Nikolaj Coster-Waldau – Jamie Lannister of Game of Thrones – covers the April issue of Details. It’s a good photoshoot – most of the photos are black & white and look like he was mid-workout. I know this is going to sound dumb, but I didn’t realize/remember that he’s Danish. I don’t know what I thought he was, but it wasn’t Danish. Anyway, you can read the full Details story here (the Details journo went to Copenhagen to interview him) and here are some highlights:

He’s super-Danish: “You know that thing they say about Danes? How we’re the happiest people on earth? It’s because we have low expectations. Don’t expect too much. You’ll be pleasantly surprised. There’s an expression in Denmark. ‘Don’t fly any higher than your ears will carry you.’ It means don’t get cocky. Keep your feet solidly planted on the ground. Don’t think you’re special. Don’t think you’re better than anyone else. It’s a fundamentally different approach than you have in America.”

He always looked up to American actors though: “I watched De Niro in Once Upon a Time in America till the tape didn’t work anymore. I was 100 percent identifying with this New York gangster as a teenager, growing up in the Danish countryside.”

Early success in Denmark: “It made me kind of an a–hole. My first job out of drama school was a big hit, so I thought that was the way it worked. You make a movie and it becomes a big hit. Every time. But, of course, it didn’t happen that way.”

He’s happily married: He says he can’t imagine ever straying from his marriage vows—he met his wife, Nukaaka, a former Miss Greenland, when they did a radio show together in 1997—no matter how many women throw themselves at his feet (or how many men ask to photograph his shoes). And make no mistake, women are throwing themselves.

Working with Tom Cruise on Oblivion: “The pressure of having all that craziness around you all the time—I wouldn’t want to live that kind of life. I asked Tom about it. He said, ‘It’s been like this for 30 years.'”

Working with Cameron Diaz on The Other Woman: “My wife started getting letters from women all over. ‘You should know that your husband is cheating on you with Cameron Diaz. Cameron Diaz is not to be trusted.’ My wife just laughed, but still . . .”

[From Details]

He also says that he, his wife and their kids and dogs are currently living in a tiny trailer while their Copenhagen home undergoes an entire renovation. I wonder where he stays during filming of GoT? I think the Lannister sections of GoT film in and around Belfast – surely he rents a home there during filming? Anyway… he sounds very humble and cool. I might need some Danish dong in my life.

Photos courtesy of Details.