After threatening the city of Westeros with an endless winter for so long, the ‘Night King’ from Game of Thrones has finally met his end at the hands of Arya, who stabbed him by surprise in the stomach in Winterfell at the end of the dantean episode 3 and was almost universally congratulated by fans.
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After being in the series since 2015, first in a secondary role, then as the Night King from season 6 onwards, the Czech actor and stuntman Vladimir Furdik has recently spoken out about his character’s motivations in an interview with Variety that went online on 30th April.
‘He wants revenge. Because somebody, many years ago, made some mistake and he became the Night King, and he didn’t want to be the Night King. […] Now I kill everybody because you made me the Night King and made me live seven or 10 thousand years behind the wall in a cold country. He’s tired of living out there in the cold and the snow.’
The character could have actually had a depth to him that only few fans of the series could have suspected. Later in the interview, Furdik also talked about filming the King of Death’s famous, last scene, who was finally brought down when Arya stuck him with her dagger.
‘But this moment with Arya when I grab her, and the emotions from Maisie were so strong, I felt like I spent all my energy that day. It was raining, it was cold, it wasn’t easy for Maisie to jump at the right time, it wasn’t easy for me to grab her at the right time, it was the most difficult thing to do in front of a camera. […] When I saw this I said, ‘Oh my god.’ The music when I’m walking to Bran, it was amazing, and I was so proud to be part of this show.’
