Radio Times
Craig McLean
“I’ve written a bunch of poetry about it… on Jon Snow, on Arya, on Cersei and Jaime, on Khaleesi,” reveals the singer
Game Of Thrones is the fantasy-world show that’s a real-life phenomenon.
Since premiering in 2011 this mammoth HBO production has won enough Emmys and Golden Globes to smelt its very own Iron — if particularly shiny — Throne. In the UK the series took home the Audience Award at the 2013 BAFTAs, as voted for by RT readers. It was a fitting “homeland” accolade given that the show is largely shot in Northern Ireland with a large, talented — and mainly British — cast.
Still, the world is tuning in to this critical and commercial smash. In the US last year, season three became HBO’s second most viewed series ever, after the fifth season of The Sopranos — although a fair few of those viewings were down to one particularly ardent fan sitting down to repeated sessions. Step forward, Ms Stevie Nicks. It’s a show Nicks turned to at a difficult period of her life.
“I didn’t leave the house for almost five months,” she says of the period after the late-December 2011 death of her mother. “And then I got pneumonia. With my pneumonia and my mother’s death I watched the entire first season of Game of Thrones. That certainly took my mind off everything,” she smiles.
What’s the appeal of this character-rich drama of warring kingdoms and dastardly plotting?
“The guy who wrote these stories [author George RR Martin] is my age now, and I think: how in the world does somebody come up with these 15 or so characters and then everything that’s wrapped around each one of the 15 characters? It blows my mind that he’s able to create this vast, interlinked world. As a songwriter I write little movies. But I can’t imagine sitting down and writing even one small book, a novel. We each have our thing that we’re really good at.”
You appeared on an episode of Glee dedicated to Fleetwood Mac. Could you do something similar with Game of Thrones?
“I would love to write some music for the show. I’ve written a bunch of poetry about it — one for each of the characters. On Jon Snow… on Arya… on Cersei… on Cersei and Jaime, the blonde on blonde… on Khaleesi… I’m always looking for that kind of inspiration, and I’m very inspired by it — as I was very inspired by Twilight.”
Who are your favourite characters?
“Khaleesi [Emilia Clarke] is my new favourite heroine. And Cersei [Lena Headey] is fantastic. She’s just mean as s**t. And you know who else is mean? Not Joffrey [Jack Gleeson] — he’s beyond. He’s just sickly, deeply, sadistically evil. But no, the one that’s going to marry him, Margaery [played by Natalie Dormer]. She is just such a great evil person. And she thinks she is going to be able to handle him. And then you have Brienne of Tarth [Gwendoline Christie] — I love her.”
To catch up before season four begins on 7 April on Sky Atlantic, seasons one to three Box Sets are available On Demand from 10 March
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