Game of Thrones star says he was left ‘disheartened’ after working on show

Game of Thrones’ Stephen Dillane has admitted he has some regrets about his time in Westeros.

The actor, who starred as Stannis Baratheon for four seasons on the HBO epic, confessed to having a bit of a tricky time with the show’s complex story line. The 60-year-old said he felt he “didn’t know what he was doing” until after leaving the show, which left him feeling disheartened by the end. He told The Times:

“I’ve flicked [the show] on [since leaving] to see if I could figure out what was going on, but I couldn’t. “Liam Cunningham [who plays Stannis’ right-hand man, Ser Davos Seaworth] is so passionate about the show. “He invests in it in a way I think is quite moving, but it wasn’t my experience.

“I was entirely dependent on Liam to tell me what the scenes were about — I didn’t know what I was doing until we’d finished filming and it was too late. “The damage had been done. I thought no one would believe in me and I was rather disheartened by the end. “I felt I’d built the castle on non-existent foundations.”

But while some of the scenes starring Stannis were definitely (more than a bit) difficult to watch, like when he stoically watched as his daughter was burned at the stake, it had nothing to do with his acting skills - so we reckon he’s being a bit too hard on himself here. The actor has featured in a number of projects since leaving the HBO show, including the World War II drama Darkest Hour, due out near Christmas, and the on-going TV drama, The Tunnel.