Game Of Thrones' Nikolaj Coster-Waldau Says Filming The Brienne And Bear Fight Was A Lot Of Fun
The relationship between Jaime Lannister (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) and Brienne of Tarth (Gwendoline Christie) is one of the most heartwarming friendships in "Game of Thrones." On a show where most people are trying to double-cross and/or murder each other, it's refreshing to see any type of positive relationship at all. However, Jamie and Brienne's friendship is especially important because they help each other transcend the old versions of themselves and become better, more well-rounded people. Additionally, they help each other become better warriors, and Gwendoline Christie had to get ripped to play Brienne of Tarth.
At the beginning of the series, Jaime Lannister is such a selfish, cold-hearted person that he attempts to murder a child by pushing him from a tall tower because the child saw him copulating with his sister, Cersei (Lena Headey). However, after a long time traveling with Brienne, he comes to appreciate her commitment to loyalty and morality, and he also comes to empathize with her perspective. After realizing he would personally rather die than be raped, for example, Jaime saves Brienne from being raped by some soldiers. Ultimately, Brienne even helps Jaime stand up to Cersei rather than just allowing her to do whatever she wants, and Jaime Lannister becomes more important than we realized. In return, Jaime helps Brienne come out of her shell and care about herself, whereas before, she was so committed to serving and protecting others that she would sometimes neglect herself.
Since the on-screen friendship was so strong, and though a lot of their scenes seemed very serious, there were definitely a lot of fun moments to film involving Jaime and Brienne. Specifically, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau said that the scene where Brienne fights a bear was a lot of fun to film.
Nikolaj Coster-Waldau says Bart the Bear was the biggest diva he's ever met
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau discussed some of his most memorable experiences from "Game of Thrones." One of his favorite memories is from filming Season 3, Episode 7, "The Bear and the Maiden Fair," during which Brienne of Tarth (Gwendoline Christie) fights a bear. Although computer-generated images are sometimes used for TV shows instead of actual dangerous animals, they actually did use a real live bear named Bart for Brienne's "Game of Thrones" fight scene, and the bear turned out to be quite an eccentric character himself.
Coster-Waldau told EW, "The experience of shooting with a live bear was spectacular and unbelievable ... You kinda go, 'This is crazy. We're shooting with a live bear.' That bear was the biggest diva I've ever met. He wouldn't leave his trailer without an applause. I'm not even kidding. The whole crew had to applaud and go, 'Yeaaaaaah, Bart! Come on, Bart! You're the best!' Then he'd come out, and I'm not even making this up, between each take they had to throw food in his mouth, and he had to get the whipped cream, and we had to applaud him. But I gotta give Bart credit. He delivered. He put in a great performance."
Although Bart the Bear certainly looks ferocious when he is fighting Brienne on camera, it sounds like he was not so intimidating in real life, as long as he got his daily dose of positive affirmation and snacks.