They finished his storyline in the last season to keep them all balanced throughout 1-4 so there wasn't anything to put in 5. They'll pick him back up (well he can't walk on his own...) in season 6
Hey, I (SPOILER) believe that (SPOILER) Jon isn't really dead. The red Priestess lady (Milisandre, Right?) can bring people back to life with some good mojo, and they just burned poor stannis's daughter so her mojo meter should be full. I expect to see more Jon Snow
It's very good, but it's definitely a character study. Dinklage is an exceptional actor. It's hard to to portray someone so introverted and quiet without coming across as flat, but he does it.
If you go into these movies expecting ridiculous , but fun, nonsense - they're great. I loved Knights of Badassdom, but i was looking to have a few drinks and watch a ridiculous movie about LARPing. I'm sure Pixels will be just about as 'terrible', but great if you're going in to watch a ridiculous goofy movie, with a little nostalgia thrown in.
Dinklage is the man. I found it pretty cool that his role in X-men as Bolivar Trask was (if I remember right) absent of any mention of achondroplasia - I don't even think there were any height references of any kind. He was just another character.
From what I remember, he was cast based on his audition. They weren't looking for someone with dwarfism, so they didn't write the character as a dwarf, so they didn't cock it up with the usual stupidity.
The Station Agent is a phenomenal film. I loved everything about it. Dinklage's performance was amazing, and the supporting cast worked well.
There's something about his situation in life that I really really related to. Helps I was into trains as a kid (and could totally see myself as one of those people who turns his basement into a giant train room).
Thematically the film feels in the same vein as A Fine and Private Place by Peter S. Beagle, which is equally a story I adore.
Oh, wow! I love A Fine and Private Place, and I've never known anyone else who'd read it. I used to read it over and over in high school, and even practice drawing the illustrations in it. I also loved The Station Agent, and you're right, they do have a similar tone. You just made my night with that reference, internet stranger.
That was my first Beagle novel! I actually read that long before I ever got around to The Last Unicorn. And The Station Agent is also terrific. That movie is why I was stoked when I started seeing Peter Dinklage show up in movies and then on GoT.
The Station Agent was the first time I came across Peter Dinklage. He was so charismatic and engaging, I remember I was comparing him to Tom Cruise after I watched it. I was totally unsurprised when he started becoming a big star thanks to GoT
I really liked it. Dinklage definitely gives a very subtle performance that works really well. And Bobby Cannavale's enthusiasm is pretty damn infectious. I loved his character.
He's really great in Boardwalk Empire as Gyp. One of the most menacing characters on that show. He's just solid in everything. Hilarious in The Other Guys and Modern Family too.
I had only seen Cannavale in Third Watch before I saw him in The Station Agent and I was really impressed with him afterwards. So earnest and just desperately wants to be friends with Finn. Love this flick.
Definitely. People are making fun of Dinklage and he defends him and genuinely wants to just be friends with him. Cannavale feels like an outsider there and sees Dinklage as one as well. He doesn't see him as a dwarf outsider, just as an outsider. Like when he asks him that earnest question about whether his people have clubs. And he was actually talking about train people, not dwarves.
I randomly saw The Station Agent one day, without having heard of it at all. It was really good, and afterwards I went looking up who Peter Dinklage was because his performance was exceptional.
I'm going to chime in and say I didn't really like it. The acting was great but the whole thing was a great bore to me. It's just some regular small-town people living their lives. They have their quirks and hobbies, and we see those played out as they hang out together. But that's it. To me, there was nothing spectacular about "normal people doing stuff".
It's exceptional in my opinion. It has some of the annoying characteristics of independent movies (that make them seem like they are taking themselves too seriously, even when it's a comedy), but it's minimal and it's just a good movie.
I liked it, but you have to like character studies. Don't go expecting a complex plot that will change your outlook or anything. But the characters feel real, and it has great, subtle performances.
I feel like for a long time, people's exposure to people with dwarfism in the media was limited to Verne Troyer as Mini-Me and so dwarfs were kind of a punchline. I think some of Peter Dinklage's early roles reflect that. But that man has almost singlehandedly cemented the radical concept that dwarfs are just average people into the American media consciousness. Between Tyrion and the bad guy from X-Men Days of Future Past, he's done an excellent job portraying a flawed man who just happens to have dwarfism, and I think that's awesome.
Honestly it is so weird to me that height is a punchline so often. I'm a very tall woman and we're a punchline pretty often too, though not to the degree you see people with dwarfism or even just men without dwarfism who are short used as a punchline. It's rare you see anyone outside the range of 5'5"-6'3" or so on TV and their height isn't remarked upon at least 6 times per season.
Personally, I just thought of Dinklage's character in Days of Future Past as a dwarf. As in, it didn't even register for me. He was first off a bad guy, and 2nd, it was Peter Dinklage. I never identified the character as a dwarf, and I don't believe it is ever mentioned in the movie.
That just goes to show how amazing of an actor he really is.
It's not ever mentioned. After I saw that movie I was like "Wow. He just played a guy who HAPPENS to be short, and no one mentioned it." Of course I think his dwarfism had something to do with his motivations- the mutants, like him, have a genetic abnormality- but not once did anyone bring up his height in the movie.
I guess it may have to do with me being pretty tall myself, but I never got the punchline aspect with tall ladies (I loooove tall women). Like do you get a lot of "amazon woman" or what?
I first saw Peter Dinklage in Threshold, a short-lived (and awesome!) sci-fi show about a subtle alien invasion and he was also brilliant in that - he played a grumpy mathematician genius who just happened to also have dwarfism. Check it out if you can find it!
If I remember the books correctly, I can think of at least one guy who was described as white in the text but was played by a black man on screen: Xaro Xhoan Daxos.
Jon and Kate plus eight helped me out. Girls were wondering about cute half Asian babies.
Then the walking dead was awesome, with Glenn getting with a babe like Maggie as well. Honestly I think I like that portrayal very well. An Asian who isn't good at math and doesn't know Kung fu. But is a badass.
I haven't really thought of his role having such a large impact but after thinking about my own personal responses, it really is huge. I remember seeing The Station Agent over 10 years ago and being somewhat surprised to see a dwarf playing the lead role, but today, I wouldn't think twice. The Little Couple on TLC has also helped me better understand the lives and issues people with achondroplasia go through. If you haven't watched it, I'd recommend it. Yeah it's reality TV but IMO, those two are the most nice and genuine people on TV.
Dinkage is also in X-Men: Days of Future Past and there are no comments about his stature, if I remember rightly. Like GoT, he is just another actor in the film.
Kind of ironic, cause in the eyes of most high fantasy, being short does make you a subspecies! I always hated fantasy for saying Orks are inherently violent, or elves inherently graceful, or hobbits inherently jovial. t's just so unbelievable.
Yeah. I always felt bad that the typical small person role was always just that it was someone's boss and there was an awkward comedy skit about avoiding making short puns.
In fact, I hate when any one physical trait dictates an entire character. It's just lazy writing.
I never had the chance to actually ask this, and I mean no offense, but, do you call yourselves "dwarfs"? And is it therefore okay to speak of you as such? I always assumed it would be offensive. But then again I have no idea what would be an un-offensive term to use.
EDIT: And now I just read further down that people are already interrogating you about this. Whoops.
I mean, youre just an adult that is shorter than the average adult, I dont get why society acts like its a "novelty" or that youre a "one dimensional character." Youre just short, so? I feel similar to people who are racist, the other person is just a different skin colour, their just darker or lighter than you, why does that matter? We're all still just people.
Oh man, I love The Station Agent. It's so good and completely under-rated. I recommend it to people all the time. It's the first really positive portrayal of a person with dwarfism and makes them out to be a real fucking human being with actual feelings.
I remember reading The Superior Spiderman and being so happy that they actually pursued the romantic relationship between Peter and Anna Maria. I'm not a dwarf in the slightest (I'm 6' 3") but it always seemed so out of place that dwarves are relegated to the position of fetish in so many people's minds.
Ugh maybe but my friend kept asking me after watching GoT if my brother who has dwarfism was an imp or a half-man and stuff like that. The other thing that bothers me is that people treat my brother too good. Like he gets treated super well by most people just because he has dwarfism. He is really popular and all the teachers like him. Sadly I believe that a big part of the reason for that is his dwarfism.
Did you ever see the Vin Diesel movie "Find Me Guilty"? One of the actors in the film is a dwarf. He plays a lawyer. The fact that he's a dwarf is never mentioned. I've always thought that was super progressive, and it came out years before GoT. It's sad how rarely dwarfs are cast in roles that don't "require" being a dwarf.
You should really do an AMA. I, and I assume others, have a lot of questions about how you live our life and how people act around you.
Having never seen those two movies, all I can think of aside from Tyrion is a one-off character named Alexander from Star Trek's "Plato's Stepchildren".
I'm so happy to read this. It's something I have been wondering about since watching the show. It makes me feel validated in believing diversity and having fully developed minority characters in the in the media makes a difference.
I know I'm a bit late to this party but I just wanted to chime in with an anecdote: my father, brother and I are all fairly tall guys (my dad is the shortest of us at 5'11") and while watching an episode one night my old man opined something like "Man, Tyrion is such a cool character. He makes you want to be him, which is not something I ever expected to say about a dwarf." We all agreed. I was never particularly 'grossed out' or whatever by dwarfism, but I hadn't considered that perspective. I'd totally trade places with Tyrion, dwarf or not. I truly believe that through his portrayal of Tyrion, Peter Dinklage has made life easier for the (western) dwarf. If I saw one tomorrow I wouldn't even bat an eye.
But yeah, you're absolutely right about media portrayals. Most of the time, dwarf actors are tapped for comical roles (such as in Austin Powers and Bad Santa) but even if they're awesome like Verne Troyer and Tony Cox, it's not really a 'meaty' role. While watching the first few episodes of GoT, I remember being thrilled for Dinklage having the opportunity to portray a character who wasn't just there to generate cheap laughs. I'm glad that the show has had a positive effect on your life, reading your post made me smile.
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u/[deleted] Jul 13 '15
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