As I discussed in last week’s Stephen Dillane piece – where Dillane/Stannis criticized Game of Thrones – I enjoy it when Game of Thrones actors actually get into the show. Charles Dance loved being on the show, as did Sean Bean. Many of the actors who have gotten killed off have said that they’re still watching and paying attention to what happens, and they’re still absorbed in the stories. I like that. And I’m loving Liam Cunningham’s new interview with Vulture. Liam plays Ser Davos, who was once Stannis’s right-hand man. In the new season… well, Davos might be looking for a new leader, let’s say that. And unlike the buffet of lies being told by Kit Harington, Liam Cunningham knows how to properly tease some spoilers. You can read the full piece here, and here are some highlights. I kind of think Liam is jokingly “slut-shaming” Melisandre at one point.

The GoT trailer, which heavily features Davos: “Somebody called it the mic drop. “Davos gets the mic drop in the trailer.” Made me smile when I saw that…. I’ve always had in my mind that he was a Tom Hagen character from The Godfather. He’s not one of the boys. He’s not one of the soldiers. He’s a consigliore. He commands respect because of his loyalty and his decency and his lateral thinking, and because he’s not fearful of his own demise. He tells hard truths. So it’s, “What?! Davos is pulling a sword?” What a teaser! [it’s Jon’s sword, Longclaw] There’s a big close-up on Jon’s sword, yeah. He has no use for it anymore, has he?”

Whether Jon Snow is dead: “Did you hear the David Nutter story? He directed the last episode. We were at Comic-Con, and he said, “I was at a party, I was approached by a certain man, you may know him, his name is Barack Obama, and he came over to me and he said, ‘Are you David Nutter? Mr. Nutter, I have a question for you … ‘ And I said, ‘Before you ask, Mr. President, Jon Snow’s dead. He’s deader than dead. Dead, dead, dead.’ And Obama said, ‘Thank you very much,’ and off he went.” Did you know he gets advance copies? POTUS. He gets DVD copies before we do. And we’re in it! [Laughs.] But they don’t want to believe it’s true. How many knives does a man need in his chest to be dead? And if you say Jon Snow can’t be dead, that means Ned Stark can’t be dead. That usually quiets people for a couple of seconds. But people love the intrigue. The best thing you can do to an audience is to make them work.”

They sense something in Jon Snow: “Even before Stannis had gone, Melisandre had sensed something about Jon Snow: “There’s something important about you.” And as a parallel, Stannis and Davos had been doing that with Jon. He evidently was a good man and a leader, and Davos is magnetically drawn to that kind of character, because of the inherent decency in the man. And to have that taken … It does put the two of them in an incredible, bizarre situation, where they’re both suffering, they’re both grieving, and they’re both lost, and for the same reasons.

Why Melisandre is disrobing in the trailer: “There’s all sorts of speculation! People think she’s trying to have sex with Davos, too. She’s a trollop! She’s throwing herself around! [Laughs.] No. I mean, she does disrobe quite a bit, but she uses sex as a weapon. And it’s part of her magic. Absolutely. She has to do it with Stannis for the shadow baby. And that scene in the bath, with Selyse, that gives us a glimpse into her humanity. Melisandre’s on an extraordinary journey, which you’re going to see from very, very early on in the new season, I will tell you that. Very surprising. It’s really cool. When I read it, I went, “Whoa!” And then I was given a little bit more evidence … but I haven’t seen the first episode. We haven’t seen it. Nobody’s seen it. We’re all in it together.”

The shocking moments: “One of the most beautiful, glorious things about the show is those Red Wedding moments. Glorious. The things where you go, “What?!” When you’re screaming at the screen. When you’re crying. Even when you feel cheated, because you’re drawn back. There were people after [the Sansa rape episode] who said, “That’s it, I’m finished with the show.” And of course they’re coming back! Of course they are!”

[From Vulture]

God, I love him. And no, I don’t think he’s slut-shaming Melisandre. I think he was joking about her character and analyzing how she uses sex and her body as a weapon. It’s also clear (from the full interview) that he loves the show and cares deeply about these characters. And he’s really successful at making me excited for Davos’ and Melisandre’s journeys this year. GAH.

Oh, and Liam played a game with Rolling Stone and this is amazing. Minorly NSFW for language.

Also, here’s the new “teaser” for GoT (there’s no Davos!!).

Photos courtesy of WENN, HBO.