WinterisAlwaysComing Posted April 22, 2014 Share Posted April 22, 2014 He goofed by saying, "I don't need a dialect coach." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
voodooqueen126 Posted April 22, 2014 Share Posted April 22, 2014 Come to think of it, Baelish could easily have misled Sansa into believing that Dontos was safe and well rewarded for his part on her escape if he felt like it. It must follow that it does not suit his purposes to do so. Part of the reason is pragmatic realism. He has little reason to present a façade to Sansa. She will soon enough realize that it is just an act, that he is no Noble Knight on a white horse. Besides, we have reason to assume that he does not particularly like to play along the social expectations of Westerosi nobility. He is too lowborn to love them that much. Beyond that, she does indeed see Sansa as a young proxy of Catherine. And he wants to impress the two of them, even if that means presenting himself as a monster unworthy of respect. He has long accepted that he has no other means of impressing the Starks. He can't be loved by the Starks, so he will settle for scaring, destroying and corrupting them. Letting his guard down is in part lack of wisdom, but also sort of the point. He has spent far too much energy attempting to present himself as what others want him to be. His main goal is to be accepted as the monster that he truly is. In his mind he is "protecting" Sansa by showing her how things "truly are". Or perhaps, like many sociopaths, he doesn't quite realise that his behaviour upsets people. For example, a serial killer on trial is said to have made lots of jokes at the expense of the victims, completely unaware that this further damaged him in the eyes of the jury. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BastardSnow Posted April 22, 2014 Share Posted April 22, 2014 He's pretty much going for Stockholm syndrome. The actor Aidan Gillen is quite possibly one of the worst actors ever with that ridiculous mustached evil villain that will tie you to the train tracks shtick. Just as others have said, I was laughing and rolling my eyes at the same time it was so bad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JonCon's Red Beard Posted April 22, 2014 Share Posted April 22, 2014 Or perhaps, like many sociopaths, he doesn't quite realise that his behaviour upsets people. For example, a serial killer on trial is said to have made lots of jokes at the expense of the victims, completely unaware that this further damaged him in the eyes of the jury.That's kinda the impression I got from him during Feast. And he doesn't need to be a sociopath for that. I've meet people quite full of themselves who didn't realise they didn't have the upper hand in the situation in the way they thought. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Koi No Yokan Posted April 22, 2014 Share Posted April 22, 2014 I think all of you are pegging Aiden Gillen entirely wrong. While there may be legit complaints that his Welsh accent is not correct (IF that is in fact what they've directed him to use) - I think the 'bad acting' many of you are seeing is a more contrived 'posture' he's using for the cheesy/creepy Littlefinger personality that was most definitely how he was portrayed in the books. Petyr was all about drama and being snively and rat like. He reminds me of "Templeton" from Charlotte's Web... very sneering and full of himself and also somewhat fake and melodramatic. So what many of you are saying you dislike about his character portrayal is actually him being spot on despicable. Some of his scenes with Varys in particular in seasons past were amazing. I agree. I never understood the whole argument about LF being ambiguous in the books - he's a downright fucking creep and an untrustworthy, back-stabbing asshole from the moment you meet him in GoT. Gillen may change his accent up a bit (I don't think it's that bothersome or entirely noticeable, but I guess it annoys others) but otherwise I think he's playing the part well. He's all smiles and japes around his superiors, but his true character really starts to shine in front of Sansa. And yes, those scenes with Varys are brilliant. Not to mention the "chaos is a ladder" speech is still probably my single favourite monologue in the show. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Modesty Lannister Posted April 22, 2014 Share Posted April 22, 2014 Gillen is very consistent. He always whispers to Sansa, invades her personal space and uses every opportunity to touch her. Viewers are confused, because they mostly remember his appearance when talking to Varys or his whores, which is completely different. The way Gillen acted in the latest episode is not only consistent with his scenes with Sophie from season 1, it's a bit emphasised, which it would be really, because her arrival is something he wished for for a long time in his scheme of things and it also means his plot has succeeded, which makes him giddy. The change in accent … I don't see it, but I do not think it has anything to do with Wales. The Vale is described as equivalent of Scotland, not Wales, while Dorne is being compared to both Moorish Spain and Wales (hence, all these goat jokes). So, I don't see a problem at all. Too many people hate LF and then just translate that hate to poor Mr Gillen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cyvasse Khal Posted April 22, 2014 Share Posted April 22, 2014 Aiden Gillen as an actor is not the problem. Any scene LF has with Varys he is very good in, he and Conleth play off each other wonderfully. He also nails the intense scenes, the way he gets right in Sansa's face really presents that feeling of uneasiness his character is supposed to give off. It's just that the accent breaks down in the more intense scenes and admittedly I find it a bit of a distraction. The husky smokers voice I don't mind in normal conversation because it sounds sort of sinister. But when he has to lift the volume and accelerate his voice whilst trying to keep that huskiness AND trying to do an unnatural accent all at once, it just gets a bit much. Charles Dance is lucky because his natural voice is already so commanding so he doesn't have to change anything. Gillen does though, so i cut him some slack because the rest of his LF portrayal is pretty good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarieAntoinette Posted April 22, 2014 Share Posted April 22, 2014 I agree. I never understood the whole argument about LF being ambiguous in the books - he's a downright fucking creep and an untrustworthy, back-stabbing asshole from the moment you meet him in GoT. Gillen may change his accent up a bit (I don't think it's that bothersome or entirely noticeable, but I guess it annoys others) but otherwise I think he's playing the part well. He's all smiles and japes around his superiors, but his true character really starts to shine in front of Sansa. And yes, those scenes with Varys are brilliant. Not to mention the "chaos is a ladder" speech is still probably my single favourite monologue in the show. I agree. Aside from the accent slipping, I really like Aiden Gillen as LF. "Chaos is a ladder" is one of my favourite scenes too. The actors playing Varys and LF are wonderful in their scenes together. He is visually perfect for the part too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Theda Baratheon Posted April 22, 2014 Share Posted April 22, 2014 The only thing he goofed is his ridiculous accent. WHAT IS UP FOR HIS EVER CHANGING ACCENT? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
briantw Posted April 22, 2014 Share Posted April 22, 2014 I agree that the actor isn't the problem. The problem is that they keep letting him use that terrible raspy voice. In the books, Littlefinger slipped through the cracks because he was an amiable guy that always had a joke at hand and who everyone got along with. On the show, he feels like the polar opposite of that character, and it starts with the accent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daenerys Targaryen's slave Posted April 22, 2014 Share Posted April 22, 2014 We're 4 seasons in, don't expect any change. I actually like the actor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hiram McDrogon Posted April 22, 2014 Share Posted April 22, 2014 I agree that the actor isn't the problem. The problem is that they keep letting him use that terrible raspy voice. In the books, Littlefinger slipped through the cracks because he was an amiable guy that always had a joke at hand and who everyone got along with. On the show, he feels like the polar opposite of that character, and it starts with the accent. Yeah, exactly how I feel - it's the voice. Although now I'm wondering if I misread the book and in fact Littlefinger is transparently villainous, Machiavellian, and treacherous to everyone. I mentioned Qyburn above - when he first appeared on the show, my initial reaction was "What?! He should look creepier than that!". Then I looked at the books again, and realized the picture in my head was totally opposed to what GRRM had described, and the show had nailed it whereas I hadn't been paying attention. Maybe the same thing has happened in my head with Littlefinger. EDIT: Thanks to all defending Littlefinger. I'm going to try to keep your comments in mind when I watch his scenes - by and large I love the show, and Littlefinger's voice is my biggest problem with it. I hope I can get over that! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Theda Baratheon Posted April 22, 2014 Share Posted April 22, 2014 I like the actor too! But he bemuses me a lot of the time! In fact, I really like the actor, but I hope the accent thing is just part of his creepy characterisation, otherwise, just...why! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Modesty Lannister Posted April 22, 2014 Share Posted April 22, 2014 I like the actor too! But he bemuses me a lot of the time! In fact, I really like the actor, but I hope the accent thing is just part of his creepy characterisation, otherwise, just...why! Why not. He is everybody's friend, man with many faces. He wants Sansa to think that she is the only one who knows his real face and true accent subsequently. Plus, he is out there to seduce a young and innocent girl. So, he whispers and touches her and leans into her ALL the time for the first scene at the tourney in season 1. He would not that with Varys obviously, Although, I'd love to see that scene. I'd probably never recover from laughing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jet199 Posted April 22, 2014 Share Posted April 22, 2014 Aiden Gillen as an actor is not the problem. Any scene LF has with Varys he is very good in, he and Conleth play off each other wonderfully. He also nails the intense scenes, the way he gets right in Sansa's face really presents that feeling of uneasiness his character is supposed to give off. It's just that the accent breaks down in the more intense scenes and admittedly I find it a bit of a distraction. The husky smokers voice I don't mind in normal conversation because it sounds sort of sinister. But when he has to lift the volume and accelerate his voice whilst trying to keep that huskiness AND trying to do an unnatural accent all at once, it just gets a bit much. Charles Dance is lucky because his natural voice is already so commanding so he doesn't have to change anything. Gillen does though, so i cut him some slack because the rest of his LF portrayal is pretty good. Maybe his mistake is thinking he has to raise his voice as much as he does. Most good actors change the tone of their voices not the volume. They use whatever volume suits the size of the shot. On the boat he was mostly in close up so he should have been speaking softly and it seemed to me he was too loud. Even good actors speak to loudly when they are doing accents as the are concentrating on getting the accent right rather than the performance. Also LF should't be shouty, he should appear meek, so it would also fit with the character to speak softer. But, hey, in the show we have a Roose who shouts and a Stannis who whispers so I don't think the actors are getting any direction at all when it comes to voice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daenerys Targaryen's slave Posted April 22, 2014 Share Posted April 22, 2014 His voice is actually the thing I like about him the most. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chebyshov Posted April 22, 2014 Share Posted April 22, 2014 I like the actor too! But he bemuses me a lot of the time! In fact, I really like the actor, but I hope the accent thing is just part of his creepy characterisation, otherwise, just...why! I agree with this. I actually don't mind the accent as much as others though. LF's scenes with Sansa are going to creep me out so much anyway that if I take amusement by his accent, it's not the worst distraction. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greywolf2375 Posted April 22, 2014 Share Posted April 22, 2014 For me, Littlefinger's character was equivalent to Silk in David Eddings' Belgariad series - might be too obscure a reference, though. Littlefinger in the books is not creepy. Firstly, there was no evidence he was "obsessed" with Sansa in the books. Indeed, he had limited contact with her until he spirited her away. For the most part, he communicated indirectly via Dantos. The movie deliberately chose to show Littlefinger with a Sansa obsession - as was evident early in Season One when he tells her the story of the Hound and the Mountain. That scene never happened in the books - it was a story told by the Hound himself in a meeting with Sansa. I'm not sure how those two are comparable. Silk is a spy and a thief but doesn't exhibit any of the behaviors that LF is portrayed as having. The limited contact was intentional to create distance in his schemes, while the show has portrayed that differently in some aspects he does have much the same feeling about her in the books as in the show. LF in the books is very creepy - how he interacts with Sansa is just one piece of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clariana Posted April 22, 2014 Share Posted April 22, 2014 Just thought I'd put a link to "Chaos" here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FG3H9E-B464 It is a superb little sequence and I am sure the accent LF uses here is very similar to that of his scene with Sansa in this ep. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Facelesss Fan Posted April 22, 2014 Share Posted April 22, 2014 :agree: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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