Game of Thrones actor has regrets: 'I didn't know what I was doing'

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Game of Thrones actor Stephen Dillane is expressing some regrets about his character’s doomed tour of duty in Westeros.

The stern Stannis Baratheon actor told the British newspaper The Times that he never really understood the show’s complex story line and seemed to have some real misgivings about his performance.

“I’ve flicked [the show] on [since leaving] to see if I could figure out what was going on, but I couldn’t,” he reportedly said. “Liam Cunningham [who plays Ser Davos Seaworth, Stannis’ right-hand man] is so passionate about the show. He invests in it in a way I think is quite moving, but it wasn’t my experience. I was entirely dependent on Liam to tell me what the scenes were about — I didn’t know what I was doing until we’d finished filming and it was too late. The damage had been done. I thought no one would believe in me and I was rather disheartened by the end. I felt I’d built the castle on non-existent foundations.”

We think Dillane is being too hard on himself here. While some fans wanted Stannis to be a bit more like the version of the character in George R.R. Martin’s novels, if Dillane felt a lack of comprehension and conviction, it didn’t come across on screen. And actually, Dillane holding himself to such a high standard and beating himself up sounds so… Stannis-ian. It’s almost like the actor is engaging in some kind of meta performance art. You half expect him to correct his own grammar too.

Meanwhile, Dillane is keeping quite busy. He’s starring in the World War II drama Darkest Hour hitting theaters Dec. 22. And he’s also starring in the ongoing British-French crime drama called The Tunnel.

And in case you missed it, another former GoT actor recently made headlines, with our interview with Jason Momoa talking about his visit to the final season’s top-secret set.

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