Nicolaj Coster-Waldau Talks THAT ‘Game Of Thrones’ Scene

We’re just four episodes into the third season of HBO’s Game of Thrones, but things have picked up really quickly compared to previous seasons. If you saw episode three, you will recall that it left Jaime Lannister “in need of a hand,” so to speak. Nicolaj Coster-Waldau, the actor who plays Jaime, talked to TV Guide about the scene and about what to expect from his character moving forward.

SPOILER ALERT: We’ll be discussing recent episodes and talking about the upcoming “Kissed By Fire,” so, you know, you’ve been warned.

In his interview with TV Guide, Coster-Waldau admitted that much of the horror we see on Jaime Lannister’s face when his hand gets lopped off is genuine.

“We shot it over two nights and almost didn’t finish it because the second night I got really sick. I had a really high fever. So, when I look sick on that stump, it kind of worked out perfectly. It was a very brutal because there’s the stuff when [Locke] puts the knife point into my eye. I held that knife myself when I did the close-up, so I could feel how far I could take it. I wanted it to be as nasty as it could possibly get without stabbing out my eye. I think that worked pretty well. It was disturbing enough that you actually think it’s over when he gets free from that. So when the whole hand chop happens, it’s like, ‘Holy sh–!’ ”

In last week’s episode, there was a scene where we saw Jaime proficiency (or lack thereof) using his left hand to fight. That was as real as it gets for Coster-Waldau, as well.

“I am right-handed. It came naturally, but of course I’m not as good with my left as I am with my right. There’s a scene in the fourth episode where they fight me, and it was great because I just couldn’t do it. My head knew how to do it, but you can’t get it into your body. My arm wouldn’t do what it was supposed to do.”

We’ll definitely be treated to more of Jaime’s adventure with this week’s “Kissed By Fire,” which will see the eldest Lannister (alongside Brienne) facing Lord Bolton, who will decide their fates.

You can read more spoilers for “Kissed By Fire” here, or Nicolaj Coster-Waldau’s full interview with TV Guide here.

Otherwise, here’s a promo clip for this week’s Game of Thrones:

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