For actor Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, best known for his role as Jaime Lannister on HBO's "Game of Thrones," life hasn't changed too drastically, following the rise of the smash-hit TV show.
"I don't know if it's changed my life, per se — I have the same wife, the same kids, the same house, the same old Skoda," Coster-Waldau jokingly told CNBC's Tania Bryer this week at the Cannes Lions communications and advertising festival in south France. In other ways, however, Coster-Waldau admitted, things had changed.
"In my line of work, you usually go from job to job to job, but here, we've spent nine years together and I think this last year, knowing that ("Game of Thrones") was coming to an end, has been quite extraordinary for all of us."
Since it first aired in 2011, the HBO show has become a global phenomenon — receiving a slew of awards, countless positive reviews, inspired spin-offs and impressive ratings. In fact, in its latest season, which debuted in 2017, the Emmy Award-winning show was tuned into by supposedly some 30 million U.S. viewers, with a whole sea of fans from all over the world.
With its final season scheduled to air in 2019, fans of "Game of Thrones" are expected to be glued to their television screens when each of the season's episodes is finally released.
As the fantasy drama draws to a close, Coster-Waldau reflected on his role and time during the show, telling CNBC that not only had the "fantastic" role of Jaime Lannister been one that he "couldn't ask for much more in a character," but that the people he had worked with during the series would also have a lasting impact on him.
"You kind of start really enjoying coming back to Belfast every year and that's now coming to an end. So, people change you," he said. "I would like to think that the success or failure of whatever I'm doing is not going to define me as a person. But the people I meet in my life, define me."
While the actor remained tight-lipped when it came to any revealing details about "Game of Thrones"' final season, Coster-Waldau did talk about what he thought about those he collaborated with.
"I was very happy when I read the script, so I thought (the creators) Dan Weiss and David Benioff — they just couldn't have done a better job," he said.
"I can tell you that we (the cast) have done the best we can."
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