STACK #137 Mar 2016

DVD & BD FEATURE

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A FINGER IN EVERY PIE Littlefinger has been one of Game of Thrones ’ most ruthless

Kiwi star Keisha Castle-Hughes joins the cast of Game of Thrones for the fifth season, playing one of the Sand Snakes, the badass daughters of the late Oberyn Martell. T he New Zealand star, best known for her Oscar- nominated role in Whale Rider , has been a fan of George R. R. Martin’s fantasy series since reading the books at school. And the Sand Snakes were among her favourite characters. “I loved them,” she enthuses. “They are definitely some of the most badass female characters in the books. When Pedro Pascal turned up as Oberyn Martell last season, it was so exciting. I started thinking that I could be related to Pedro Pascal. I put it out there into the universe; I got in touch with my manager. They announced that they were auditioning the Sand Snakes, and from that point on, I became very persistent about making sure anyone who was involved in the show knew that I was gunning for it.” Castle-Hughes plays Obara Sand, probably the most warrior-like of the three siblings. “Obara is the most like Oberyn,” she agrees. “She’s trained her entire life with him to use the spear like he does.” However, she adds: “Obara is so goddamn serious all the time and then the other two are like, 'Chill out. Stop killing people! Just relax.' Then you’ve got Obara going, 'I don’t understand why the two of you aren’t taking this seriously'.” WHALE OF A TIME

players, quick to double-cross – and even murder – friends, loved ones and allies if it helps his cause. However, Aiden Gillen reckons he is not all bad.

A lthough he has been in every season and has probably interacted with

more characters in Game of Thrones than anyone else,

Littlefinger has never enjoyed the same sort of profile as some of the series’ other main villains. In some ways, that’s not particularly surprising because he is the consummate behind-the-scenes player, quietly manipulating people to advance his own ambitions. However Aiden Gillen, who plays the man otherwise known as Petyr Baelish, takes issue with the suggestion that he is snake-like. “I don’t see him as a snake or a creep, but I could see why a character like Cersei or another character would refer to him as slithery or slippery,” says the Irish actor, who first came to prominence in another HBO series, The Wire . “I’m just standing up for Littlefinger as a human!” To Gillen, it’s the game of thrones rather than the throne itself that motivates his character. “I don’t see his ultimate goal as ultimate power, as in sitting on the throne and ruling,” he reasons. “I think that’s maybe too boring and too dangerous. The playing of the game is a big part of what makes him tick. He does enjoy it, the manipulation, seeing his plans come to fruition. But I believe there’s also some humanity to him. It hasn’t always been

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I don’t see him as a snake or a creep

was surprised by the plot twist, but excited by it, too, adding that it is always interesting to enter a new world and interact with different characters. And he still believes that Littlefinger genuinely cares for Sansa. “There’s always been a lot of talk about the nature of that relationship, how creepy or not creepy that might be. I don’t think there’s too much more to it than the fact that she is the daughter of Catelyn Stark, which explains why he’s quite obsessed with her. “But it’s with her well-being as much anything else. Littlefinger is not grooming Sansa, though he is mentoring her. And it’s been quite satisfying to see her really bloom in that way and emerge as a player. She’s probably playing him as much as he’s playing her.”

Ned Stark, he says, ‘Distrusting me was the wisest thing you’ve done’. It’s funny, but it’s true. He’s not lying.” In Season Five, Littlefinger seeks to cement his alliance with the Boltons by marrying Sansa to the psychopathic Ramsay (Iwan Rheon). Given that the family was responsible for the slaughter of her mother and brother at the notorious Red Wedding, it seems a particularly despicable thing to do. Gillen admits he

• Game of Thrones: The Complete Fifth Season is out on March 16

nastiness. For instance, those first scenes with

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