It was previously reported that McShane’s character has a big impact in spite of his having relatively little screen time, and his remarks during the interview certainly seem to support that claim. McShane revealed that (spoiler alert!) his character is an “ex-warrior who has become a peacenik” and that he leads a peaceful group that is “sort of like a cult.” What’s special about this is that he evidently has some unique gifts: “I bring back a much loved character everybody thinks is dead,” he told his BBC interviewers.
With so many characters having been killed off over the course of the fantasy drama’s five seasons so far, his hint doesn’t narrow it down much. Nonetheless, McShane sparked yet another round of speculative buzz about the fate of fan favorite Jon Snow (played by Kit Harington). Whether Snow is dead has been the talk of the off-season after the brutal attack on him in the finale, and McShane’s comments played brilliantly into the debate.
The actor had prefaced his comments with the warning that he couldn’t talk about Game of Thrones, but he managed to do so without giving anything vital away. McShane revealed enough to keep audiences guessing, but not enough to get himself in trouble. Well played.
In addition to his role on Game of Thrones, it was recently announced that McShane will play Mr. Wednesday in American Gods, an upcoming Starz series based on Neil Gaiman’s novel of the same name.
Watch the BBC Breakfast clip below.
Game of Thrones season 6 premieres on April 24 on HBO.
