Author: Dana Seilhan

SOURCE: Entertainment Weekly
AUTHOR: James Hibberd
DATE: 13 May 2019
ORIGINAL: Click here
ARCHIVE: Click here

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Note: This post contains spoilers for Game of Thrones season 8, episode 5, “The Bells”

Cleganebowl happened. The Hound vs. The Mountain. Sandor took on his ghoulish undead murderous older brother Gregor in a long-awaited fight that’s seemingly been destined since they were children. Did you bet on The Hound to win? The Mountain? Turns out, the correct answer — appropriately enough for Game of Thrones — was “neither.” Both men perished. Yet The Hound was victorious on a personal level, confronting his terror of fire and concluding the fight on his own terms, carrying his brother into the flames, a literal pyrrhic victory.

On the set of Game of Thrones last spring, EW spoke to The Hound actor Rory McCann about the show and his character’s exit. Getting McCann for an interview was never a sure thing during our years of visits to the Northern Ireland production. The 50-year-old Scottish actor, like The Hound, isn’t much of a talker. Many GoT actors are entirely different from the characters they so convincingly portray (Lena Headey, for example, is nothing like Cersei Lannister). Yet McCann is similar to The Hound in rather likable ways. The man is a quiet, gruff outdoorsman who keeps to himself, yet is totally straightforward when he has something to say. “I’m very close to being The Hound,” McCann notes at one point. Thankfully, for the final season, McCann opened up to lend some insight into his experience and his character. What’s below are the most words we’ve ever gotten out of him.

During the interview, McCann sat in his trailer on the Belfast set. He seemed to fill the entire space. It’s difficult to not to be unnerved by his elaborate and convincing prosthetics for that “scar” on half his head. Our discussion opened with a reference to a scene McCann had just shot, fighting by the fire trench during the Battle of Winterfell…

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: I hope don’t hate fire in real life because you have to be around a lot of it on this set.
RORY MCCANN: I’m staring into fire most nights now. It doesn’t help having half your face in latex and you just have a pool of sweat underneath. But I maybe have 20 more days to go. No point in complaining about it now.

What did you think of the scripts this year?
Really good. I’m very happy with the way The Hound’s story ends, thank you very much. I love all the endings. I don’t know how they managed to sew it all together. I don’t know how it goes with George R.R. Martin’s ending, if it’s the same or no. I haven’t watched the series much. Only watched a few episodes. I don’t watch the telly. And when the show’s on I’m usually out in the wild sailing or something. I’m looking forward to getting the whole box set and then I’ll watch it when I get the flu.

What was the table read like for you?
It was quite emotional. You’re seeing deaths and it’s all happening in front of you and you’re seeing people get upset and then you get to your bit. It was quite funny when the so-called Cleganebowl started. I secretly brought a trumpet with me. [Co-executive producer Bryan Cogman] is reading [the stage directions] and I’m like, “Can you pause right before I say one of my last lines?” He did and I brought out this trumpet and [blew it]. I got butterflies in my stomach over that fight.

You haven’t shot it yet.
No. I’m getting the fear with that.

The Mountain [actor Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson] is truly huge. He’s kind of staggering.
I hope he knows his f—ing strength. I’m just going to have to go into Glasgow bar fight mode if it goes the wrong way because he’s a big big boy. One time he ordered chicken and they gave him two breasts of chicken and he just looked up and said, “No, a chicken. Not just chicken. A chicken.” Then he’d be eating again a couple hours later. He’s a beast.

That almost sounds like The Hound’s lines from the tavern scene with the chickens.
Yeah. There have been some great lines for The Hound. I’ve enjoyed all the Arya/Hound road trip stuff. Those were my fondest memories. Anything outside usually because I’m so hot that I’m more comfortable.

What’s the scene you’re most proud of?
I loved doing the Brienne fight. That was great fun. But I loved some of the dialogue scenes with Maisie and myself. It came at the right time when I was just starting to relax. The first couple years on the show I was very nervous all the time. And then I found the character after a couple years. Sometimes I just look in the mirror and go, “F—, there’s no reason to play scary, no wonder that little girl is frightened of me. Less Is more.”

What was unique about this season for you?
The Winterfell battle … I like [director Miguel Sapochnik], I can really connect with him. There are some directors who don’t speak much and if you’re doing your job there are no words back. Younger actors will do a scene and afterwards there’s a look of “want” on their face: “Did I do good?” And with some directors, there’s not a word, not even a nod — he’s not thinking about you but his other 50 jobs. But Miguel is very personable and [fellow GoT director] David Nutter is lovely as well.

What was it like reuniting with [Arya Stark actress Maisie Williams]?
She’s all grown up now and knows everything that’s going on. It’s been great seeing her again. The last parting shot with Arya and The Hound is lovely. She calls him “Sandor” for the first time in the whole 7, 8 years. It’s a lovely moment. And the parting moment with Sansa was lovely too.

For Cleganebowl, you had figured this fight would happen.
I’m dead. It would have been nice to keep living and go on a road trip and do a spin-off. But I’m absolutely delighted. I’m blessed to be given this storyline. Blessed to be given storylines in the past seasons with all the [Westeros] politics going on — that we were able to have a Hound-Arya road trip. The Hound seems to get some great one liners. You could have a T-shirt factory with just the one-liners I’ve been given. I’ll be glad to be out of a job where I’m in hours of makeup. I’m always on set first. I’ve been trying to sleep on the floor [of the trailer which seems too small for him] for the past 6, 7 years. I’ll bring my own caravan next time. I’m due for an upgrade.

What are your thoughts on how the fight goes down?
I hope I have enough gas in the tank to do it right. It’s a massive fight. I think it’s going to take three days to film it. He’s going to be throwing me. I’m absolutely sure I’m going to be limping for months after it and that’s the reason my last filming days are the fight. It’s a glorious death. He’s laughing at it. The Hound can see that [The Mountain] can’t be killed by sticking a dagger in his eye. He has to be burnt. Of all the things Cleagane has to do, he has to go into the fire. That’s the sacrifice. But his pain is over.

It’s so right for his storyline.
Maybe he could have found peace and wandered off. But this is a fine way to go. It seems pretty beautiful to me. How lucky to be an actor who gets ends up on one of the biggest and best shows in the world. I see panic in some [fellow castmates] eyes: “What are we going to do now?” Relax. Don’t worry. We’re on the map now.

You’ll always have this. And it will always be currency to a studio or network when they can say in a press release that they cast a Game of Thrones actor.
That’s why I feel it will carry me through a few years. I’ve certainly not wanted to do a job when it’s close to time to shoot Thrones again. I’ve been pretty unavailable the last six or seven years. I’m very protective of that.

So why have you kept to yourself so much?
It’s an ongoing thing. Before each season, I phone all my friends and tell them I don’t want to speak or have any contact with anyone at all. I make myself lonely before every season, purely because I’m going onto Thrones. I don’t want contact with anyone before starting the job. It’s only been in the past couple years I’ve started to talk to people and go out to pubs and be with the other actors. Before that I was the weirdo who was going back to my room or in the gym. I was doing a scene with [Tormund Giantsbane actor Kristofer Hivju] and he went to hug me as his character and I said, “Don’t touch me.” And I’m so like that home. I’m very close to being The Hound. I’m not used to human touch. I’m a bit of a recluse. Now I’ve made some friends. I’ve started to relax. I’ve learned a lot. It’s been a hell of an education. But now I’m just itching to get the hell away in this boat I’ve been building…

What kind of boat is it?
It’s an old wooden ketch. Two masts. All wood, 45 years old. Gorgeous thing with a peat fire inside it. I’d like to go away for a couple years. Maybe I’m meant to take a nice job after this. We’ll just see.

You live a pretty rustic life.
I’m a sailor and spent all my years trying to do up boats. Now I’m thinking of finishing my last few scenes sand sailing off into the sunset. That’s my dream.

That sounds fantastic. Where are you going to go?
That’s my f—ing business.

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That should be the end of this story. It’s a perfect final quote for McCann and/or The Hound. But there’s a final bit. When we spoke to Maisie Williams on the set, she had something to say about working with McCann again after they spent several seasons apart. McCann thinks being around his castmates all these years has changed him, opened him up more. But he’s not the only one who’s changed.

“Rory would always chat with me [when filming the earlier seasons] about adventures he’d have in his life — buying a piece of land and living in bunker — all these crazy things he’d do,” Williams said. “Before I was like, ‘Wow, that’s crazy.’ Now I’m like, ‘Oh, I just bought a piece of land next to the sea too.’ I realized he’s really shaped me quite a lot as a person. I’ve realized his way of life does seem really appealing and I’ve learned a lot from him. I respect his friendship and loved working with him this year.”

SOURCE: Daily Record
AUTHOR: Lucy Mapstone
DATE: 06 May 2019
ORIGINAL: Click here
ARCHIVE: Click here
NOTE: Excerpt only, see “original” or “archive” links above for whole thing.

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[Gwendoline] Christie, who portrays a formidable warrior who stands more than six feet tall, has also talked about the “agony” of accidentally being hit in the face twice while filming a fight scene with Scots co-star Rory McCann, who plays Sandor “The Hound” Clegane.

Of the incident, which happened in a previous Game of Thrones series, she said: “I got smacked in the face twice: once with the metal of his armour, the chain mail on the edge.

“Oh God, bless him. He is a really kind, generous, wonderful, human being. And he was mortified, it was a genuine accident. I fell to my knees and I screamed an expletive. I held my face because I thought my nose was broken.

“It was agony. It hurt so much and there was that sort of ringing you get in your ears.” She said that despite the pain, she knew they had to finish the scene, so she stood up and started spitting “like an animal”.

She added: “I was crying and spitting… like some sort of wrestler about to go back into the fray. There was snot everywhere.

“I just didn’t feel very in control of my own physicality and I was walking up and down, really crying, and then I said, ‘Let’s carry on’: because I knew in that moment if I got scared, I wouldn’t be able to continue.”’

Game of Thrones’ final episode is scheduled to air in the UK on May 20.

SOURCE: The New York Times
AUTHOR: Jennifer Vineyard
DATE: 06 May 2019
ORIGINAL: Click here (Counts toward free-article limit)
ARCHIVE: Click here
NOTE: Interview with David Nutter who directed the Red Wedding, murder of Jon Snow, and burning of Shireen Baratheon episodes, among others. Jennifer and David go all over the place so I’ll just share the bit about Rory here.

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“Game of Thrones” actors have said you bring out something unexpected from their performance by giving them a fresh insight or a new take. Can you share any of the notes you gave actors over the years that shaped their overall performance?

Sure! When I first started on the show, Rory McCann, who plays the Hound, was someone who had a lot of promise. He was fantastic, but he had some issues with his performance. He hadn’t done a whole lot of acting. So I basically sat down with him, sat down across the table from him, and we read through a couple of sequences together. Ten minutes later, I looked at him and I said, “O.K., here’s the deal. Stop acting. Just say the words like Clint Eastwood would say them.” Once he started to do that, at that point, it was basically all done.

Sometimes, when actors reach out to their characters, they’re nowhere in sight. They need to find something inside of them. And then the characters are right there. As a director, I want them to find the character that’s already inside them, instead of trying to manufacture or manipulate or make something up. That’s not really honest or true.

SOURCE: Glasgow Live
AUTHOR: Isaac Callan
DATE: 25 April 2019
ORIGINAL: Click here
ARCHIVE: Click here
NOTE: There isn’t really anything new here. I’m mostly sharing it because if you go look at the original, you get an approximate time frame for when Rory started working as the Scott’s Porage Oats Man. Also, a couple of adorable photos.

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Before playing his unsmiling character in Westeros, he was the face of some rather cheeky Scottish adverts

Cast your mind back, if you will, to a time before Westeros and White Walkers – to a time before Game of Thrones.

Things were different then: people said that winter was coming without a slightly smug smile, tourism to Northern Ireland was much lower and the various actors – now superstars – were barely known.

Some of the stars of the show were, admittedly, just in school, while others were working on projects very different to their current shows.

One actor otherwise engaged was Glasgow’s own Rory McCann – or The Hound, as he is known to fans of Game of Thrones.

McCann, whose character is also known as Sandor Clegane, occupied an iconic position at the heart of Scottish pop culture. He was the Scott’s Porage Oats boy.

The actor, who celebrated his 50th birthday yesterday, was the face of the brand. He played an uncharacteristically smiling, classically strong and very regularly semi-naked man who just loved his oats. Featuring in a series of TV and cinema ads, McCann starred in some rather cheeky shorts promoting the breakfast food.

Even before his role as the face of Scott’s Porage Oats, McCann took some time to come to acting. He studied at the Scottish School of Forestry, painted the Forth Road Bridge and worked as a landscape gardener. He also fronted a band and plays several musical instruments.

The Glaswegian actor, though, is the classic choice for both his role as The Hound and as the muscular face of Scott’s Porage Oats. Despite reaching his half-century, McCann lives a rugged and transient lifestyle, enjoying rock climbing and various outdoor activities.

In fact, when I got in touch with his agent about an interview before the release of Game of Thrones, I was told “he is now away sailing so not taking part in any more press for the moment.”

Looking back at his starring role in the Scott’s Porage Oats adverts, Game of Thrones fans have been delighted with what they saw.

Commenting on an old Youtube clip of McCann coming out of icy highland water wearing nothing but a sporran, one user said: “I always knew there was something sexy about Rory McCann.”

Others, however, think that the young and cheery McCann could throw them next time they tune into Westeros, with one saying “I can never take him seriously in Game of Thrones now.”

Either way, it’s nice to remember that Rory McCann was an icon for healthy Scottish breakfasts before the world knew him as The Hound. The adverts were iconic in their time and remain recognisable to many different people today.

Happy belated birthday, Rory, and hopefully we’ll see The Hound smile or wear a kilt before the end of this final season of Game of Thrones.

SOURCE: Buro. Singapore
AUTHOR: Aravin Sandran
DATE: 14 April 2019
ORIGINAL: Click here
ARCHIVE: Click here
NOTE: I am only reproducing the interview here. For anything else included with the interview, go to the original website article or the Internet Archive link.

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How does the final season of Game of Thrones begin for your character?
He’s part of the crew. He’s not the loner any more. He’s found some direction and meaning in his life. He still hates his brother but overriding it all, he’s part of a mission.

What was the final all-cast table read like?
We made a big effort. When it’s being read out and narrated, there’s a lot of energy and people were going for it. There were a few actors that really — and I thought they were kidding on — that they hadn’t read the script. They were waiting until that day. Kit (Harington) was one of them. He wasn’t just pretending. He was sight-reading it and then you could probably see his face going, “Noooooo.” It’s emotional.

I remember we were stood up for the 10 minutes just clapping and we’re looking at David (Benioff) and Dan (DB Weiss) was going, “Wow.” My hair was on end just thinking about it.

So the millions of people out there looking forward to the final series…
Will not be disappointed. No, because they’ve got it in their own heads, those theories and stuff. It might not suit their version.

Looking back over the series, when was the moment you realised that everything had gone to another level?
A couple of seasons in really. I’ve been in denial for a long time — I haven’t really watched much of it, so I’m going ‘la, la, la…’ I had a year off and even then you’re still in the middle of nowhere and you suddenly pass a stranger in a really remote place and suddenly you hear, “Are you alive or are you dead?”

There’s plenty that you’ll miss of course from making Game of Thrones. Is there one thing that you won’t miss?
Well, for me, it will be the costumes. I was always the first in just with this prosthetic on my face. The one for the burn. Every day. I will not miss that. Then when I was working around it, I usually had to have half a beard. This side all had to be shaved off. And then you go back home and people go, ‘Listen, you need to sort that out.’ I go, ‘I’m working, I’ve told you this time and time again. When I have no beard on this side of my face, it means that I’m working.’ ‘Well, it looks ridiculous big man.’

SOURCE: The Times
AUTHOR: Benji Wilson
DATE: 09 July 2017
ORIGINAL: Click here
ARCHIVE: Cannot archive due to paywall.
NOTE: Didn’t want to post a bunch of other character sections just to get to Rory. If this looks familiar it’s because he’s been quoted saying these words by some other publication, but I don’t know who had the words first, so here you go.

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Rory McCann
Sandor Clegane, ‘the Hound’
Personally, I don’t watch the show – I live on a boat — and this season that has caused some problems. Before this year, my character’s been on a road trip with Arya Stark all the time, so I didn’t need to know who anyone else was. This season Sandor has joined up with the Brotherhood Without Banners, so I kept coming to film scenes going, “So who’s the big f****** ginger guy then?” “Oh, he’s Tormund.” “Well, is he a good guy or what? And who are you?” And some of the other actors are going, “Are you joking? I’ve been on this show for three years, man.”

The good thing was, it meant this year I finally got to know lots of the other cast. Honestly, I feel like that’s the first time I properly socialised or relaxed — normally I hide. I don’t drink, don’t smoke. It turns out half of us are reasonably good musicians, so we were all having great jams. I was on the piano most nights. We’ve got Richard Dormer, great ukulele player. Paul Kaye’s a wonderful guitarist and plays all sorts as well. Kit [Harington] was feeling left out, so he ended up buying a set of bongos, bless him. We called ourselves the Brotherhood Without Banjos.

SOURCE: The Scottish Sun
AUTHOR: Colan Lamont
DATE: 08 June 2017
ORIGINAL: Click here
ARCHIVE: Click here

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TEXAS star Sharleen Spiteri has revealed Game of Thrones actor Rory McCann is every bit as good with a pair of drumsticks as he is with a sword.

The 6ft 6in giant played drums on new single Tell That Girl and Sharleen says The Hound is a natural.

She says: “The Hound gets involved like anyone gets involved in a Texas video, it’s normally because they’re mates.

“Rory came into to see us in rehearsals, and I said why not be in our video.

“He’s a good musician and we said he should play drums or whatever and just be in there, so that people would see it and just be like, is that Rory McCann?

“Trust me, if you can make a video fun it’s good.”

And Rory took along some memorabilia from the hit show.

Sharleen added: “He brought his big helmet he wears on Game of Thrones – it weighed so much, it’s so heavy.

“He’s gigantic, I think he might be 7ft 5in, not 6ft 5in.

“My favourite thing is that he sings backing vocals in the video too.

“That cracks me up because we never asked him to do that, he was just going for it. The best laugh was at one point we had him do one take on his own and he was amazing.”

Sharleen was at The Barrowlands to promote the Texas & the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra gig which takes place tomorrow.

This unmissable collaboration will be broadcast live on BBC Radio Two and BBC Radio Scotland tonight with highlights on BBC Two Scotland next Friday.