I'm from Norway, and when kids were reading comics, I was reading Icelandic and Norwegian sagas about the Vikings. The glorification of violence, their mentality, and their way of living - that was part of my own education growing up.

In school, we learned about the Birkebeinerne as some of the bravest men. And these two guys saving the Norwegian king... There's a kind of mythology around it.

Game of Thrones' has been a large part of my life for the last six years and for my family as well. It's very seldom that you come on a show and it's the perfect role for you.

War is not beautiful. Sometimes you see action sequences where battles seem organized. I know that from how the Vikings fought. It's not beautiful. It's hard. It's hard work.