Yesterday Game of Thrones collected a truly astonishing – and record breaking – 32 nominations for its eighth and final season. Talk about going out with a bang! What’s even more incredible is that almost a third of those were for the acting alone, with ten nominations for the cast. Understandably, they had plenty to say about this unprecedented achievement.
Kit Harington gave a statement to US Weekly expressing appreciation for his Lead Actor nod. “Many thanks to the Academy. It’s been an amazing journey with ol’ Jon Snow. I’m thrilled he’s been nominated.”
Speaking with The Hollywood Reporter, Supporting Actor nominee Nikolaj Coster-Waldau shared the shock and amazement of the cast. “I was just on the phone with Gwendoline [Christie], who is also very excited. It’s unreal. We’re all just so thrilled, all of us. To have Kit, Emilia [Clarke], myself, Peter [Dinklage], Alfie [Allen], Gwendoline, Maisie [Williams], Sophie [Turner], Lena [Headey], Carice [Van Houten]…ten of us? It’s insane! None of us expected this.”
Coster-Waldau is aware the final season had a negative reception from some critics and fans, but he doesn’t believe the writing is at fault. “I think it was a mix of many things. For one, it’s the basic idea of not wanting the show to end, and any ending would have been very upsetting. But the only thing I can say is you don’t get this many actors nominated with bad writing. It just does not happen. This validates the writing on Game of Thrones, for sure.”
New (and long overdue) Supporting Actor nominee Alfie Allen told People that the cast was ectastic at the news. “32 nominations, it’s pretty insane. It’s collectively a mad thing. We’ve got a group chat going, it’s going crazy at the moment. It’s amazing. It’s just incredible, I can’t wait for the actual night.”
Initially Allen was unaware he was nominated. “I was on out and about just doing stuff. I got a congratulations text and I just thought it was a group nomination, and I didn’t realize it was an individual one, which is crazy. I’m just ecstatic really, I can’t believe this. It really surprised me, I was not expecting it at all. I’m still in shocked, still happily in shocked. It’s amazing.”
Even more than the possibility of winning an Emmy, Allen is looking forward to reuniting with his fellow cast members. “It’s gonna be a great night. I haven’t seen these people since the show has ended so it’s going to be great to sort of round it up on a positive celebration with everyone. It’s going to be a really lovely night.”
Many of the actors took to social media to share their excitement. Supporting Actress nominees Maisie Williams and Gwendoline Christie had very different reactions on Twitter, with Williams responding to the news with a pleased yet humble GIF…
https://t.co/SPC1GvXizwpic.twitter.com/is6SYyip8t
— Maisie Williams (@Maisie_Williams) July 16, 2019
…while Christie was a little less reserved.
I CANT BELIEVE IT!!!!!!????!?!!?!!!!!!!!! THANK YOU UNIVERSE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! #EmmyAwards#CANITTRULYBEREAL?????????? 🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯♥️ @ London, United Kingdom https://t.co/rZsgOdEjNc
— Gwendoline Christie (@lovegwendoline) July 16, 2019
Christie also told Variety that she “never ever thought this would happen…I couldn’t be more delighted, this is the best day ever.” She adds, “I honestly couldn’t feel more overwhelmed, privileged and heartened that people want to see more unconventional female storylines. I’m so excited for Kit and Emilia and Maisie and Alfie, and Nikolaj congratulated me this morning. It feels like a celebration.”
Fellow Supporting Actress nominees Sophie Turner and Lena Headey expressed their gratitude on Instagram. Turner shared a story in which she also congratulated her cast mates.
Headey’s post gave us a look at her excited reaction to the news.
Guest Actress nominee Carice Van Houten couldn’t believe the good news.
Last but most certainly not least, George R.R. Martin offered praise to the entire Game of Thrones team.
My congratulations to David Benioff, Dan Weiss, our producers, directors, and all the rest of our amazing cast and crew… those who were nominated and those who were overlooked alike, they all have reason to be proud. https://t.co/xmOLeatYFV
— George RR Martin (@GRRMspeaking) July 17, 2019
Regardless of how you feel about season eight, I think we can all admire the incredible acting and tremendous effort put forth by the cast and crew over the past decade. Here’s hoping for some well deserved awards in September.
