Petyr Baelish, The Hound and Brandon Stark all say the same thing - get ready to fight the real evil as the seventh season of Game of Thrones returns to our TV screens
True Game of Thrones fans will vouch for the fact that their favourite characters keep changing. The Hound was one dreaded, but now is a champion; Petyr Baelish once a sweet-talking devil is now full of ruthless ambition; and Brandon Stark who was struggling with his disability will now come into his own. As we barely conceal our excitement to watch Season 7 on Star World and Star World HD on July 18, we spoke to Rory McCann (The Hound), Isaac Hempstead Wright (Brandon Stark) and Aidan Gillen (Petyr 'Littlefinger' Baelish) and they let us in on their predictions for the show. Excerpts from the interviews.
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'Bran is out to save the day'
Isaac Hempstead Wright
(Brandon Stark)
Q: Is Bran even Bran anymore?
IHW: Not really. On top of all that he has now got this huge responsibility upon his shoulders of being the Three-eyed Raven. He's no longer Bran Stark. He remembers what it was like to be Bran Stark, but then he remembers everything that's ever happened in the universe ever. He's got all this knowledge about Jon Snow and all the knowledge about the origin of the White Walkers - which may come in handy for defeating them. It all means that Bran is a really, really valuable asset for Westeros right now. He needs to make sure this information gets to the right people in time. As such, at the start of season seven Bran is on a mission to get to the right place and save the day.
Q: What's it been like playing a character who began as a boy but is now barely human?
IHW: It was tricky to work out how exactly we would play him. It was clear that he needed to have this kind of emotionless, soulless, slightly mysterious aura to him, but we didn't want it to be really dull and monotone. So it was trying to capture the fact that there was this massively interesting spark within him of basically knowing everything ever. At the same time the practical effects on the human mind that it would have were huge. Basically, David and Dan said read the 'Watchmen' comics: it's like Dr Manhattan. When I was playing him instead of just focussing on the scene, I'd be listening to what the other characters were saying but at the same time trying to rush through millions of things that had happened in past scenes and thinking of a moment in an episode in season two - because that's exactly what's going through Bran's head. He's got this whirlwind of information spinning around the whole time - 'Oh that happened, that happened, that happened'.
It's like he's not really in any fixed time.
'Sansa is now too smart for Littlefinger'
Aidan Gillen
(Petyr 'Littlefinger' Baelish)
Q: Where do we find Littlefinger as we begin this season?
AG: When we first catch up with Littlefinger it's almost like a direct push from when we last saw him in Season Six. Then, he was standing against the wall in the Great Hall in Winterfell, in the shadows. For his first scene in Season Seven, he is in the same room, so I thought I would stand in exactly the same place, at exactly the same angle - that could be interesting. We left him wondering what he's up to and we take up asking what he's up to now? Obviously, he's working some of his magic on the power structure at Winterfell. It is now under the command of Jon. You saw through Season 6 and maybe even from the end of Season 5 that Littlefinger been trying to sow some seeds of doubt with Sansa. Doubts about her brother's validity as a leader, in fact doubts about his validity as a brother at all. How much of a brother is he really, you know, biologically? How much credit did you, Sansa, really get for saving him down at the Battle of the Bastards? Don't you deserve a little more? That's Littlefinger's thing - he'll push people. He'll nudge people in a certain direction but then they don't always take it. And Sansa doesn't always take the bait because she's getting clever.
Q: Why does he do it? Is it for power, for fun?
AG: For the fun would be a correct answer. It's not just about the result; it's about the thrill of manipulating on that scale. The danger of it: even though his plans are extremely well thought through they could go wrong easily at any point and that would be end of story. But if you don't take major risks you're not going to get major results. For him it is about the fun of it, the game of it - and you want to be seen having fun. That makes the character even more interesting to look at. If it's just all devious and nasty, people will lose interest I think. So I've always tried to have a bit of fun with it.
'The Hound has decided to be sociable'
Rory McCann
(Sandor Clegane aka The Hound)
Q: Set up the beginning of season seven for your character.
RM: At the end of the previous season he was left with a choice from the Brotherhood Without Banners: "Do you want to do the right thing? Do you want to find peace within yourself? Join us and fight the fight against evil." And he chose to go with the Brotherhood Without Banners. At the start of this season, we are going on a big road trip with them.
Q: So what's this season been like for you?
RM: My character is always on these road trips, which has meant that my work is usually quiet without many other people around. What I'm trying to say is that this season I've managed to socialise for the first time and to get to know some of the other people. I didn't really get to know people until this season. We had a good time, playing music, trying to keep warm. Honestly, I feel like that's the first time I've actually properly socialised or relaxed - normally I hide.
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