Euron’s character arc may not have translated with audiences, but on set, it was a huge success. “Pilou had strong ideas about Euron being really dangerous but also having this kind of sexy-funny veneer,” said frequent Thrones director Jeremy Podeswa. “The script suggested that, but Pilou brought a lot more. It was a great example of how characters are never just one thing on the show.”
Fellow director Mark Mylod agreed with Podeswa, saying Euron also filled a narrative blank spot for the show. “I was worried about losing Ramsay [Bolton, played by Iwan Rheon] because he was such a great baddie, just like people were worried about losing Joffrey [Baratheon, played by Jack Gleeson] in season four. With Euron, we got a great new baddie, but in a totally different way. It was “big,” but it worked. Pilou managed to make it real, which is difficult to do.”
According to Asbæk, he felt free to really push boundaries during filming: “When I was talking to Cersei [Lannister, played by Lena Headey] in the throne room, I said, ‘So here I am with a thousand ships and two good hands.’ Dan and David came up and said, ‘Take away ‘two good hands,’ it’s too much.’ Because I had more confidence in season seven and felt like I belonged more, I went, ‘Guys, don’t take it. I know exactly how to be this. He’s gotta be charming, he’s gotta be arrogant, he’s gotta look Jaime right in the eye and say it with the biggest f***ing smile — because he’s an idiot and a pr***, and that’s what I like about the character.’ They said, ‘Let’s try it out.’ We did it, and then they said, ‘We’re so f***ing happy you insisted on that.'”
In the end, Weiss realized Asbæk’s instincts were right. “We really haven’t had somebody in the show who has kind of a rock-star swagger, who just doesn’t give sh*t,” the showrunner said. “Everyone else in this world cares very deeply, whether they’re awful, wonderful, or like most of them, somewhere in between. To have somebody traipse onto the stage with the swagger and attitude that Euron had was a lot of fun because it lets air into the room. There aren’t that many people who could do that convincingly.”
All of Game of Thrones, including Asbæk’s performance, is streaming on HBO Max now.
