Left to right, top to bottom: Jacob Anderson, Jonathan Pryce, Carice van Houten, Bella Ramsey, Isaac Hempstead Wright, Gemma Whelan, Iain Glen and John Bradley. Composite: HBO, Sky Atlantic

'It was madness': Game of Thrones stars on how it changed their lives

On the eve of the final series, ten Game of Thrones stars including Carice van Houten, Jonathan Pryce and Gemma Whelan reflect on what it’s meant to them

Killian Fox, Kathryn Bromwich and Michael Hogan

Sunday 31 March 2019

Carice van Houten (Melisandre)

Now filming Sky series Temple and a film called The Glass House. Has had a child with partner, fellow actor Guy Pearce

When Carice van Houten goes out in public, she often notices people giving her searching looks, as if they can’t quite place where they’ve seen her before. When a woman came up once and asked her that, van Houten replied with the words, “The night is dark and full of terrors” – a key line from her terrifying fire priestess Melisandre. “The girl almost screamed,” she recalls with satisfaction. “Not just because she recognised someone from TV, but as if she really thought I was scary. Which was fun!”

Prior to Game of Thrones, the Dutch actor was best known for her smouldering performance in Paul Verhoeven’s 2006 thriller Black Book,playing a Jewish singer who joins the resistance against the Nazis. She joined the show at the start of season two, having turned down an opportunity to audition as Game of Thrones character Cersei Lannister a year earlier.