Mark Wahlberg's not the only hunky star roaming the streets of Miami this week.
The three strapping lads from Game of Thrones, HBO's mega-awesome adaptation of George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series, visited Miami yesterday to reflect on their roles and announce the show has been renewed for a third season.
(Pause for all in our tropical fandom to collectively nerd-gasm.)
Richard Madden (Robb Stark), Kit Harington (Jon Snow), and Alfie Allen (Theon Greyjoy) met up with Cultist for a spell, where we found out that in the upcoming season of Game of Thrones, you can expect to see Lord Theon Greyjoy in ladies' clothes. Well, kind of.
Allen did tell us that he would have liked to play the role of Arya, and
that he was excited to say the deviously manipulative line "Try smiling
with your lips closed" to an on-screen lover with unfortunate dental
aesthetics.
"When I read that line I was just like, I couldn't wait to deliver it," he said in a lovely London accent, tapping on his pack of Parliaments. About the scene as a whole, in which his character roughly ravishes an ingenuous naked girl on a boat, he added, "Is it uncomfortable? Noooo!"
Allen said it takes roughly five months to film a season of Game of Thrones. Allen, Harington and Madden spent most of their time last summer filming in Iceland.
Harington told us none of his scenes in the show's second season were shot in a studio. In Iceland, "It was minus 30 degrees [Celsius] most of the time," said Harington. That's roughly -22 F, for you Americans.
And sadly, the guys didn't get to do much other than work in Iceland. "We did see the Northern Lights, which were really beautiful. But we didn't go sightseeing, because we were seeing all the sights while driving from one filming location to another."
Miami, of course, offers far more comfortable climes. But their visit is mostly for work, so the nice weather may be lost on them. Still, Allen said he's gotten out to Soho Beach House in Miami Beach, and planned on checking out the Delano on Tuesday.
"I like to party. Do you like to party? Do you wanna party tonight?" said Allen, with a totally straight face. (Um, yes. Yes we do.)
Richard Madden, however, would rather Skype with his family while he's away.
"I'm not shy of a party," he said, adding, "I don't get to see my family very often. I miss out on birthdays and weddings, and as an actor, if you want to engage in the studio, sometimes you have to sacrifice those things unless you get really good at Skype."
Madden and Harington both said they share some of their characters' qualities, or at least try to. Of course, if you played the righteous Robb Stark and the heroic Jon Snow on screen, you'd probably want to be like them too.
"I'd like to say that as a person I'd do the same things Jon did," said Harington, about his character's need to save and avenge people. Madden said, "I think Robb lives by certain rules, and I try to live by certain rules."
Madden added, "Sometimes I get taken over by the character.... So you gotta make sure you have a beer at the bar," to maintain the lines between acting and reality.
Allen made clear he loves his character's devious nature -- he's neither a hero nor a villain, even more so in the show than in the books. However, he's open to trying different things.
"I'd love to play a female role," he said. "Why not? Just give it a go. I'd also love to get into that comedy side of things. I think as an actor you can't be too picky about stuff, you just got to get on with it."
All three of the guys admitted they try to stay away from Internet commentary and fan's reactions -- the good and the bad -- to their characters, to avoid people's opinions from influencing their performance.
So, all you Thrones trolls out there, it seems your work has gone unnoticed. Maybe you can try to find Alfie Allen at a club on South Beach this week if you really want to speak your mind.
Game of Thrones airs on HBO Sundays at 9 p.m.
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