‘Game of Thrones’ star: ‘I’m happy to fight gay stereotype’
By Sam Rigby
Game of Thrones
star Kristian Nairn has spoken about the reaction to his decision to come out recently.
The actor – who plays Hodor in HBO’s fantasy epic – said that he is happy to combat gay stereotyping.
He explained that many people have told him that he doesn’t “look like the typical gay person”.
Speaking to People about the response, he said: “It’s been everywhere, People, CNN, all the way down to the little local paper in Belfast. I don’t want to be a figurehead or anything, but if I can help one person, I’ll be happy.”
“Some people say I don’t look like the typical gay person, whatever that means. Obviously there’s so many different types of gay people, but some people don’t know that. Some people think we all look and act a certain type of way. So people have thanked me for that,” Nairn added.
He spoke about his sexuality publicly for the first time when asked about his character’s popularity in the gay community.
“Well, in all honesty, when you talk about ‘the gay community,’ you are talking about my community, haha. I am aware of it, yeah, and I think it’s really lovely. There’s not a day that I don’t get a few messages, but 99% or more are super sweet and nothing smutty at all! Again, it’s a privilege, and I really mean that,” he said.
Game of Thrones returns for a fourth season next month.