Peter Dinklage Had "Severe Reservations" About Doing Game of Thrones

Peter Dinklage's Tyrion Lannister is one of the most memorable and entertaining characters in Game of Thrones's huge cast. A fan favorite from the A Song of Ice and Fire book series, Tyrion is a difficult character to pull off — a vicious joker with a quick mind, a pained soul, and a penitent for serious power plays, he's both a comedic figure and one of the show's central protagonists.

Fortunately, the Game of Thrones creators David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, as well as A Song of Ice and Fire writer G.R.R. Martin, knew exactly who they wanted for the role: Peter Dinklage. They didn't even bother auditioning him before offering him the role. However, Peter told NPR in a recent interview that he wasn't as sure about the show as the creators were about him.

"I hadn't read the books, so I wasn't too familiar with it, but I knew David Benioff and Dan Weiss, and they sort of set me straight about this character. Because I had some severe reservations about going into the realm of fantasy." He added that those reservations came from "my own silly prejudice against the genre in terms of someone my height. Usually it's a bit...bearded and pointy shoed. And this character, Tyrion Lannister, isn't that way at all."

We would say not! We're glad the creators managed convince Peter to give Tyrion a chance, because we can't imagine the show without him.

For much more from Peter, listen to the full interview at NPR.

Check out all of Wetpaint Entertainment’s Game of Thrones coverage.

Catch the next episode of Game of Thrones on Sunday, May 27 at 9 p.m. ET/PT on HBO.

Source: Vulture, NPR.

Rebecca Martin is an editor at Wetpaint Entertainment. Follow her on Twitter @BeccaMartin47.

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