Of all the Super Bowl commercials, only one was complete fire … and ice.
In one of the top ads of the night on Sunday, Doritos and Mountain Dew brought us Peter Dinklage and Morgan Freeman in a rap battle. Dinklage did the lip-syncing gymnastics on Busta Rhymes’ verse from “Look At Me Now” in a room full of fire, because his Doritos chips were so hot, duh. Meanwhile, Freeman lip-synced Missy Elliott’s “Get Ur Freak On” in a room full of ice, thanks to his obviously very chilly Mountain Dew.
It was a battle that could rule the Seven Kingdoms, and even inspired “Game of Thrones” fans to tweet that the ad might “confirm” a long-held fan theory that Dinklage’s character, Tyrion, is actually a Targaryen.
People really ran with it.
After all, Dinklage was blowing fire out of his mouth ― I’m sorry, Doritos Blaze chips. But no chip is that hot. That’s blood of the dragon right there.
On Monday, HuffPost asked Dinklage about his reaction to the fan response and his thoughts on Tyrion possibly being a Targaryen.
“I love every single theory the fans of our show have, because they’re so much fun,” Dinklage said. “They get to show the dedication and love they have for the show, but you have to understand that it is a Doritos commercial.”
“It’s not ‘Game of Thrones,’” he added. “So [fans] are sort of stretching the limit with that theory when you’re branching out to Frito-Lay commercials. But I say that with all love and respect. Please, I love them. I love the fan theories that they have until the show is finally over.”
So Dinklage loves your Tyrion theories, but according to the actor, the ad doesn’t confirm any of them. That’s fair. Doritos ads are nacho problem, HBO.
Also, for anyone wondering, Morgan Freeman probably isn’t a Stark either, despite his affinity for ice. (It would’ve been nice to look forward to some “March of the Penguins”-style narration over the White Walkers’ migration to Winterfell. But, alas, it wasn’t meant to be.)
But even without the ad, there’s plenty of evidence Tyrion actually has Targaryen heritage and isn’t Tywin’s son.
For example, in George R.R. Martin’s books, the Mad King Aerys Targaryen (Daenerys Targaryen’s dad) was known to take “unwonted liberties” with Tywin Lannister’s wife, Joanna. And the mothers of Tyrion, Dany and Jon Snow all died in childbirth, signaling another mysterious connection. Plus, Tyrion is obsessed with dragons, much like a Targaryen should be.
There’s also a supposed prophecy in the books that “the dragon has three heads.” Some fans believe this means there are three Targaryens who will lead the fight to save humanity.
So, yeah, maybe the chip commercial didn’t confirm it, but you can understand why fans freaked out when Tyrion started blowing fire. Doritos used the hashtag #SpitFire, but it might as well have been #TargaryenConfirmed.
Dinklage continued chatting with us about his rap skills, whether he actually beat Morgan Freeman in the battle, and what he thinks about some fans calling for a Peter Dinklage/Morgan Freeman presidential run in 2020.
How much of your performance was inspired by your “SNL” song “Space Pants”?
“Space Pants” I hold dear to my heart. I don’t think they’re very much alike, but sure. If anybody wants to draw a comparison, I’m more than happy to. Thanks for your love of “Space Pants.”
Only love for “Space Pants.” Also, just to be clear, you definitely know the Busta Rhymes rap, right? You didn’t use CGI or camera tricks?
No, we did a variety of different ways, but I will be the first to tell you that deep in my soul I was terrified of getting anything wrong, so I learned it frontwards and backwards.
So do you think you beat Morgan Freeman?
Oh, I think I did, all due respect … but I believe I did. I had the harder job. Busta Rhymes is the fastest rapper in the known universe. No disrespect to Missy Elliott, but I believe Morgan had the easier job. So I think I won, all due respect.
A lot of people look at Morgan Freeman as the voice of God, so what was it like lip-sync-rap-battling him?
What was it like rapping against God?
I wasn’t going to go easy on him just because I have love and respect for the man. You can’t.
You actually like Doritos, right? Or how did you get involved?
[Laugh] They just saw me on the street one day eating a bag of Doritos [and said], “Maybe we can get a Doritos ad.” No, of course, Doritos are incredible … Doritos are the ultimate non-organic food. It’s incredible stuff.
Have you tried Doritos Locos Tacos?
I have not. Do you recommend them?
Uh, yes, but I imagine you don’t eat at Taco Bell much.
No, not so much. But I got to say, usually when you do any sort of acting, like you’re sitting by the dinner table and you have to eat a lot of food or whatnot, usually you spit the food out or you’re eating all day. But in this Doritos commercial, I ate every single Dorito. I hadn’t had one in a while, and they were incredible. I missed them.
So how many takes did you do?
Oh, sometimes I screwed up a take so I could eat another one.
I’m sure. I was pretty hungry.
In addition to “Game of Thrones,” there were a lot of comparisons to Heat Miser and Snow Miser from the animation “The Year Without a Santa Claus.”
I love the old Rankin and Bass productions. That’s a brilliant comparison. That’s the stuff of my childhood. I welcome that comparison.
People were also calling for a Peter Dinklage and Morgan Freeman presidential run in 2020 after seeing your lip-sync-rap battle.
Wow, we’re in desperate times right now, aren’t we? [Laughs] Yeah, if that’s the case, it says something about our current presidency.
