Game of Thrones actor Joe Dempsie talks about his much anticipated return on the show

Unless you’re living under a rock, you know that Game of Thrones season 7 episode 5 ‘Eastwatch’ has come out and people are freaking out. But if you were under a rock that didn’t let you watch the episode yet, turn right back because this post is dark and full of spoilers. After years of rowing on a boat that set sail from Dragonstone, Gendry the blacksmith bastard of Robert Baratheon has finally appeared on this week’s episode. Fans are happy because we’ve all been waiting for the Warhammer wielding bastard to return and our wishes were granted in the fast paced episode. And this time, Gendry hasn’t just jumped out of a boat, he jumped right back into another boat with Ser Davos and Tyrion heading to Dragonstone. Played by the talented Joe Dempsie, Gendry returned not just to fill in a plot hole but to prove he wasn’t there to play safe. Soon after he showed up, he joined Jon Snow on his voyage beyond the wall to fight the White Walkers.

Now as we wait for the next episode to see how that long-awaited fight is going to go down, Joe spoke with EW about his character’s return and what lays ahead.

Joe talked about what the showrunners had told him when his character almost disappeared from the show, “After season 3, [showrunners David Benioff and Dan Weiss] told me Gendry is going to go off a little bit. It was always in their minds that he’d come back.” He further added that he didn’t try to be in close contact with the showrunners after season 3.

“I didn’t keep in close contact with them during the intervening years because I like David and Dan a lot and I didn’t want them to think there was some other motive [in reaching out]; that I was trying to wrangle my job back. So I kind of just left it. And Thrones, you understand, is bigger than any one of us. If you’re part of it, great. If not, you just get over it.”

When asked about what were some of the questions that fans asked after meeting him, he had the following to say:

“What’s happening with Gendry?” became part of my daily life, answering the question. And I could say with clear conscious that I had no idea. It’s been a meme-a-week, but I’m partly responsible for that by tweeting “still rowing” at the end of season 4. They even worked a reference into the show of that… There are some real crowd-pleasing moments this season.

He also spoke about how he felt after he came to know that he was returning to the show and he would play an important role in season 7.

“That’s the main thing, the selfish actor part of you reads that and goes, “That’s going to be great! I’m going to look cool doing that!” Part of this feels like Avengers Assemble coming together, this ill-advised mission North of the Wall. When you imagine wanting to be an actor, these are the sort of pinch-yourself moments.”

When asked to make some predictions regarding his character, he said:

“If he survives [the North of the Wall mission]… I would assume … I know he’s illegitimate, the last known son of the Baratheon blood line. I don’t know. He doesn’t seem like the kind of character who would make a play for power. But then maybe it could be something foisted upon him reluctantly…”

“Everyone is like: “Where do you want to see your character?” That seems fairly unlikely. I feel like him and Jon Snow are forming a bond over the bastards thing. They’re also two of the inherently good characters in the series. Not that that protects you, but I think they’re quite a formidable force — if they can carry on cooperating…

You can read the entire interview over here.

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