Game of Thrones has been a platform for so many talented actors. These fine artists have gone on to do their magic in other films and shows. Every now and then, we see them in something that catches our attention right away. One such recent film is The Other lamb, starring Michiel Huisman; who played the Second Sons’ leader Daario Naharis in GoT. It’s a horror drama that tells the story of an all-women cult that resides in the remote woods with a male leader called Shepherd. We saw the trailer a while ago, and now the film has released in the US and available on VOD (video-on-demand) and digital platforms. Huisman talked to Salon about the film, his character, Shepherd, and various other things.

The Other Lamb follows a cult where the leader, Shepherd is all-powerful and the sole decision-maker for the remaining group of women, called “The Flock”. Shepherd behaves like God, who has shown mercy on his subjects by letting them in his shade. Huisman told us his thoughts about the cult and his character’s space in it.

“I think that when the film starts, the cult we follow is on its decline. The ideological way that it started and slowly built over the course of two decades is very different from the mechanics of the cult it turned into. It started because a lot of these women were looking for family and support, something they all were missing in their personal lives. They found it under the wings of my character, Shepherd, who wanted to be a good father and a good husband.

But as time goes on and the group grows, it becomes impossible for him to keep things the way they are, stay in the center of their lives, keep them away from the outside world, and be self-sufficient. For me, playing a character so dark and manipulative, it was important to understand where it started for him. I didn’t want to play him as a “bad guy”, although he is a terrible man. He’s not succeeding in being a good father.” Michiel also said that Shepherd comes from a mental place where he feels every horrible decision he takes is “the right thing for his flock”.

The Dutch actor’s role in Game of Thrones was that of a cunning fighter-Casanova. We saw him charm his way into Dany’s heart, and he’s doing the same with Shepherd. So, one may think that he has the ability to play such “creepy, charismatic” men. “I don’t know that’s something I can play. I don’t think you can perform that control as an actor. You need to believe that you have that control, and really understand the story you are in and where your character comes from. But so much of that – if it works – is movie magic,” he said.

Michiel talked about strange fan responses too. “It is sometimes strange when people who don’t know me come up and say, ‘I love you so much’. It makes me slightly uncomfortable. They don’t know me. I had to put that aside. Shepherd is very comfortable with being worshipped.”

Cults usually paint a generic picture in our minds where the leaders dress and be a certain way in order to attract followers. But Michiel feels a few cult documentaries, that he saw as part of his prep, changed his mind. “ ‘The End of the World Cult’ and ‘Holy Hell’ really opened my eyes and Malgo’s (the director) eyes. In ‘Holy Hell’, [the cult leader] wears a speedo and Ray-Bans. We can do whatever we want as long as he has a hold over his flock.” He praised the director Malgorzata Szumowska and the cinematographer Michal Englert for their artistic process. And he felt rare freedom and fear in “reinventing a story on set”.

Talking about the film’s stunning visual appeal, Huisman admitted to his love for photography. He credited the film’s “different” look to the use of “wide angles and closeups and a lens that gave an eerie and distorted feel”. He also revealed that a few of the shots found inspiration in Andrei Tarkovsky’s (Russian filmmaker) films.

Traveling is a big part of an actor’s life as they visit locations across the world to shoot for their films. Michiel finds it “one of the fun things” about his profession. And he also named one of his top five favorite places, “ ‘The Red Sea Diving Resort’ in a desert in Namibia”.

Huisman has worked in films of almost all genres, be it horror, romantic, musical, or sci-fi thrillers. And he feels this diversity “makes things interesting and keeps it fun”. His next project, “The Flight Attendant” is with Kaley Cuoco for HBO Max. It’s “a fun dark comedy” and he’s playing one of the passengers that the main character (Kaley’s) indulges with. It’s a great mix of things he’s doing. We wish him the best of luck!

The Other Lamb also stars Raffey Cassidy and Denise Gough in important roles. It is out in the US, but due to release in the UK on July 3, 2020. Due to the coronavirus lockdowns, films won’t release in the cinema halls for a while. You can rent The Other Lamb on Amazon, and iTunes. Be sure to catch it soon.

What are your thoughts? Tell us in the comments section.

Jason Momoa was one of the earliest finds of Game of Thrones. He was perhaps the first of many actors given to the industry by epic saga. Momoa was quite an unknown face when he took on the iconic role of Khal Drogo but by the time his role ended he had become extremely popular around the globe. In fact, Momoa went to achieve even greater success when he got the chance to play Aquaman in DC’s film. But as they say, preparation and willingness are the stepping stone to success, and Momoa had both the attributes since the beginning. Read on to find out more!

As per Metro, the fight co-ordinator of Game of Thrones, Buster Reeves, has recently credited Momoa for being a willing fighter on screen. Reeves said that Momoa always wanted to do more on-screen and it showed in his fighting scenes as well.

Reeves said:

“Jason Momoa was fantastic, he was always willing to pick up an axe, he was always like, “Can I have a fight? Can I have a fight onscreen? I really want a fight onscreen! Can I have a fight onscreen?”

In fact, Reeves had to shut him down by saying that it was not up to him!

“Anyway, he managed to get one and I really wanted to play on his strength as a king, like a big warrior. I had him fight the guy with the scimitar, I had Jason with no weapons, just by the end of it was two knives.”

He added:

“I said, Take your knives out like you’re gonna use them, but drop them on the floor like this guy is so beneath you that you don’t even need to use them.” ‘He was like “Oh, I love it!” and we ended up having him rip his throat out.’”

As it turned out, both Reeves and Momoa became good friends and became training partners.

Well, wasn’t it a lovely little story? Such heart-warming stories are exactly what is the need of the hour we feel.

Let us know your thoughts on the Reeves-Momoa bond in the comments section below!

Game of Thrones made many of its actors’ household names. Some of those actors literally grew up with the show. By the end of the series, two girls from House of Stark, Maisie Williams a.k.a. Arya Stark and Sophie Turner a.k.a. Sansa Stark grew up to be immensely popular stars. Now as we see likes of Turner branch out to different projects it’s natural that they become nostalgic and remember the show that made them so popular. Read on!

Turner is going to be soon seen in an upcoming Quibi series Survive. The trailer for Survive was released a week ago and it was received very well by the fans around the world. Turner recently spoke with Conan O’Brien and talked about her upcoming project. She talked candidly about everything but perhaps the most interesting revelation was the wolves connection with her former show!

Now, we all know that wolves were an important part of Thrones. In fact, when Jon Snow was not shown petting his wolf in the final season all hell broke loose! After exactly a year later, in Survive, Turner has now got yet another chance to be with wolves but there is a twist. In the interview, Turner revealed that it was the same team that had worked on wolves in Thrones.

“Actually, yeah. We were working with the people who provided the wolves for Game of Thrones… so it was actually quite horrible because, you know, in Game of Thrones, the wolves are our pets — are like our soulmates, kind of. And on this, I have to basically, like, fight a wolf and try to kill the thing. And so I found it to be quite symbolic, actually. You know? Like, Game of Thrones had just ended. So I was, you know, figuratively killing the wolf and ending my career.”

Life really does some strange things, doesn’t it? Speaking of which, Turner has been really vocal recently about the social distancing during the Coronavirus outbreak. She had, in fact, blasted the fellow actress Evangeline Lilly, who had said that she will continue to do business as usual and that she won’t self-quarantine.

Turner had then taken to her Instagram and urged people to stay inside.

“Here’s the tea. Stay inside. Don’t be fucking stupid! Even if you count your ‘freedom’ over…I don’t know, what is it…like your health! I don’t give a ffffff… about your freedom. You could be infecting other people, other vulnerable people around you by doing this. So, stay inside guys. It’s not cool, and it’s not big, and it’s not clever. And that’s the tea!”

Well, good folks, stay inside and listen to her!

Survive will be releasing on April 6 only on Quibi App. Don’t forget to tune in!