Game of Thrones actor Vladimir Furdik, who plays the frightful Night King on the fantasy series, has broken his silence on the show’s final season.
Furdik — a Slovak actor and stuntman — spoke with EW about his role, and just what fans can expect of the Night King in the series’ finale season.
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Interestingly, he strongly implies that the frozen leader of the White Walkers has his eyes set on the destruction of one character specifically.
“People will see he has a target he wants to kill, and you will find out who that is. There’s also that moment [in “Hardhome”] when Jon Snow was on the boat and the Night King looked at him and raised his arms — there’s a similar and even stronger moment between Jon and the Night King this time,” Furdik stated.
While he directly addresses Jon Snow, it’s possible that this is of the character that the Night King has labeled a “target,” as there are many other high profile Game of Thrones characters that he could be after.
Regarding the Night King’s overall drive and motivation, Furdik explained, “Somebody made him the Night King. Nobody knows who he was before — a soldier or part of [nobility]. He never wanted to be the Night King. I think he wants revenge. Everybody in this story has two sides — a bad side and a good side. The Night King only has one side, a bad side.”
Furdik has been playing the Night King since Season 6 of Game of Thrones, after taking over for actor Richard Brake. When asked how he came to be cast in the role, Furdik replied, “I don’t really know why they cast me.”
“When we did season 5, I was the White Walker who fought Jon Snow [in “Hardhome”] — the first time Jon Snow killed a White Walker, that was me. After that, [showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss] asked if I’d play the Night King for seasons 6 through 8. I never asked why. Maybe they were happy with what I did in season 5,” he added.
Furdik finally shared that he doesn’t get recognized too often, but that occasionally he does and reactions are mixed.
“Many people ask me: ‘Can you please kill Jon Snow?’ It’s very interesting. Sometimes I watch YouTube reactions after the season airs. Fifty percent of people love the Night King and 50 percent of people hate him. And since I replaced Richard Blake, some people like how I play him and some don’t,” Furdik said.
Game of Thrones Season 8 premieres on Sunday, April 14 at 9 p.m. ET on HBO.
