Courtesy of Alamo City Comic COn
Game of Thrones actor Kristin Nairn during his Friday panel at Alamo City Comic Con.
"I hope he is."
Such was the response of Kristin Nairn after a fan asked him the question the entire internet has been asking since June: Is Jon Snow really dead?
Ever since the Game of Thrones season five finale ended with a shot of the Lord Commander of the Night's Watch clinging to life in a pool of his own blood, GoT fans have gone to extreme lengths in search of signs that the seemingly pivotal character somehow escapes or transcends the finality of death.
But not Nairn, who plays Hodor on the series. He hopes that sad, whiny Bastard of Winterfell stays dead.
"He's just too emo for me. He sucks."
He's kidding, of course. (Sort of. Jon Snow can be a whiny little bitch on occasion.)
But during Friday's evening's Game of Thrones panel at Alamo City Comic Con, the actor expressed frustration with the fans' frenzied need for spoilers. If you attended to find out when Hodor will once again reappear on the series — the character was completely absent in Season 5 — or whether or not upcoming episodes explore Hodor's origin, sorry. Nairn was eager to disappoint you. He remained tight-lipped about any future developments.
"Stop spoiling it for yourselves," he told the audience.
The point of the panel wasn't to learn what's coming next. It's purpose was to give an actor — whose character is constrained by a one-word vocabulary — an opportunity to speak with his fans.
Nairn charmed the audience with his Irish brogue and self-deprecation as he answered fan questions and shared anecdotes from behind the scenes of the wildly popular series. So what did fan's learn?
On Portraying Hodor
When asked if it was easy or difficult to portray Hodor, Nairn freely admitted that oftentimes it's shamefully easy. All he has to do is just "Hodor" on cue. But to film more dramatic scenes, Hodor's inability to voice his feelings requires Nairn to discover other ways to express his character's emotional language. To achieve this with any sort of believability, Nairn cannot just play Hodor, he must become Hodor. Meanwhile, the show's scripts don't contain additional direction or provide cues as to how Hodor should "Hodor." It's up to Nairn to discover the emotional complexity behind his one-word lines.
On What He Likes
Nairns likes Kate Bush, as everyone should, Danzig, Misfits, Johann Sebastian Bach, but he loves Sally Field.
Because of the show's expansive cast and various, far-flung filming locations, there has never been an occasion when every actor on the series has been in the same room. So it was several seasons before Nairn had an opportunity to meet Charles Dance, who plays Tywin Lannister on the series and is the co-star Nairn says he admires most as an actor. But the first time he met Dance, Lairn abandoned his co-star mid-conversation because one of his idols, Sally Field, happened to walk by.
If you want to know if Field has the power to transform a 6'10" Irish actor into a sputtering, fawning fan girl, the answer is yes. Lairn lost all ability to have a normal conversation in the presence of Field, and he says the sight of him towering over while asking her if she was enjoying her night probably terrorized her.
Lairn meant to apologize to Dance for his inadvertent rudeness, but the two have not had the occasion to meet since.
On San Antonio
"It's too fucking hot. I don't know how you people live here," Lairn said at the beginning of the panel.
He's right, though. It is too fucking hot.
Alamo City Comic Con marks the actor's first visit to San Antonio, a place he freely admits he knows little about. Let's just say he is no Phil Collins.
"I thought it was just the Alamo with some hotels built around it." He said he was unaware it was the seventh largest city in the United States. We forgive him. He's from Ireland. Not many Americans can identify Ireland's seventh largest city.
He added though that he loves the people of the South. "You people are just so nice." (He's right. We are.)
His said he planned to experience Tex-Mex for the first time at Mi Tierra, thanks to the kind recommendation of a women he met on his flight.
On His Music
While most people know Nairn as Hodor, he says he considers his two decade-plus DJ career as his day job. Incidentally, Nairns latest single, "4Love," was released on Friday.
Tonight, Nairn is spinning at Rave of Thrones, the official Alamo City Comic Con after party. You can read our interview with Nairn and Rave of Thrones and his music career here.
Rave of Thrones (Alamo City Comic Con Official Afterparty)
$25 - $100, 8pm Sat., The Korova, 107 E. Martin St., thekorova.com
