An Iconic ‘Lord of the Rings’ Actor Inspired John Bradley’s Game of Thrones Performance

HBO’s popular fantasy drama Game of Thrones is regarded as one of the greatest shows of all time. The eight-season-long series is an adaptation of George R.R. Martin’s novel series, A Song of Ice and Fire. The show has an ensemble cast including Kit Harington, John Bradley, Emilia Clarke, Hannah Murray, Rose Leslie, and more.

Game of Thrones follows several story arcs throughout the course of eight seasons with complex characters, the use of nudity and violence, and much more. The show managed to cross a record-breaking viewership for HBO and has attracted a lot of attention over the years. Actor John Bradley shares about what inspired him to take up the role of Samwell Tarly.

John Bradley talks about the impact of Game of Thrones’ success

English actor John Bradley portrayed the character of Samwell Tarly on the show and instantly became one of the fan-favorite characters. The character is usually described as a self-professed coward who has an immense love for books and songs. He joins the Night’s Watch alongside Jon Snow, played by Kit Harington so that his younger brother can become the heir of House Tarly.

Bradley has appeared in Game of Thrones, Patient Zero, Moonfall, Marry Me, and more. He spoke to Cherwell, where he was asked about how the success of Game of Thrones impacted his life and career. He said that people who were in it from Season One had seen the show get recognition gradually, adding that it was manageable for the cast. Bradley mentioned,

It was a level of fame that was quite manageable, as people who watched it loved it. People who didn’t watch it would have no idea who you were, especially for somebody like me, who wasn’t on the posters.

John Bradley went on to mention that the success of the show led to a level of recognition that was nice for the cast, adding that everyone was polite and respectful. He also mentioned that in terms of career, Game of Thrones is a mark of approval that one can act. Upon asking what he misses from being on the set of GOT, Bradley added that it’s mostly about the people, pointing out that the fact that they all worked together as a team for nine years is rare.

The actor shared that the friendships developed during the filming were so special, and that’s something very unique about that. He noted that they were incredibly lucky to not have a single bad personality or toxic energy on set throughout their run.

John Bradley reveals one Lord of the Rings actor who inspired his approach to Samwell Tarly on Game of Thrones

Actor John Bradley, during the interview, was asked about his process and approach towards the character he’s playing. He said that he always tries to make his performance as real as possible and mentioned that he doesn’t recall making his Game of Thrones performance a fantasy performance.

The reason why Bradley likes to make his portrayal as real as possible is because there are a lot of heightened performances going on. He was infact inspired by one Lord of the Rings actor. He went on to say,

For example, when you take someone like Martin Freeman in The Hobbit movies, he’s playing a quite natural character. He’s not playing the world; he’s just playing a person.

Bradley noted that he has the same approach with his characters, adding that the characters might differ, but his approach to making them as real as possible remains the same. The actor also mentioned that he is extremely happy to be recognized as Samwell Tarly because that portrayal becomes a part of you. He explained that the audience believes that the character is real and the actor playing that character is that character. He mentioned,

Now I find myself playing characters that are more similar to me, but people think that’s acting, and they think I am Samwell and that when I’m playing close to myself, that’s the big transformative part.

The English actor lastly mentioned that everything boils down to the actor trusting oneself and the people in the industry trusting them to play other parts. It’s a long process. John Bradley noted that he doesn’t think he can play Samwell Tarly anymore.

Game of Thrones is available to stream on HBO.