Game of Thrones star Conleth Hill on Lord Varys' fate: “I bet I have to hold a door at some point”

One of the few characters who has been playing the longest game on Game of Thrones is the brilliant Lord Varys played by actor Conleth Hill, who brought such a distinct flair to the character that it’s hard to imagine someone else playing the role. After his arrival to Essos in season 6, Varys has been one of Daenerys Targaryen‘s trusted advisors, whose faith was questioned in the latest season during episode 2, Stormborn.

Someone whose demeanour is calmer and more collected than anyone else on the show, Varys has been consistent from the start, only struck back a bit when Melisandre predicted his fate in episode 3 of season 7. Melisandre didn’t hold back her words when she spoke of how they’re both to die in Westeros one day. Conleth Hill discussed his character and his fate during a recent interview with the Hollywood Reporter, along with what it was like to work with the Mother of Dragons, how Varys’s childhood abuse has affected him and more.

Excerpts from the interview below:

When asked about his thoughts on Varys receiving the ominous warning at Dragonstone, he had the following to say:

“I was born and brought up there, and played there all of my life. Last autumn, we were up there filming, and my younger brother [Ronan Hill] was doing sound. He’s a three-time Emmy Award-winning sound man, among other awards. And it was myself. It was just the surreality of this experience — eight years of it, coming to a head. I was so glad when it aired, and I could finally tell people, “That’s where I’m from! That’s how beautiful it is.”

When he was told that it’s very unsettling for viewers to see him so unsettled he replied:

That’s interesting. I never thought about it that way. It’s kind of unsettling for you as an actor, too. You go, “Oh, God, is this it?” Because of Hodor (Kristian Nairn) and everything. As soon as Hodor happened, I went, “Oh, God, I bet I have to hold a door at some point.” (Laughs.) Just because of the scenes we shot through the years about the sacrifice and everything, and Varys heard something [in the flames]. I hope that’s not exactly what it is, but it’s ominous, yeah.

He also spoke about the reason why Varys hates magic so much.

“I think it’s because they hurt him when he was a child and left him for dead. To me, that’s a logical follow-on, because of how he was treated by red priests or priestesses, he would have an aversion to them for the rest of his life. Even if they have a validity in this plot and within the story, I don’t think he’ll change his mind. 

He further added:

“If you were abused as a kid, isn’t it possible you would still hold onto the hate for the people who did that to you? Magic within the story is so different. We’ve seen the red priestess breathe life into Jon Snow (Kit Harington), or she was there when he came alive, and some of her prophecies have been pretty accurate. But not all of them. That’s the only thread to hang onto. “Maybe she got that one wrong!”

He then spoke about the heated interaction between Daenerys and Varys in the 2nd episode and when he was asked if he thought Varys was concerned that he wasn’t going to win that argument with Daenerys, he replied:

I don’t know. Maybe a little bit. He does seem to be a lot more to the point now. Maybe that’s because of the threat [she made] that was so imminent. But he’s the one who rescinded the order to murder her. He’s helped through the years. And I think he helped her escape as a baby, although I’m not 100 percent sure about that. He’s always been very honest about his admiration for the Targaryens. Also, the book plot is different than the TV plot. There’s no king in waiting here. In the books, there’s a young prince they think is the new Targaryen, but we didn’t use that story in the TV [show]. None of us know what happens, but it was very exciting. He’s been consistent. Whether he’s lying or not — who knows? I hope not. But he’s been very consistent over the last few seasons with saying, “I want to help the people.”

This isn’t all. Hill also talks about the differences between the book version of Varys and the show version and how the changes have led to character and plot development. Read the entire interview here.

Tell us in the comments what you think might come next for Varys!

Game of Thrones prequel House of The Dragon is fast on track for release in 2022. It is a well-known fact it wasn’t the only series HBO was planning to develop back in 2019. There were a number of prequel series, of which House of The Dragon got the chance to move forward to production. Another prequel, rumoured to have been named Blood Moon, was scrapped. The fans were disheartened, and so was the cast. The show’s lead, Naomi Watts, was in tears. One of the crew members, Tom Canton recently posted an image of cast member Naomi Watts in full costume working on the show from back in 2019.

An Actor, namely, @naomiwatts , Prepares…

Throwback to a special moment in my career filming with the inimitable Naomi Watts here in the stunning cave of natural beauty, known as “Grotta del Turco”, or “The Cave of The Turk”, in Gaeta, Italy, two years ago.

Located over… pic.twitter.com/C8e8Sl3LKV

— Tom Canton (@Tom_Canton) April 6, 2021

Blood Moon, which was to be set well over one thousand years before the mother series. There is no Iron Throne. There are no dragons. Westeros is a very different place.

Unfortunately, HBO cancelled Blood Moon after showrunner Jane Goldman and her team made a pilot, but we’re still getting little bits and pieces of what we missed here and there.

We never learned the name Watts’ character, but we knew she was “a charismatic socialite with a dark secret.” The show had a full ensemble cast that included Josh Whitehouse, Naomi Ackie, Jamie Campbell Bower, Denise Gough and many more. We also know that the Children of the Forest would have played a big part on the show.

What do you think of Naomi’s scrapped prequel? Tell us in the comments below!

Game of Thrones creator George R. R. Martin seems to be quite busy these days. He’s working on House of The Dragon, on various unknown prequels at HBO, and his superhero series Wild Cards. He recently teased the return of one of the heroes in his upcoming Wild Cards novel, Ripple Effects, on his blog Not A Blog.

He wrote, “Remember the Candle?

No? Tsk. Obviously, you are behind on your Wild Card reading. The Candle was one of the contestants on the first season of American Hero back in 2007, as chronicled in INSIDE STRAIGHT. You missed INSIDE STRAIGHT? That’s not a problem either. You can snag a nice hardcover edition from Beastly Books, my newly-reopened (yay!) bookshop in Santa Fe. At Beastly Books, ALL the books are signed, and INSIDE STRAIGHT has more signatures than most, with autographs from many of the contributors as well as yours truly.

But I digress. I was talking about the Candle. For all of you who might be wondering what the Candle has been up to since American Hero… and who he was, and where he came from, and how those amazing powers of his worked… our Hugo-Award-winning author Laura J. Mixon has some answers for you. So be sure to check out her brand-new, original Candle novella, “Ripple Effects,” upcoming on Tor.com.

It’s a terrific story, and if there is a whit of justice, it should contend for awards. But you can be your own judge. “Ripple Effects” goes live on Tor.com on MAY 19, and like all the Wild Cards stories on Tor.com, it’s FREE FREE FREE.

Give it a read, but be warned… Wild Cards has been known to be addictive.”

Are you excited about his new novel? Tell us in the comments below!

Video games and TV shows/movies have often worked hand-in-hand to help promote each other. They also provide the ultimate user experience, where players can live through their favourite films or series. Last month, Fantasy Flight’s A Game of Thrones: The Board Game was successfully incorporated into the Android and IOS version. Looks like there are more opportunities out there for Game of Thrones fans to play as their favourite characters. Carolina Warlord has released the first early version of the Game of Thrones mod for Mount & Blade 2 Bannerlord. This total conversion mod changes Calradia into Westeros and Essos from the HBO series.

According to the modder, this mod aims to feature hundreds of characters. It also aims to have over twenty kingdoms from the Free Folk, north of the wall, to the Dothraki of the Great Grass Sea.

As said, this first release is a very early access version and is nowhere close to complete. Thus, you should temper your expectations. For instance, the Custom Main Map is an early temporary version with many abnormalities due to leaving native vista texture in place. However, the modder plans to create a new map when the modding tools are fixed and completely implemented. You can download the mod from here.

Do you know about more such mods being used in the gaming world? Tell us in the comments below!