WARNING: ‘Game of Thrones’ Season 6 Finale Spoilers AHEAD!
Fresh on the heels of the momentous finale to ‘Game of Thrones’ Season 6, a lot of actors are now talking about their unemployment, and what they plan on doing next now that their characters have been vaporized due to Cersei Lannister’s scheme with the wildfire. Chief among them is Finn Jones, who has been in the news a lot in the past few months regarding his recent casting as Danny Rand in Marvel’s ‘Iron Fist,’ a decision which should now make a lot of sense to fans. When speaking recently to Entertainment Weekly about what went down on ‘Thrones,’ Jones revealed that he did not even know he was getting killed off until the day before they shot.
“And I was like, ‘Why didn’t I get episode 10 yet? That’s really weird…It’s 5 p.m. and we’re doing it tomorrow. Why haven’t I received it?’ And just as I was saying that I get a call from [showrunners David Benioff and Dan Weiss]. And as I’m picking up, I’m staying positive, thinking, ‘Maybe they’re checking in to say ‘Hi.’ And they were just like [a long pause of dead silence….]. And I was like “Ahhhh, God no! I was so close to season 7!'”
Ever the optimist, Jones seems to see going out the way he did in a positive light at least, though it sucks that his proud character sunk so low, and was basically humiliated and shamed before his death. But in Jones’ words:
“Better to blaze out, quite literally, than fade out in seasons to come.”
Of course, that did not mean he was not scared of losing his job, as he told Entertainment Weekly. Fortunately for him, his next gig came along pretty quickly, even before he got home from his final ‘Thrones’ shoots.
“I just finished filming and I went to an airport and I was sitting in a lounge and I was decompressing and taking it all in, thinking, ‘Here we go, new stage of my life. And I got an email for the audition for Iron Fist. And I’m like, ‘Oh, new audition.’ And I didn’t think that much about it at the time. But it’s just fun how things click into place. It was a good couple months after that before I secured that role. There was something in the air guiding me along.”
And now that he will be playing a completely different type of character, in a completely different genre, Jones was asked how he felt about Danny Rand and the story of ‘Iron Fist,’ especially after coming from so prolific a series as ‘Game of Thrones.’
“I love the character. What really drew me was the character and the story. I really enjoy how he’s a superhero with a real heart but has spiritual elements as well. I think it’s going to be an exciting character to play because there’s this contraction of on one hand he’s from a very wealthy family, he’s a billionaire, on the other hand he’s been in this world of K’un-Lun for a long time where he’s learned kung fu and buddhist philosophy. There’s a contradiction in those elements that’s going to be really fun to play.”
Are you excited to see Finn Jones become a superhero in ‘Iron Fist?’ Do you think his character was shortchanged in his final season on ‘Game of Thrones?’ Share your opinions down in the comments section below!
