The Game of Thrones scene that caused a rift between star Liam Cunningham and his family
The man behind Game of Thrones character Ser Davos Seaworth, Liam Cunningham, says the hugely popular show has turned him from “a strolling player” to a “TV star”, as he revealed the controversial scene that caused a rift in his family.
After three decades in the business, actor Liam Cunningham says he feels like he has “been
outed,” thanks to Game of Thrones, saying the TV show turned him from “a strolling player”
to a “TV star”.
Cunningham, who plays Ser Davos Seaworth in the epic HBO drama series, says the real star of Game of Thrones is the wildly popular show itself.
“It’s not any one person, it’s a beautiful ensemble. I have never been in a show where I felt I am a participant in it along with the audience. Everyone was at the top of their game, this was a perfect storm coming together, it’s impossible to repeat. These things are magical.
“It was very strange hanging up the costume on the last day. I had a good look at my
costume before I walked away from my very small trailer.”
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The 57-year-old, who lives in Dublin, Ireland - not far from where many of GoT’s most famous scenes were filmed, told TV.Hit his wife and three kids are fans.
“After the controversial Sansa rape, my daughter Ellen stood up and was very, very f***ing annoyed about it. She went, ‘That’s it, I am never watching this show again,’ and as she stormed towards the door, just before she slammed it, I went, ‘Yes you will.’
“And when you see this wonderful mature Sansa coming, that they didn’t beat her, didn’t
break her, in fact she got strength from that horrible thing, she got clever, it celebrated her
strength of character.
“The same when Shireen was burnt — you are going, ‘You are burning children on
television!’ It’s horrific, but you see the faces of Stanis and his wife and the results of it and
it’s immaculate, it’s beautiful storytelling.”
Talking in a hotel in London, Cunningham is loud, funny and swears liberally.
Despite already having appeared in major productions such as Centurion, Clash of the Titans and The Guard, he adored his time on Game of Thrones. When he read the script revealing the burning of Shireen in Season 5, he was devastated.
“I remember reading that and going f***ing hell, because I am thinking about Kerry (Ingram). Some of the most wonderful scenes I had were with Kerry. My character obviously didn’t want her to go, I didn’t want her to go.”
And he had a major dad fail moment when he took a memento from the scene.
“I stole the burnt stag and I gave it to my daughter and I told her she will find out what it is when the episode came on.
“So we’re sitting on the couch and she is clutching this thing and it suddenly occurred to me,
‘Oh, this is terrible, I have just given my daughter the stag.’ I looked down and she was
dripping in tears, distraught. I felt like a terrible father. I was in tears when I watched it.”
Ser Davos is one of the few likeable characters in the series. “He is necessary, he is almost a
device, because there is so much moral greyness. In a way I think he represents the
audience,” he says.
Filming was notoriously hard — especially the battle scenes. “The Battle of the Bastards
(Season 6) was 25 days for a 20-minute sequence, I think. They are a pain in the arse to
shoot. And the more pain in the arse the better they look.
“I was talking to Kit Harington on day one as we approached the battlefield and said the one
thing we are going to need here is a sense of humour. The only way to get through it is to
have a laugh at your fellow actors and them to have laugh at the misery you are going
through or otherwise it’s really depressing. It is cold, it’s wet, you’re slipping, there’s horses
in mud, there’s guys running past you with swords. It’s unpleasant to shoot.”
He says he will be relieved when the final season airs as he won’t have to keep the secret
any longer. “I will be more than happy when the last episode goes out — I am sick of keeping secrets, I am no good at them, I would be terrible in the CIA.
“When I am in a bar, people say, ‘Come on give us something,’ and whenever I have a
couple of drinks in me I go, ‘OK I’ll tell you,’ and they shout, ‘No don’t.’
“They want to know but they don’t want to know. The secrecy is because the surprises are
wonderful and we are trying to not show how the magic trick worked.
“If it gets out, the moment is spent. We want them to sit on their sofas and go did you see
that! It’s magnificent, it’s event television, it’s beautiful.”
* Game of Thrones, 11am and 8.30pm, Monday, Fox Showcase
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