Game of Thrones’ Nikolaj Coster-Waldau has spoken out on the fan backlash against the fantasy epic’s last season – and he understands why some fans were so unhappy.
HBO’s flagship show ended this year with its eighth series, although the run was lambasted by both critics and fans.
Speaking to Metro.co.uk at the Global Citizen Awards, the actor admitted that he could understand some of the ire that fans threw the show’s way this year.
‘I’ve travelled around the world and what’s really wonderful is how these communities have grown out of a love of this one show,’ he said.
‘I also think that’s one of the reasons a lot of people have been p****d off is because they didn’t want it to end because is that one of the reasons I’m going to lose my friends because we’ve been hanging out…’
He continued: ‘I’ve met people who have online communities around the world and it’s been about this show and now what? But then I’ve met people who have said we’re going to keep going.’
Nikolaj is not the first former Thrones cast member to speak out on the controversy either. His on-screen brother Peter Dinklage recently compared the fan backlash to ‘a bad breakup.’
Speaking to the New Yorker, he said: ‘Well, everybody’s always going to have an opinion, and that means an ownership.
‘It’s like breaking up with somebody. They get upset.
‘I can’t speak for everybody, but my feeling is they didn’t want it to end, so a lot of people got angry,’ Peter concluded.
‘I feel like what [the showrunners] Dave [Benioff] and Dan [Weiss] did was extraordinary.’
The show was recently rewarded with three Screen Actors Guild nominations, this came after the show was sensationally snubbed at the Golden Globes.
The high-fantasy epic only walked away with one Globes nomination for Kit Harington’s performance as Jon Snow as he branded himself ‘the lone wolf’ of the programme.
The Globes snub also sadly means that the show will now never win the coveted Best TV Drama gong.
Game of Thrones seasons 1-8 are available to stream via NOW TV.
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