Bran Starks longtime companion and protector perished in Sundays hour after heroically saving Bran and Meeras life.
Hodor held the door, and fulfilled his destiny, before being overcome by a horde of undead wights.
Entertainment Weekly:Lets go back to before last season.
Credit: HBO
What was your reaction to taking season 5 off?
Kristian Nairn: It wasnt really a surprise.
I kind of expected that to happen.
Our storyline was ahead of everyone else.
The other storylines had to catch up.
I live in Belfast so I would always see people coming and going.
And wed meet over dinner.
The cast is very close.
How did you find out this would be your last season?
I got The Call.
[Showrunners David Benioff and Dan Weiss] gave me the call.
You know whats going to happen.
WithGame of Thronesnothing is ever certain, and that I made it this far is pretty good.
Ned Stark only made it to episode 9!
What was unique about shooting this season, in general?
Watching the kids grow up has been interesting.
Isaac is no longer a little boy.
He still follows me around a little.
Watching him develop as an actor, hes a superb actor.
Its a very confined set this year.
Were in the weirwood tree.
So we could focus on the characters that way.
That must be some kind of record.
Yeah, it must be!
I cant think of anybody else.
I wonder if anybody has counted up how many Hodors Ive said over five seasons.
I bet theres an official Hodor count.
I should know, but I dont.
How do fans react to you?
Even as a journalist covering this show, when you emailed all I wanted to do was reply Hodor!
It varies from country to country.Game of Thronesis big everywhere now, and youll get Hodors yelled.
I tend to do my grocery shopping in the middle of the night now because its awkward.
But its fun, too.
People love the show and identify with us as the characters.
People always ask me, Whats your worst fan interaction?
I dont have any.
Everyone is super chill, even the slightly annoying ones.Thronesfans tend to be respectful.
What did you think of how Hodor went out?
Funnily enough, I just saw [the scene] today for the first time.
I couldnt be happier how he has gone out.
The interesting thing is its kinda left open.
You dont actually see him [die].
He may come back as a White Walker, maybe he got away.
But its a really good way to do it.
I couldnt have asked for a better goodbye to a character I love.
My favorite part is it ties up the question of why is Hodor Hodor.
Why does he say the word Hodor?
Martin or David and Dan could have come up with this.
The minute you finally learn something about Hodor, they kill him!
The backstory was so very sad, it made him such a tragic figure.
I had tears in my eyes.
I dont see myself on screen, I see Hodor.
I always talk about him in the third person.
I just saw the character die and it was very sad.
I think people are going to a) freak out, b) be very sad.
And people were like, If Hodor dies, we riot.
It will be interesting to see.
I cant wait until it airs.
Its weird talking to you about it as I havent been able to talk about it for so long.
And now hes never going to to end up on the Iron Throne.
Again, we dont know!
But I never expected that anyway, to be fair.
I dont think hed make a very good king, hes somewhat limited in his dialogue.
Im considering this open ended because you never know in the crazy world ofGame of Thrones.
Whats your best memory of working on the show?
[The pilot].
Joffrey and the Lannisters arrive in Winterfell.
It was one of my first days on set.
That was probably one of the biggest gathering of the cast.
Everyone was still alive among the Starks, Robert Baratheon, the Lannisters.
Apart from Daenerys, the whole cast was there.
That was a fantastic day.
Everyone together for one of the first and last times.
Thats one of my best memories.
In all your line readings, what was your favorite Hodor?
Actually theres one I really like in the current season where Meera and I are talking about sausages.
This guy loves his sausages, clearly, and his bacon.
His face lights up and starts talking about food.
I also enjoyed the one in season 3 with Osha .
That was a fun one.
I cant believe I can actually isolate two Hodors from all those times!
I dont suppose you have least favorite?
Each Hodor is like one of my children.
I love them all.
What was your last day on set like?
It was an emotional moment.
I cant wait to see what comes next.
I have a lot more words than Hodor.
More: Bran Stark actorIsaac Hempstead Wright and producers talk about losing Hodor(Its so sad!
); ourdeep-dive recap of The Door; andGwendoline Christie on Tormund crush.
Heres that scene Nairn mentioned where Osha is complaining to Hodor:
