You might understand a Game of Thrones actor trying to avoid fans, but Liam Cunningham is trying to keep a low profile from author George R.R. Martin.

The 53-year-old Irishman plays Ser Davos Seaworth, loyal adviser to Stannis Baratheon, one of the contenders for the throne of Westeros.

Stephen Dillane as Stannis Baratheon and Liam Cunningham as Davos Seaworth in Game of Thrones.

Cunningham has not read Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire books in advance – “They’re very thick, aren’t they?” is how he describes them – and he has not yet received the scripts for Series 5, which begins filming at the end of July.

So he’s reluctant to be described as a “fan favourite”, the kind of Game of Thrones character who has an unfortunate tendency to be bumped off.