Although “Game of Thrones” is famous for having killed major characters, at least the actors of the first seasons had the comfort of knowing exactly when and where their characters died. Sean Bean knew he had a concert of one season ahead of him, for example, Just as Pedro Pascal did in season 4. But as the seasons exceeded the source material, this feeling of employment security dropped for most of its actors. From season 6, almost anyone could be removed from the show at any time.

The first death to make it clear was poor Hodor in “The Door” of season 6. After loyally helped Bran and Meera on their trip through the wall, Hodor must stay behind to hold a closed door while the others escape an army of Wights. Hodor manages to save Bran and Meera, but he is torn by the Wights in the process. It seems dark, but it becomes darker: in its last moments, we learn that Bran’s consideration and the interference of time travel are what has broken Hodor’s brain in his childhood. Hodor (originally named Wylis) says “Hodor” all the time because “holding the door” is what Meera tells him to do in his last moments, and he repeats his instructions until the words mix in one. His slogan, the only word he was able to say during most of his life, was essentially warning everyone of the death that is looming on him.

It was a shocking sequence to book readers and viewers only. It was also a big surprise for the actor of Hodor, Kristian Nairn, who, when he auditioned, did not have the luxury of knowing what awaited his character. To worsen things: the show killed him for his birthday.

“In the most” Game of Thrones “, Orwellian Twist, they killed me for my 40th birthday. It was intense”, Nairn said in an interview in 2024. “A part of me was impatient to leave, honestly, because it was six years old and, as much as I liked, it was my new career and I was looking forward to doing something different. … But, as the day was getting closer and more, I feared more and more that I would leave the people I really liked and that I think as a family.”

Although Hodor is not the first character to die despite being still alive in books, it was the first major spoiler of the series of what the unpublished books of “A Song of Ice and Fire” have in store. No lack of respect for the David Benioff and DB Weiss showrunners, but there is no way to those who found this turn; It was a conspiracy point planned very early by the author George RR Martin himself.

The revelation of time travel in the last moments of Hodor was considered by fans and criticisms as one of the clear strengths of season 6, even if the nature based on the word play of the revelation has put A lot of additional stress on translators behind the double versions of the series. It was an incredibly dark end for a character as beloved, that Nairn found tearing.

“The showrunners believed that he was going to be one of the characters that people really hung on and liked it,” said Nairn. “I said to myself:” Really? It is a kind of glorified wheelbarrow! … I tried to leave a little space in [Hodor] So that people get there and see how they would feel in this situation. He was still so kind and so obliging. Can you imagine doing this for someone and still having to sleep with dogs? It is Cinderella syndrome. “”

Since his end of his time on “Game of Thrones”, Nairn has continued his acting career with a series of shorter roles, as in “Robin Hood: The Rebellion” in 2018 and “UndePlycoma” in 2023. He played a major role in the 2022 HBO Max series “Our flag means death” As a pyromaniac pirate John Feeney. Although Nairn has always had his DJ career for himHis success on television and cinema is largely thanks to him who landed this first big role as Hodor. As Nairn said he auditioned for the role, “it changed my life from A to Z.”