Game Of Thrones fans have been sliding in star Lino Facioli’s DMs since season eight ended.
One of the biggest shocks from the last ever episode was the return of Facioli’s character Robin Arryn, who looked all grown up since he was first introduced way back in season one.
Facioli’s star rose pretty much overnight and the actor has been getting offers both professional and personal as eager fans have been getting in touch on social media.
In an interview with TMZ, he called the reaction to his reappearance ‘insane’.
‘I still can’t really get my head around what’s happening. It feels surreal. You know when people say it’s like an overnight change. This really was.
‘I went to bed with like 5000 followers or something. And in one night…I completely forgot that the episode was gonna air by the way. I woke up the next day and everyone…my phone was just non-stop notifications. And I’m like, “what the hell?”‘
When we first met Robin, he was a weedy and irritating preteen who was still being breastfed by his mum Lysa (Kate Dickie), but by the finale he had become Lord of the Eyrie and helped other Westeros leaders choose Bran Stark (Issac Hempstead Wright) as the new ruler.
He joked that he was going to start his own brand of milk as he was proof of the benefits of breastfeeding.
Asked about the criticism of the finale, with over a million fans signing a petition to have the entire season remade, Facioli initially defended the show but admitted he could see where the backlash came from.
‘I think the producers have had a tough job, everyone making this is having to live up to the expectations of this series,’ he explained.
‘It’s a tough job. I’ve enjoyed it so far but I can understand why people are not so happy.’
The actor saw the outpouring of love after the final episode and joked on Twitter on Monday: ‘Definitely didn’t expect my morning to start off like this.’
He also paid tribute to the show on Instagram, sharing photos of himself on set all those years ago including one with Hempstead Wright when they were little.
He posted: ‘9 years ago I had the honour of being invited to work in this incredible series. It’s been a wonderful adventure and I’m so, so thankful for having been able to be a part of it!’
Game Of Thrones is available to watch from the beginning on Sky Atlantic and NOW TV.
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