With all due respect to the extras, stunt performers, and hundreds of behind-the-scenes people who worked to make “Hardhome” one of the best episodes in five seasons of Game of Thrones, Danish actress Birgitte Hjort Sørensen may have had the toughest job of all. With less than 30 minutes of screen time, the Borgen and Pitch Perfect 2 star had to put a very human face on the Wildling forces pinned down by encroaching snow and (hey!) ice zombies. Without Sørensen’s Wildling chieftainess Karsi, the Northerners become an anonymous horde, plus one giant and one bloodthirsty Thenn. But Sørensen put heart into that conflict and sky-high stakes on Jon Snow’s doomed act of heroism. Viewers were crushed to see Karsi felled by episode’s end but, as Sørensen hinted to us via phone from Denmark this morning, we may not have seen the last of that wildly popular Wildling.

VF Hollywood: I think I speak for everyone when I say I’m absolutely crushed your character was one and done. How challenging is it to connect with an audience with so little screen time?

Birgitte Hjort Sørensen: When I approach any script I always try to find what I would relate to most in it. I never thought of Karsi in terms of gender. She’s just a warrior defending her tribe as anyone would. Being a woman has nothing to do with that. But I think we can all relate to a mother saying good-bye to her kids, and I think that really helped me connect with her and hopefully connect with the audience.

By Helen Sloan/HBO

What did you tap into in that final moment when those creepy zombie children took her down?

Well a lot of credit to the script there for planting the children theme earlier. I think it’s pretty clear that she could cut down any man but that she’s incapable of thinking of defending herself against those kids. I think it was pretty easy to tap into that.

Your name was on the IMDB list for the finale this year. Will we see Karsi again?

I was surprised to see that myself. I think it’s been removed. I’m not sure, what I’ve been told is that nobody knows what happens in the future on Game of Thrones so I’m just as excited as anyone else to see what that’s all about. But, you know, being dead and being undead are two different things.