Peter Dinklage Has Not Read Any ‘Game of Thrones’ Books
Game of Thrones actor Peter Dinklage has never bothered to read any of the books that serve as the basis for his hit series, which returns for a fourth season on April 6th.
He made the admission on The Late Show with David Letterman, telling the host, “George Martin, our author, is probably going to kill my character soon because I mentioned that,” while playfully wincing after his self-described “confession.” “Now I can’t read them now. Because our TV show is my day job. But I started to read it and I got confused. So. . . ” He trailed off and shrugged. “They’re amazing books, though, George,” he said, putting his hand up in a jokingly defensive way.
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When the talk-show host asked if Martin was aware that Dinklage hadn’t read them, the actor said, “Yeah, I was in a Q&A with him, sitting right next to him and I had to confess that in front of him for the first time.” And how did that go? “Not well. Not well at all. But he’s a very sweet man.”
But that’s not to say that he isn’t at least aware of how the books play out. “We’re sort of catching up to [Martin],” Dinklage said. “We just finished our fourth season and that’s based on the end of the third book and he’s written five books. So there’s a couple more.”
Letterman then shifted topics and mentioned how Game of Thrones was the most illegally downloaded television show. “I know,” Dinklage said sheepishly. “That’s really good.” The audience then cheered and clapped. “You’re applauding pirates?” Dinklage asked, amazed?
Watch a clip of his interview here: