Exclusive! Nikolaj Coster-Waldau on visiting India, doing a Bollywood movie in a 'heartbeat', and the 'polarising' finale of Game of Thrones

Last June, Danish actor Nikolaj Coster-Waldau was spotted eating idlis at a modest Udupi café in Bengaluru. The image, unplanned, quickly spiralled into a national talking point. The actor, who rose to global fame for his portrayal of Jaime Lannister in Game of Thrones, was in the country filming the second season of the docuseries An Optimist’s Guide to the Planet, which follows him as he meets global changemakers. A year later, speaking to Bombay Times from Denmark, Coster-Waldau reflects on that visit with a sense of wonder that hasn’t quite faded.

‘I learnt about an ancestor who travelled to India in the 1600s’Speaking about his connection with India, he shares, “I had briefly visited India first 20 years ago, and then I came back to the country last year. Having travelled widely, I still find India the most surprising and intense place — full of extremes unfolding all at once. It didn’t disappoint.”
Of course, one gets curious about the actor’s visit to India, two decades ago. It was for the show Who Do You Think You Are?, a British documentary series in which celebrities trace their family history. “I learnt about an ancestor who travelled to India in the 1600s, when a small Danish trading settlement was set up there. No ships were returning — it was all about spices — so the king sent my distant relative to investigate. It took him two years to arrive,” he shares.

'I could eat Indian food all day'

Game of Thrones star Nikolaj Coster-Waldau was recently seen savoring a traditional South Indian dish of idli-vada during his visit to Bengaluru. The actor, famous for his portrayal of Jaime Lannister in the hit series, delighted fans by embracing the local cuisine. Social media was abuzz with light-hearted reactions, with many joking, “The Kingslayer has both hands?”

Talking about exploring the culinary experience in India, the actor, who indulged in Bhajji Mirchi, Dosa, and other street items, speaks with enthusiasm, “I ate everything. I had zero issues with my digestive system," he quips, adding, "I absolutely loved it. I could eat Indian all day. It is one of those cultures, one of those countries, you can travel anywhere in the world and you can always eat Indian. There's always an Indian restaurant.”

‘You are never going to be able to replicate Game of Thrones’ success’
Despite doing a magnum opus such as GoT which remains a global phenomenon, Coster-Waldau chose to do a docu series, instead of another big series. He says the reason is to find balance. “I love acting and telling stories. Obviously, you want to reach a big audience. But first of all, something like Game of Thrones, you’re never going to be able to replicate that kind of success. Who knows if that will ever happen again. It's all about balance and it's about finding ways that, that can afford me to do something like this show. An Optimist’s Guide to the Planet was born out of the work I did for the UNDP (United Nations Development Programme) as a goodwill ambassador,” he says.
‘Before the finale of GoT, I knew that it was going to be polarising’

<p>Lena Headey as Cersei Lannister with Nikolaj Coster-Waldau as Jaime Lannister discuss the plan of action.</p><p><br><em>the property of Home Box office, Inc. All rights reserved</em></p>

On the much-debated finale of GoT, he says, “I don't think about it too much to be, to be fair. I had such a wonderful time on that show. I made some good friends. It was such an incredible journey. I think before the end I knew (and) I was convinced that it was going to be very polarizing. It was not going to please everyone for sure. I knew that. I knew that the fact that we ended was already a problem for a lot of people. Everyone is entitled to their opinions. This is a television show. They made up an ending. I understand that you can be disappointed if and when things don't go your way. And I think the reason there was such a massive debate was also because, you people are so invested in this show. They love the characters; they wanted their character to end in a way and then usually it wasn't exactly what they saw. And I understand it. If people have real anger and hatred towards it, it's a television show, it is not that important.”

‘We are actually evolving in a positive way’As the actor travelled the world filming his docu-series, he found himself questioning the dominant narrative around the future. He shares, "I just found it very difficult to pass on my experience of how incredible it was that people were doing good job. It was the negative storyline that always gets the most traction. When we talk about AI and the future it, everybody imagines the dystopian future. And why is that? Every story is telling us that we are doomed or that something bad is about to happen. It can only be a self-fulfilling prophecy. I just don't believe that's true. If we look back in our history, yes humans are violent, we're doing a lot of terrible things, but there is hope. There are humans who believe in the future. If you look at so many of the parameters, we talk about over the last 100 years, if you talk about extreme poverty, if you talk about access to education, access to health care, gender equality, we're doing so much better than we did. We are actually evolving in a positive way. It's. There is reason to hope.”


‘Will do a Bollywood movie in a heartbeat’The actor wishes to visit India, not for a work trip this time but a holiday. “I was talking to my wife about it, and I told her that we have to go on a holiday and explore. I would love to just go and hang out on a big Bollywood movie set to see how things are done in India. Everyone I spoke to in India was very passionate about movies,” he says. Talking about Bollywood movies, ask him if he would be keen to do one and pat comes his response, “In a heartbeat!”