‘Hodor’ on his death: It’s sad, but I like it the way it is

Irish actor and DJ Kristian Nairn, who plays Hodor on “Game of Thrones,” sits on the “iron throne” at the 15th ToyCon at SMX Convention Center in Pasay City on June 10, to the delight of his Filipino fans. YUJI GONZALES

For Irish actor and DJ Kristian Nairn, it was bittersweet and nothing short of weird to “die” on his birthday.

When Hodor’s death scene in the hit HBO series “Game of Thrones” was filmed, Nairn, who played the role of the well-loved big man with a big heart, was actually celebrating his 40th natal day on set.

But the way his character died, though admittedly heartbreaking, was fulfilling in its own sense—something that Nairn said he personally liked.

“Of course it’s really sad, but I really like the way he died. I think he died a nice way, so I was happy,” Nairn told fans and the media during the 15th Philippine Toys, Hobbies, and Collectibles Convention (ToyCon) in Pasay City on Friday.

His death was one of the most memorable and shocking deaths of the series—given that deaths are always shocking in the GOT fandom—as it held one of the show’s greatest revelations to date. At the end of episode 5 titled “The Door,” fans finally knew why Hodor can only say “Hodor.”

While being attacked by White Walkers and wights in Three Eyed Raven’s cave, Bran “warged” into present Hodor while time travelling and watching Wylis, Hodor’s past “normal” self. Hodor was hearing Meera Reed shout “hold the door” to keep the wights away, and somehow, Wylis heard this, too, the event so traumatizing it permanently destroyed his state of mind.

Nairn shared that they had six to seven “stunt doors” for the hold-the-door scene, which he all broke.

Asked about fans’ speculations of a resurrection as in the case of another character Jon Snow, Nairn said he would like to believe that Hodor was truly dead.

“I think that he’s dead. I imagine that he’s not gonna come back from that but it’s ‘Game of Thrones’ so anything can happen,” he said. “I really like this the way it is. The circle is complete.”

The actor also shared that he knew of Hodor’s death for a whole year, and struggled to keep the secret to himself.

“I know that I’m gonna die for the entire year. And I have a really big mouth, I like to tell people things, so I found it difficult … The only person I told was my mother. I also knew that Jon Snow was alive. I knew two big secrets,” he said.

While he considered playing Hodor as that one role that changed his life, Nairn said there was one thing that he would not miss—his smelly outfit which he said had not been washed even once during the duration of shooting.

“They made me a cake of Hodor on the iron throne, cupcakes, cards. Everyone was really nice. I didn’t cry, but it was really sad. When I was taking off that really horribly smelly outfit for the last time, I’m not gonna miss this at all,” he said, adding that he was looking forward to a role that “will have slightly more dialog.”

“Everyone likes fantasy to get away from everyday life, but I think ‘Game of Thrones’ is not like fairies and unicorns. It’s very relatable to everyday life. It’s not too fantastic, just a little bit,” Nairn said of the show’s success.

ToyCon, dubbed as the biggest pop culture event in the country, will run until June 12 at SMX Convention Center in Pasay City.