILS APRIL 2012 – MEET NIKOLAJ COSTER-WALDAU
• [ 001 ] PRESS SCAN: DETAILS APRIL 2012 – MEET NIKOLAJ COSTER-WALDAU
• [ 001 ] PRESS ADDITION: DETAILS APRIL 2012 – MEET NIKOLAJ COSTER-WALDAU

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