Kristofer Hivju on Jon’s Heartbreaking Decision, Tormund and Brienne

Kristofer Hivju understands a thing or two about his Game of Thrones Wildling character Tormund Giantsbane. Namely, why it didn’t (and maybe wouldn’t) have worked out romantically with Gwendoline Christie‘s character Brienne, even if Nikolaj Coster-Waldu‘s Jaime wasn’t involved.

Spoilers if you haven’t caught up on the most recent episode of Game of Thrones– season 8 episode 4, “The Last of the Starks”.

“Well, you know, he has shown her so much love, affection and attention, and hasn’t received anything back,” Hivju tells The Hollywood Reporter. “In the Free Folk’s culture, if a woman gives you a shoulder, she’s smiling at you. It’s a cultural misunderstanding that gave Tormund more hope than he should have had. Even though it was a running joke [through the series], there has been no irony in Tormund’s love for Brienne. I think he feels she’s the greatest woman on Earth. I tried to give his sorrow and disappointment as much drama as I could.”

He continued:

“It’s what he tells Jon: ‘The women down here don’t like me’. If Brienne had asked him to stay, he would have done it. But when the hope is out with her, it’s a good reason for him to go home. The game of thrones has never been Tormund’s game. Tormund has been in the game of defeating the dead. But the show is still called Game of Thrones, which is why we have two more episodes to go.”

As to that big celebration in the Great Hall at Winterfell in season 8 episode 4, one big question got answered- no, they WEREN’T actually drinking. Well, Hivju wasn’t, at least.

“It was a crazy day. Even though we weren’t drinking alcohol, it suddenly felt like a real party. The funny thing is that [David Benioff and Dan Weiss] are playing two wildlings standing in front of Tormund. We had so much fun playing those scenes. Kit was soaking wet, because after every take, I was splashing wine on him. (Laughs.) We laughed a lot. It was an exhausting thing to do for a day.”

How about that HEARTBREAKING decision of Jon’s to send Ghost back beyond the wall with Tormund (no we’re still not over it)?

“I promise on the Seven Gods, the Old Gods and the Free Folks’ non-gods because we don’t have any: I promise to take care of Ghost. I will feed him. I will clean him. I will treat him. I will be very cozy with him. I will not do anything other than be very nice to him.”

There are just two more episodes left of Game of Thrones, which airs on Sundays on HBO.