It’s an understatement to say that Peter Dinklage was extraordinary in his role as Tyrion Lannister in the series “Game of Thrones”. A capital incarnation for the actor, who nevertheless had great reluctance to embark on the adventure…
It’s 2010, and Peter Dinklage, with a worried look on his face, is patiently waiting for his next meeting to begin with producers DB Weiss and David Benioff. The latter, whom the actor used to frequent, took the initiative to contact him to offer him a very special role in the pilot of a new series for HBO: Game of Thrones.
But if Dinklage appears a little suspicious while waiting for his interview, it is because the series in question – adapted from a literary saga signed by the man nicknamed the American Tolkien – takes place in a fantastic medieval universe.
This kind of world, he knows well, too often relegates people of his condition to stereotypical characters, whom he has always taken care to keep away from his repertoire. Since his birth, Peter has suffered from the disease achondroplasia, giving rise to dwarfism which he has always refused to consider as an obstacle to his career, quite the contrary.
Meticulous in the choice of his roles, categorically refusing characters only reduced to their condition but opting most of the time for more complex heroes, far from the beaten track, Peter Dinklage nevertheless agreed to don – once is not customary – the costume of the Dwarf Trompillon in the second part of the Narnia saga, two years earlier.
Walt Disney Motion Pictures
"It was a lovely experience, but quite uncomfortable," he told the New York Times in March 2012 by evoking this little bearded, cliché character, miles away from his usual ambitions. His forehead mottled by the worry of discovering that Tyrion – the new character that we are about to offer him – will be of the same ilk, he is already ready to draw his weapons, and a whole series of non-negotiable conditions: “I was on my guard. (…) And surrounded by a metal barrier, an electric fence.”
Tyrion is my favorite character. Without a doubt. (…) He is witty, intelligent, he is a bit of what I would like to be”
“I hesitated, because it was fantasy. I told them I didn’t want a long beard and pointy shoes,” he confided on Reddit four years later. “They assured me that this character and this world had nothing to do with that. They told me about his complexity, that he was neither a hero nor a villain, that he was a runner a womanizer and a heavy drinker. They painted a beautiful portrait of him, with his flaws, so I signed.”
HBO
Joined by one of its most prestigious performers, the cast of Game Of Thrones – supported by its exceptional technical team – can therefore get to work. From the first episodes, the character described by Weiss And Benioff keeps all its promises. Tyrion is sharp, lively, complex, tortured, deep. In a word, grandiose. As for Peter Dinklageputting his implacable delivery and his dark gaze at the service of this extraordinary hero, he quite simply signs the most important performance of his entire career.
From a second-rate actor, he quickly became an international star, awarded three Emmy Awards and critically acclaimed. It seems that by inviting him to their office that day, David Benioff and DB Weiss had hit the nail on the head. Just like George RR Martin, who according to rumor, also wanted to entrust Peter Dinklage with the interpretation of his favorite character.