Could Jamie Lannister be the one hunk to replace Jon Snow?

IF JON Snow is dead, could this incestuous knight replace him? Nikolaj Coster-Waldau answers our questions about GoT Season 6.

“IS JON Snow really dead?” is the question on everyone’s mind as Season 6 of Game of Thrones finally approaches.

If the resident hunk is gone for good, there’s really only one man who can replace him in the heart-throb stakes: Jamie Lannister. But when news.com.au sat down with Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, who plays the role, he seemed to be in denial.

“I don’t really know how I’d deal with that,” he smiled, bashfully. “I’m a bit old now. I’ve been married for 18 years, so I haven’t been playing that game. I missed out on all that, which is fine by me.”

Kit Harrington famously bemoaned his heart-throb status when he chatted to news.com.au last year. He called it “demeaning,” and said he hated being objectified.

Coster-Waldau sees it differently. “I don’t think about it. I think my wife finds (the attention) more annoying than I do, to be honest. If someone writes that about me, it’s fine, but I’m not obliged to agree,” he says.

Yeah Jamie’s a bit of all right. Picture: HBO

Clearly, this is a subject which makes him uncomfortable. “It’s got nothing to do with me personally, it’s really about the show and its success which rubs off on me. I think any one else who played my character would have been in the same situation,” he says, modestly.

“It’s a weird thing and I just don’t delve into it. I understand that people want to put you in that box, and that’s fine, but I don’t live there.”

Of course, he can’t reveal much about what we can expect from Season 6, but he says, “Well, Season 5 was brutal. And now Jamie has gone to Dorne to bring back the corpse of Myrcella (Baratheon) to her mother. It’s just horrible. And also that brief, brief moment of joy he had and experienced when he finally told one of his kids, ‘I am your father.’ Her response was so beautiful and she said, ‘I know and I am happy.’ He was like, 'yay!’” he laughs.

“And then she died.”

A scene from Game of Thrones Season 6. Picture: HBO

Such high drama is an average day in Game of Thrones.

“That’s right. And Jamie has to deal with his sister, Cersei [Lena Headey] of course, and the whole situation in King’s Landing with the religious uprising. It’s a whole new power structure that he has to navigate in. And they have one kid left who happens to be the king. He’s a teenager and not equipped to deal with that kind of pressure. He’s also in love, which is even harder. “

So will he stop sleeping with his sister, now that she's been so humiliated?

Coster-Waldau resides in Denmark with his wife, Greenlandic actress and singer, Nukaka, with whom he is raising their two daughters, Filippa, 15, and Safine, 12.

The family came out to Australia last year when he shot Gods of Egypt, starring opposite Brenton Thwaites. “Sydney was a beautiful, beautiful city. My family really enjoyed it. We found Sydney to be a very laid back, relaxed way of living.”

Unfortunately, the film didn’t fare well.

“Obviously it would have been wonderful if it had connected with a lot more people than it did, but it’s a movie. Thank God I am not a heart surgeon; nobody got killed. The only bruises were maybe a bit of hurt pride but we can deal with that,” he says.

Let’s just say Nikolaj Coster-Waldau is happy to put this film behind him.

Speaking of death, Coster-Waldau must beware that there is always a murder looming on GoT. Even for their most popular actors, there is no job security, and he’s now been on the show for six years.

“Yes, that’s rare and especially on Game of Thrones because you never know what’s going to happen. There have been many deaths I didn’t see coming.”

How would he like to see Jamie Lannister go out? To die a death befitting of a great warrior? “Actually, I’d just love for him to die of old age. I think that would be a great thing, to explore real longevity. That’s what I’m hoping. I’ve been on the show for so long, I want to see what happens, I want to hang on to the end,” he smiles.

“But I wouldn’t put money on it.”

Bring it.

Game of Thrones Season 6 premieres Monday, April 25, at 11am on Foxtel.