BATMAN and Robin, Laurel and Hardy... the Two Ronnies? The male onscreen double-act has enduring appeal and Game of Thrones has its own version, albeit with a serious twist.
It comes in the form of Hodor, the hulking, kindly servant and Bran Stark (Isaac Hempstead Wright), the young lord who was paralysed in a fall and who, ever since, has been physically carried around by Hodor, played by Lisburn-born actor Kristian Nairn.
The duo were notably absent from season five of Game of Thrones, but fans of the series – and they are legions, right across the world – will be delighted to see the peculiar pairing return in the sixth instalment, episode one of which airs on Monday.
GoT – based on the A Song of Ice and Fire series of fantasy novels by US author George RR Martin – spells big business for Northern Ireland where, as well as our impressive scenery, local talent contributes hugely to the show, behind and in front of the camera.
Figures released by NI Screen shows production of season six injected an estimated £22 million into the Northern Ireland economy – bringing the total amount across seasons one to six to an estimated £137 million with an investment of £13.75m from Northern Ireland Screen.
During filming of season six last October The Irish News was the only publication from Northern Ireland at an exclusive set visit organised by Northern Ireland Screen and HBO.
Given the cliffhanger ending of season five, when Jon Snow (Kit Harrington), was bumped off by his own men in the Night's Watch – or was he? – the fate of this key character vis a vis season six was on everyone’s mind – including cast and crew.
A disclaimer even had to be signed before embarking on the two-day set visit.
The sixth season of GoT is the first to be ‘off book’, the storyline having caught up with the plots of Martin’s novels.
But one thing is for sure: whether Jon Snow is alive or dead there be much more to keep viewers enthralled over the next few weeks than whether 'Ned Stark's bastard son' will reappear.
Back in October, after a day on set in the catacombs at Shane’s Castle, the 14th century Co Antrim ruin much featured in GoT, and a tour of the Belfast's Paint Hall studios where filming also takes place, there were round-table interviews with several cast and crew members including with Nairn and Hempstead Wright. Both talked about their screen return; Nairn said his comeback was “like slipping on a pair of slippers”.
Having just turned 17 in real life – and grown considerably since we last saw him on screen as the young Bran – Hempstead Wright, who's also an accomplished pianist, had totted up an impressive 13 A-stars and one A in his GCSEs and described himself as an “actor/schoolboy”.
His new stature meant 'Hodor' was not looking forward to “carrying him round like a sultan”.
According to Nairn, story-wise Bran and Hodor were “pretty much where we left off”.
So during their screen hiatus, how did it feel watching GoT as fans?
“I live here in Belfast so it’s strange to see all the cast members and friends coming in and filming. Seeing it from the point of view of a fan, it is slightly different. Being in the show, you definitely get a different perspective of it. It’s so shocking. It’s more shocking than I would have imagined. I didn’t expect so many unexpected events to happen," Nairn said of the show, which is famed for killing off central characters – that of another Belfast thesp, Ian McElhinney, having been put to the sword in season five, for example.
With his GCSEs behind him, Hempstead Wright was keen to return to filming.
“I’m sort of an adult on set. I know it’s cheesy but it is like one big family – it’s just like being in one big holiday camp," he said. “People come and go which is the nature of the kind of deaths and loss of characters.”
Going between set and classes had been seamless, the young star said, and he had never had any problem with classmates.
“I’ve never really had any issue with them, with anyone being unpleasant or jealous or anything like that,” he said.
Though he did laughingly admit that he had sometimes been pressed on the question everyone's, well, dying to know the answer to: “Oh, go on and tell us is Jon Snow still alive...,” classmates would say.
The spectre (note: this is definitely not a plot spoiler) of Jon Snow loomed large throughout the set visit, as a matter of fact.
“That’s my least favourite question," Nairn announced. "I never want to hear that question again. It’s the truth for everyone connected to the show. We are asked that constantly for weeks on end. I also remember a flippant comment in a convention and I think it was the 50th time that day I’d be asked and I just went ‘Who cares? I don’t even like him’. And the next day it was in the Daily Express – 'Hodor hates Jon Snow'.”
Standing at almost 7ft tall, Nairn is one of the most visible local faces on GoT and is easily the most recognisable. So, is he heckled often?
“It’s happening more and more. Every day; it’s just crazy now," he admitted. "It really takes me to the fair because I’m a normal guy from Belfast – well, except for being tall, that’s not really normal.
“I would be in, say, Perth, the most isolated city in the world; I’d be further away from where I’m from than anywhere on the planet and there’ll be a big group of people wanting to get photographs signed. It doesn’t seem real.”
On home turf in Belfast, however, people take seeing Nairn in their stride.
“That’s what I love about my home town.”
He added: “But it does happen. I do try to do my shopping in the middle of the night for that very reason. I’d be in Tesco and wheeling my trolley around in a discreet manner and I’d hear a ‘Hodor’ because they can see my head above the shelves.
“Belfast is probably one of the most discreet cities, which I love. You're used to it [Game of Thrones] if you live here. We’d have had it right from the start. I have to say the crew are unbelievable – old craftsmen and swordmakers and leather workers and armourers – all people from here.”
Nairn, who has just turned 40, is more than aware of the change in Belfast and is grateful what GoT has brought to the city and to Northern Ireland.
“I grew up in the Troubles and it makes me very proud of what we’ve achieved as a country," he said. “Thirty years ago you could never have imagined that the biggest show in the world was going to be filmed in Belfast. It’s become a mecca for talent here and for other productions as well.
“We’ve got a really good work ethic. We don’t work too hard but I think when we do work hard we do things very well. It’s very much a team job, there aren’t that many prima donnas. It’s fantastic and I’m very proud of the city and of the people here.”
:: Game of Thrones, season six, begins on Sky Atlantic on Monday April 25. Watch live or catch up on Sky or NOW TV.
