Watch how Kristofer Hivju transformed into Nivellen in The Witcher

Game of Thrones has a long list of memorable characters, and since we know how infamous George R. R. Martin is for killing off fan favorites, some lucky ones did manage to get away with their lives at the end of the series. One of them was Jon Snow’s wildling buddy Tormund Giantsbane, played by Kristofer Hivju. It seems like Hivju’s new adventures into the wild have drastically altered his appearance in The Witcher season 2.

The Witcher season 2 was released in December last year and is currently one of the most-watched shows on Netflix. Netflix recently released a video showing how they transformed the Game of Thrones vet into a cheerful and friendly monster with the help of prosthetics and CGI.

Nivellen is an important character in The Witcher lore as he appears in Andrzej Sapkowski’s short story A Grain of Truth, He is the first “monster” Geralt of Rivia encounters who isn’t really a monster. Interestingly, the character is based on the Beast in, you guessed it, Beauty and the Beast.

Hivju explains the making of Nivellen, “Nivellen is a mixture of a boar, a bear, and a human. He has magical abilities, and he is a kind, funny, and secretive kind of guy. He ended up in a situation that got him cursed, and that’s why he looks like he does. Getting into the physical side of Nivellen was a long process. It really feels like a collaboration between so many people to make Nivellen. Because I had never played in full prosthetics before. Barrie Gower and his amazing team made of a full cast of my body, they made a suit upon that so it fitted me like a hand in a glove.”

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