Game of Thrones’ Ciarán Hinds on His Big Episode, and What It’s Like at schloss Black 

Game of Thrones, stop reading now, or consider yourself spoiled.

Ciarán Hinds may not have had as much screen time as some other characters on Game of Thrones, but his Mance Rayder, the King-Beyond-the-Wall, has left a mark. He managed to unite the disparate free folk tribes and clans, and got them to the Wall, where he hoped to lead them to safety. But as he told Jon Snow when they first met, "we don\'t kneel for anyone beyond the Wall" — the free folk reject the monarchy, even if it means death. And so it appears that death finally came for Mance Rayder, as Melisandre set him ablaze, and Jon Snow sent an arrow into his heart as an act of mercy. Hinds called us from Glasgow to chat about getting fired, so to speak.

When you got the script, were you shocked? What was your reaction?I actually wasn\'t shocked. In season four, I think the last episode, when Stephen Dillane and Liam Cunningham, Stannis and Davos, turned up outside my tent, I realized I wasn\'t going to be long for this world — because they were famously going around setting fire to people. I imagined that I was probably next on their list, since Mance was always an outsider. But you never know with these stories. They\'re so fantastical, they could actually whisk you away by their magic.

So did the showrunners break the news to you before you read the script?Dan [Weiss] and David [Benioff] were very sweet. They said, "You know things happen on every season, and guess what? It\'s been a pleasure to know you, but you\'re on your bike." Well, they didn\'t actually say that, they\'re more gentle and courteous, but I understood immediately. It\'s just the way the story is run. And I\'ve been involved in adaptations of books before, and there\'s no way you can actually do the entire book justice. You have to cut around it. And sometimes if the conceivers of the idea go off on their own, and embellish the journey, it\'s thrilling for all concerned.

Your goddaughter helped turn you on to the books. Did you tell her before anyone else?She\'s in Australia now, and I did see her in January, and she was saying, "Oh, how\'s it going? Do you know what\'s going to happen next?" And I had to say, "No idea. Absolutely no idea," while fully realizing what had happened. But it would be unfair, if not to say churlish, to actually let the cat out of the bag to her, in such a sharp manner.

What do you make of Mance\'s decision — that he chose to be burned alive before he would kneel before Stannis? Jon Snow calls it pride, but it seems a matter of principle...I think the whole idea of what he did, to bring about a social change, to bring all these people together, had a sort of presence and dignity. And to kneel before a king, who would only be using him, to use the people he\'s trying to give some dignity to, is something he couldn\'t live with. The fact that you pull all these 90 tribes together, and give them a sense of identity, you can\'t watch them crumble. He didn\'t want to be king. He never wanted to be a leader. But he obviously had a gift for harnessing people, to give them a sense of purpose. It\'s kind of radical thinking. But he wasn\'t about to grab the crown or anything. The whole point, as soon as people get a sniff of the crown, then they go, "Yeah, I\'ll have it all, actually." History is full of people corrupted by the smell of a crown.

I actually visited Castle Black ...Oh, was it cold enough for you? [Laughs]

Cold, and there were a ton of teeny tiny bugs flying around, which you don\'t really see on screen. It made me appreciate how hard it must be to shoot some scenes there, because you can\'t react to them, yet they\'re all over you.Oh, the midges. Yeah, they\'re like tiny little mosquitoes, except they\'re much nastier. They hang around because of the stagnant water. There\'s a lot of muck and water around there. It\'s kind of brutal. I was quite fortunate, I thought, to be toasted, because they warmed me up in that bitter cold.

So then being burned alive isn\'t so bad! And the flames probably kept the bugs away. How close do you really get to the fire?No heat blisters whatsoever! They were very serious about that. Although it did get a little warm, but no more than if you had a little fire to warm yourself. I certainly didn\'t feel there was any possibility of me going up in smoke! [Laughs] The set up was quite formal, with going out to the scaffold, Melisandre lighting the torch, which they stepped back a bit, and then it started to flare up. I suppose for health and safety reasons, there were men that I didn\'t see, with fire extinguishers, giant hoses, in case it went horribly wrong. The fact that you\'re strapped to a pole, handcuffed to a pole, even if the handcuffs are fake, I would have climbed up the scaffold before anybody could have arrested me, frankly.

Did they make a big deal and announce it was your last shot, or do anything to commemorate your "death"?No, because the last scene, I didn\'t actually finish it the way they filmed it. They shot on me first, and then all around that area, the people were brought in to watch, so it was quite quiet. I was told that I would not be needed, because the camera was going to be on for them, and they were just going to use me for a reference point. So it was kind of a nice way to go, just to slip off. I mean, they do announce it\'s your last shot, and you say goodbye to everyone, but they carry on working, and I slipped out. I said goodbye to Kit [Harington], to Liam [Cunningham], to Kristofer Hivju, the big Norwegian actor. It\'s funny, because we met to do a scene two years before, and then we didn\'t see each other because he was off to climb the Wall, and then the next time I saw him, I was saying goodbye!

Perhaps as a nod to the readers, or as foreshadowing, your two characters, Mance and Tormund Giantsbane (Kristofer Hivju), exchange a pointed, meaningful look ...He didn\'t say it, but he should have said, "Well, you didn\'t last long, guv!" They have a connection, and people can take what they want from that. I don\'t know what\'s going to happen to him in the storyline. That\'s a choice obviously that they want to leave up to the minds of some people, or not, as they see fit. Who\'s to say? I don\'t know. Have you got any idea? I don\'t know how there are so many stories that they have to juggle! I suppose they have to take some narratives out of the equation. To do a moment of magic can be kind of a cheesy moment. Morphing into another form, or transformation, we\'ve seen it so many times. But to leave something up to our imagination, that seems more satisfying in a way, as opposed to just showing and displaying an obvious change. And you want people to experience it as purely as you can in this day and age, without people seeming to tell you every story. Beware of spoilers!  

Recap: Even Cookie Lyon Couldn\'t Save This Show

Your Game of Thrones Study Guide: What You Need to Remember for Season 5

Outlander’s Gary Lewis and Graham McTavish on Their Sibling Rivalry, Virility, and Fans Looking Up Their Kilts

Channing Tatum Still Hasn’t Changed His Email Address

Kanye Throws Surprise Concert, Jumps in Lake — Crowd Goes Wild

"She\'s about to learn some really severe lessons."

Game of Thrones’ Ciarán Hinds on His Big Episode, and What It’s Like at Castle Black

"History is full of people corrupted by the smell of a crown."

, and Other Important Teasers From the MTV Movie Awards

Behind Silicon Valley\'s Tribute to Christopher Evan Welch

“Everything that happens from this point forward in the show story-wise is not probably what we would have done if we still had Chris around.”

Silicon Valley Season 2 Premiere Recap: Hooli’s Revenge

This series knows we’re thinking about potential quality decline, and addresses it immediately in its first sequence.

Veep Season Four Premiere Recap: Future Whatever

Alas, I have a feeling Selina\'s speech did perfectly define her presidency.

Game of Thrones Season 5 Premiere Recap: Jockeying for Power

The mere sight of two girls walking alone through dense, black woods probably triggered that anticipatory stomach burble you’ve been missing these past 10 months.

Here’s Amy Schumer’s Kevin Hart–Centric MTV Movie Awards Opening Monologue

A tasteful assembly of Gershwin songs, with Christopher Wheeldon\'s choreography.

Silicon Valley Spins Its Wheels In Season Two, Remains Enjoyable

A "two steps forward, one step back" storytelling strategy.

Game of Thrones Season Five Takes Its Cues From The Godfather

Thrones earns the right to think of itself as doing for sword and sorcery what Coppola\'s Godfather trilogy did for the gangster picture.

Veep’s Tony Hale on Going on Auditions, Arrested Development, and What’s in Gary’s Bag

Also, he’ll be in high school. Again. Also, he’ll probably be white. Again.

A witch, a duke, and a dead baby walk into a bar ...

What Daredevil Comics Should You Read When You’re Done With the Netflix Series?

A guide to five essential — and accessible — comics tales.

Black Souls Is a Mesmerizing New Italian Gangster Film

"Director Francesco Munzi lets his tragic narrative unfold gradually and subtly, like a neo-neorealist take on The Godfather."

The upcoming film from the Oscar-winning director of \'The Great Beauty\'

Harry Lloyd, Game of Thrones’ Viserys Targaryen, Reviews Who Has the Best Claim to the Throne

Can You Smell What the Rock Is Cooking? If It’s Financial Advising and Asset Management, Then You’re Watching

Veep Creator Armando Iannucci Is Leaving the Show

Why Don’t the Special Effects in the Summer’s Big Sci-Fi Sequels Look As Good As the Effects in the Originals?

are arriving two decades after the original movies, so why are the special effects less convincing?

Harvey Weinstein Is Under Investigation for Allegedly Groping a Woman [Updated]

Harvey Weinstein won\'t be charged for alleged groping.

Avoid Superhero Confusion With Our Avengers: Age of Ultron Character Guide

No wonder the movie\'s more than two hours long.

Asghar Farhadi’s About Elly Is Suspenseful, Visually Masterful, and, on Its Own Terms, Perfect

The 2009 film from the director of A Separation.

Fox Wants to Remake Rocky Horror for a Very Special TV ‘Event’

If You’re Looking for a Nicholas Sparks Fix, The Longest Ride Will Do the Trick

Mumford & Sons on Trading in Their Banjos for Electric Guitars

Ed Sheeran Totally Freaked Out When He Got Jon Snow’s Sword

FCC Complaints Reveal Some People Really Didn’t Like ‘Dick in a Box’

For the show’s protagonists, there exists no livelihood in between unimaginable wealth and total, penurious failure.

Millennials Come Out for Howard Shore’s Thrilling Lord of the Rings in Concert

This audience belongs to a generation that will watch action epics on their wristwatch, so it’s not just the scale of the image that pulls them in.

Some events from season one, episode one are just now coming to bear.

Vin Diesel Sings ‘See You Again,’ Continues to Break Our Hearts

"Now I\'ve completely embarrassed myself in front of all of my Italian

Kanye Throws Surprise Concert, Jumps in Lake