• Peter Dinklage talks 'Game of Thrones,' sex appeal and (not) being a badass

    Helen Sloan / HBO

    Peter Dinklage as Tyrion Lannister on "Game of Thrones."

    By Ree Hines, TODAY contributor

    He stars on one of television's hottest dramas. He plays the most popular character on the show. Heck, he's nabbed an Emmy and a Golden Globe for the role. But no matter how many accolades have come his way since taking on the part of Tyrion Lannister on "Game of Thrones," Peter Dinklage just doesn't believe the hype he hears about himself.

    One of the claims Dinklage doesn't buy -- no matter what female fans say --  is that he's now a sex symbol, or as some call him, a DwILF ("Dwarf I'd like to ..." -- well, you get the idea).

    "That's very clever," the actor said of the acronym in a recent 20 Questions interview with Playboy magazine. "Honestly, I think there's an irony in all of this. I take it with a grain of salt. They'll say, 'Oh, he's sexy,' but women still go for guys who are six-foot-two. It's nice that people are thinking outside the box, but I don't believe any of it for a minute."

    He also doesn't believe his new "badass" image, courtesy of his "Thrones" character. And if fans knew the full story behind his onscreen adventures, he doesn't think they'd believe it either.

    "There's a scene in the show when I chop a man's leg off from behind," he explained. "The gentleman was probably about 70 years old. They filmed him from the back, so you don't see how old he is. Also he's an amputee. He had one leg, so basically I just knocked out the fake leg. I had a big dull sword, and I knocked a wooden leg off an amputee who was 70 years old. So to answer your question, no, I don't feel like a badass."

    In fact, he insisted that the "fight scenes are all a big lie."

    "The whole time, you're trying not to get hit in the eye with a sword, and you wish you had on a welding helmet," Dinklaged added.


    But even if he isn't convinced that he's as great as he appears to be on the small screen, Dinklage believes one thing firmly -- his great "Game of Thrones" role isn't going away any time soon.

    "I don't think Tyrion is going anywhere," he told the magazine. "He once said that he'd like to die 'in my own bed, at the age of 80, with a belly full of wine and a girl's ...' "

    Ahem! Let's just say a woman making him very happy.

    "I like to think that was a premonition," Dinklage mused. "That's how he's going to go. He's a survivor."

    What do you think? Is the "Game of Thrones" star the "badass" sex symbol some say he is, or is he just good at acting that way? Share your thoughts on our Facebook page.

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  • Peter 'Drunklage' steals the show on 'Saturday Night Live'

    NBC

    Peter Dinklage and Bobby Moynihan on Weekend Update.

    By Anna Chan, TODAY

    Cheers! "Game of Thrones" star Peter Dinklage made an appearance on "Saturday Night Live's" Weekend Update to chat taxes alongside Drunk Uncle (played by Bobby Moynihan) and Seth Meyers.

    Drunk Uncle introduced his brother-in-law, Peter "Drunklage," about halfway through the segment when he admitted to watching the hit HBO drama and poked fun at the show, saying, "So I'm not King Joffrey, OK?! ... 'I'm a little jerk king!' Pfft. That's not me."


    That's when "Drunklage" boozily rolled onto the set. After mumbling about 99 tumblers of scotch in his mouth and today's kids not wearing garters, the man behind Tyrion Lannister slurred, "You know what's in my tumbler? REGRET." He then went on to talk taxes and let fly a joke that left the audience "oooooh-ing": "I wish the IRS stood for Immigration Return Services." Check it out:

    In other guest appearances, former NBA star Dennis Rodman poked a little fun at his friendship with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in the show's cold open.

    As Moynihan's supreme leader finished talking about how he nailed his NCAA brackets, the athlete came out to give his pal a fist bump. When asked if he had anything to add, Rodman slightly botched the show's famous intro and yelled, "Live in New York, it's 'Saturday Night'!" The line is "Live from New York, it's 'Saturday Night'!"

    Actress Melissa McCarthy hosted the show once again, and this time took on the recent scandal surrounding Rutgers coach Mike Rice, a ham-cooking contest, "The Voice" and wearing high heels.

    Vince Vaughn is set to host next week. 

    Which was your favorite skit this week? Tell us on our Facebook page!

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  • Peter Dinklage drops 'Game of Thrones' spoiler on 'The Daily Show'

    By Drusilla Moorhouse, TODAY contributor

    The third-season premiere of "Game of Thrones" is just five sleeps away, but Peter Dinklage, who plays Tyrion on HBO's epic fantasy series, dropped a major spoiler on "The Daily Show" Monday.

    After Jon Stewart jokingly predicted, "not to give anything away, but your family does win and you become king," the Emmy winner teased: "We get a drive-through at Westeros!"

    (Chick-fil-A or In-N-Out Burger? Guess we'll have to tune in to find out!)


    Just like his sardonic character, Dinklage is a master of deadpan.

    When his host asked where they filmed the visually stunning series, he quipped, "Jersey. Occasionally we'll go to a land called Connecticut."

    Actually, he admitted most of his scenes take place in Northern Ireland, where, unlike America's obsessed fans -- about whom Dinklage coined the term "nerd glaze" -- the residents "don't care" about the film shoots.

    To keep things legit, Dinklage cracked, "We are called to set by a raven. Ca-caw!"

    How excited are you to see the return of Tyrion Lannister on Sunday night? Tell us on our Facebook page!

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  • Peter Dinklage joins cast of next 'X-Men' movie

    Paul Schiraldi Photography / HBO

    Peter Dinlage

    By Rolling Stone

    Peter Dinklage will join the cast of the upcoming "X-Men: Days of Future Past," director Bryan Singer  tweeted yesterday : "Officially like to welcome #PeterDinklage from #GameOfThrones to #XMEN #DaysofFuturePast Very very excited!" 


    Known for playing Tyrion Lannister on the hit HBO series, there's no word on what role Dinklage will play in the upcoming superhero movie. "Days of Future Past" will reportedly bring together cast members from 2011's "X-Men: First Class" as well as those who appeared in the "original series"  X-Men trilogy released between 2000-06.  

    Peter Dinklage: Master of the Game

    Based on a 1981 story from Marvel Comics' "Uncanny X-Men," the new film's cast also includes James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence and Nicholas Hoult, who all appeared in "First Class." Original trilogy actors that have signed on include Hugh Jackman, Patrick Stweart, Ian McKellen, Anna Paquin, Ellen Page and Shawn Ashmore; their characters will reportedly appear primarily in scenes that take place in a dystopian future. 

    "X-Men: Days of Future Past is currently set for release on July 18, 2014, with filming possibly starting in April.

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  • Happy birthday, Peter Dinklage!

    HBO

    Peter Dinklage

    By Gael Fashingbauer Cooper, NBC News

    George R.R. Martin created one of modern literature's great characters when he invented Tyrion Lannister. Tyrion is a dwarf in a world where strength and size mean survival, and in a family where power and appearance is everything.

    HBO's "Game of Thrones" TV series had to rise and fall on whether Tyrion onscreen could be the witty, intelligent charmer he is in the book series, all while managing to remind viewers that he's someone who's had to struggle from birth against a condition he has no control over.

    The show succeeded because of the great talents of Peter Dinklage, who turns 43 today.

    You may know Dinklage from "The Station Agent," "Elf," or other appearances, but it was as Tyrion that he became known to a wider audience.

    Dinklage was born with achondroplasia, a common cause of dwarfism. He stands 4 feet 5 inches tall, and naturally, he had trouble dealing with his size growing up, he told the New York Times. But thanks to a strong family (all are regular height), he persevered in a field that's difficult for anyone, but especially for someone Hollywood wanted to cast as a leprechaun wearing curled-up shoes and a long beard.


    The Times profile notes that Dinklage was wary even of the Tyrion role, but soon realized that his character was by far the fans' favorite, and not because he is in any way a cute mascot or stereotype. Tyrion is, the Times notes, "the only modern man in a muddy, violent, primal world."

    He's also a lone American in a world of British actors, and he stands toe-to-toe with them, his proper diction and accent never letting you know he was born in New Jersey, not Nottingham.

    Tyrion gets all the best lines, and Dinklage knows how to deliver them. "I chopped wood once," he says, then rethinks. "No, I watched my brother chopping wood."

    And he and he alone gets to stand in for the viewer and deliver a smackdown to horrendous child king Joffrey Baratheon, storming, "We've had vicious kings, and we've had idiot kings, but I don't know if we've ever been cursed with a vicious idiot for a king!"


    Dinklage doesn't dwell on his size, he doesn't need to -- it can't ever be changed. But he chooses his moments to address it carefully. After winning a Golden Globe, he delivered a brief but touching mention of Martin Henderson, a British man who was injured by a bar idiot who thought he'd do some dwarf-tossing.

    It's the perfect melding of role and actor, and both are outstanding. Peter Dinklage and Tyrion Lannister both fight against those who judge them on their looks every day. If the land of Westeros is a tough place for those who look different, perhaps only Hollywood could be seen as tougher.

    Happy birthday, Peter Dinklage!

    Are you a fan of Peter Dinklage and his portrayal of Tyrion? Tell us on Facebook.

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