According to Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Fans Will "Appreciate" the Way Game of Thrones Ends

Updated on 3/16/2019 at 4:05 PM

Westeros's favorite tortured golden boy has been through a lot in the past seven seasons of HBO's Game of Thrones. He has his hand chopped off, gets humiliated in battle, and — oh yeah — all three of his children are dead. He's also had to come to terms with the fact that his sister/lover/ruler is the kind of devious that's simply insane, not insanely sexy. So it's safe to say he's had a time, and he'll probably keep having a time in the show's upcoming final season. But of course the actor who plays him, 48-year-old Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, isn't spilling any secrets. In an interview with Men's Health, the Danish actor remained mum on the eighth season . . . though he did tease that Jaime's arm grows back. "It comes out as a claw," he said. "No — it's a paw."

Despite the (im)possibility of a claw, there's still something earnest about Jaime Lannister that makes rooting for him nigh irresistible. With the final season of the series quickly approaching, many Jaime fans are hoping that the former Kingsguard will fully redeem himself by fulfilling the well-known prophecy and killing his older sister. Will that happen? Coster-Waldau is definitely not telling (apparently HBO has the Men in Black trick to erase memories, which actually sounds legit), but he does share a bit about his time in Westeros. Keep reading for the interview's best quotes and why Coster-Waldau has never judged Cersei and Jaime's incestuous relationship. (I never yuck people's yum, but twincest is personally my limit, folks.)

On his favorite memory from the final season: "I don't have any memories. It's true! You know the Men in Black thing that erases your memory? It exists. And HBO has it!"

On what's in store for Jamie Lannister during season eight: "I can't tell you anything about that. He grows out his arm. His arm grows back. Yes. It grows back, but not in the way you think. It's a claw. It comes out as a claw. No — it's a paw."

On why he's never judged Jaime and Cersei's relationship: "I think most people have at least been attracted to someone you shouldn't be. Not your sister, but someone you really shouldn't fall in love with. Like your best friend's girlfriend. It's one of the few true love stories in Game of Thrones — Jaime is dedicated to this woman."

On GoT actors being "type-cast" after the show ends: "It's gonna be interesting to see how the younger actors on Thrones are gonna navigate this — because for a good five, 10 years in Denmark, every time I did anything, I was the guy from Nightwatch. As a young actor, it drove me crazy — like, 'Don't put me in this box. I'm not the Nightwatchman.' And, of course, that's gonna happen with Game of Thrones.
"This whole concept of fame, it's a completely empty shell made up of other outside forces. It has nothing to do with you. It will never have anything to do with you. You will just be there to fill some narrative that has nothing to do with you, and unless you keep that in mind, it's going to drive you crazy."

On the seemingly loose ends in various plots: "I've driven the writers crazy for exactly that reason. It's the nature of the show that the storylines jump around, but couldn't [Jaime and Cersei] discuss the fact that their last remaining child is dead, and now Cersei's going to be queen? So much happens in between — you have to connect these dots as an actor and sometimes make pretty massive leaps. There's a lot of bridges you have to build in your mind.
"By this time, both David and D.B. have learned that actors can be emotional. But, of course, my focus is just [on Jaime]. Their focus is on a hundred other actors. I have the luxury of focusing on this. I want them to sit for days and talk about this."

On the showrunners staying true to the story: "D.B. Weiss and David Benioff stuck to their guns and said, 'This is the story we wanna tell; we're not gonna extend this' — because I'm sure HBO would have loved another couple years of this show. There's an audience for it, for sure. But I think everyone who watches the show will appreciate that it's finished — that it was one story from episode one to episode 83, and we told it."