NAGAVARA:Comic Con is back. As the three-day carnival began on Friday at the White Orchid Convention Centre, fans were eager to meet two characters from the wildly acclaimed HBO TV series, Game of Thrones.
Daniel Portman and Natalia Tena, who play Podrick and Osha, are in town on all three days of the festival, and City Express caught up with them.
One of the most beloved characters on the show, Podrick Payne was introduced in the second season three years ago.
Starting out as a mildly dim squire to the smartest and perhaps most unfortunate person in all of Westeros, the dwarf Tyrion Lannister, Podrick served wine and stuck to the background as Tyrion and others in the Lannister clan held forth.
But landing this role was a stroke of luck. Initially auditioning for two other roles, Portman was denied both, after which he read for Podrick's role, soon after which he was put on a flight to the sets.
"I later found out that the two other characters I read for die in the second season, whereas my character has managed to stay alive till now. So I guess I got lucky," says the 23-year-old.
By the end of the second season, Podrick proves his mettle as he saves Tyrion's life at the Battle of Blackwater, and soon a bond that strikes beyond loyalty binds the two characters.
The last season, however, saw the young squire being sent away by Tyrion to join Brienne, a knight of sorts, who is on a quest to find the Stark girls and bring them to safety.
"While it was painful for the character to think of leaving Tyrion, as an actor it was nice to work with somebody else, finally. I had been shooting a lot inside. It was exciting to be out on the road. And Gwendolyn Christie who plays Brienne is one of the funniest people I've met," Portman says.
He also thinks that finally Podrick is toughening up and learning a lot about the real world. "Season 5 is going to be about a lot of searching for Podrick," he says.
One of the few characters untouched by the greed for power, we ask Portman if he ever sees Podrick vying for the Iron Throne that everyone is after.
"That's the farthest thing on his mind. Apart from loyalty and kindness, which are his strong points, Podrick's desires end with his dream of becoming a knight. That's all he wants," he says.
Some of Portman's favourite Game of Thrones characters are Olenna Tyell, Varys and Jamie Lannister. "If there was a way I could play Olenna Tyrell's character, I would. I've had to work on a couple of scenes with her and she's so cute," Portman says.
The actor has recently turned writer, after he completed writing a screenplay, a modern-day adaptation of the Shakesperean tragedy Romeo and Juliet. The film will see Daniel in the lead role.
"It will use original Shakespearean language. Obviously, it's a very well-known story and everybody almost always uses the characters and the story in the same way. This film's going to take an alternative look at how these characters handle their fates," he says.
Tonks turns Osha
The whereabouts of Osha are currently unknown, but Natalia Tena — the actress who plays the Wildling tasked with protecting the youngest Stark kid — is excited about her character. "If I had to describe her, I'd say she's this vicious Wildling with a nurturing temperament," she says.
When Tena initially joined the Game of Thrones cast in the first season, she hadn't yet read the books. "I was with my band, Molotov Jukebox, and we were touring in Brazil, and I took my accordion and all the books. I wedged all the books into my accordion case. I had just done the first season, and I read them all in one go. It was like a vacation read. Well, not really a vacation because I was touring with the band, but like a tour-vacation," she says.
While her favourite character on the show is Brienne because "she's this all-out feminist", Tena doesn't think it's too inconceivable to see Osha get on the Iron Throne. "I know it's not really possible but it would be great to get the throne," she says, laughing.
For Tena, Game of Thrones is exciting because of the books. "GRR Martin's vision is so inspiring and exciting. I've met the man and he's incredibly funny and nice to chat with," says the actress, who has previously played Tonks in the Harry Potter franchise.
* Game of Thrones Season 5 premieres in India on April 13 at 6.30 am, with a repeat telecast the same day at 10 pm on HBO Defined. Subsequent episodes air every Monday at the same time.