He’s Kind of a Big Deal

How big is Peter Dinklage these days? So much so that a member of the Beastie Boys DIED and he got to keep his Rolling Stone cover.

It’s really hard to think of a TV character that is more universally beloved than Tyrion Lannister, and in turn, audiences now fawn over Dinklage as well. There’s just something about his story, hearing how much shit he took for being a little person, and then seeing him ascend to one of the greatest roles in TV history, that’s just satisfying for everyone.

Seeing him on Rolling Stone only furthers his rock star status, and hopefully goes a long way to obliterating the “last acceptable prejudice” as he calls it toward little people.

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15 Comments

  1. MCA died less than a week ago. And Rolling Stone isn’t like a daily newspaper or even weekly sports illustrated, its a biweekly magazine so I really don’t think they could put something together so quickly. Don’t get me wrong, its awesome that he’s on the cover but its not like they were in their offices saying “MCA died. But let’s run the Peter Dinklage story ahead of it anyway.”

  2. When I see a lot of little people actors in roles, it often seems readily apparent that a need for someone of their stature mattered more than their acting chops.

    Dinklage stands out as an exception. While the part of Tyrrion also came with a height requirement, I’d compare Dinklage’s performance to many acting greats. He’s their equal or better.

    I don’t expect he could pull off an action-adventure, or should be cast in one over a Bruce Willis type; you have to allow for willing suspension of disbelief.

    Still, I hope going forward Dinklage will get cast in dramas where the character’s height doesn’t really matter. I’m sure he could pull off, for instance, the roll of a juror in Twelve Angry Men, or play a lawyer in a courtroom drama, with gusto. He not only can deliver a line in a natural way, where it sounds like it came from his character, but deliver it in a memorable way for maximum impact.

    It may prove a challenge for productions in other ways, but as Tyrrion once said, “Well make do!”

  3. Last acceptable prejudice, my ass. Who doesn’t love “little people”? I’ve literally never heard anyone ever say a negative thing about that particular population segment. Being short may be a pain in the ass, but I don’t really see any hate for them out there. It’s much more commonplace to mock overweight people. Oh, and Jim, t’was Tassi who brought the MCA thing up in his post so don’t get too upset by a commenter going along with it, unless you were indirectly attacking our host through him.

  4. No i think they have a duty to at lest find a way to put MCA on the cover. IM not saying a full story or anything that would require a drastic overhaul.

  5. @T.R. – You should check out some of his other movies. In many of them, his height is a non-issue. Interestingly, his part in The Station Agent was reworked once he was cast; the part was originally written without any height requirement.

    I seriously love him. He used to live in the neighborhood where I work, and I’d see him out and about and at my favorite happy hour spot from time to time. Super nice and super talented. Two traits that don’t always go hand in hand with actors, in my experience. I’m totally picking this up when it hits newsstands tomorrow!

  6. I love Peter Dinklage (Awesome in Threshold!).

    But here’s the thing…if you read the books, just like the show Tyrion steals EVERY line and “scene” he’s in.

    I could’ve predicted that he’d be the breakout star of GoT, I also predicted that in LoTR, whoever was cast as Legolas and Aragorn would become stars and heartthrobs. Frodo, and the hobbits, not so much.

    When you read a particular high profile project there are typically a part or two, that are starmakers. This is one of them. It also helps that this is one of the most popular shows on TV. I’ve personally gotten six friends to subscribe to HBO for GoT (and Boardwalk).

  7. I think Dinklage is a good actor, but most of you are confusing the actor with the character.

    Tyrion, and how he is written, is the truly GREAT part. I give most of the credit to the author of the books, George R. R. Martin.

    In fact, a lot of people used to complain about the way Dinklage did the accent before the show became more popular.

  8. I do love that people complain that Dinklage’s accent on GoT “isn’t British enough”. How do YOU know that’s not how people in Westeros talk? IT”S NOT ENGLAND!

  9. Fair point Bert, but it is strange that Tyrion speaks unlike anyone else around him, including all the members of his immediate family. And let’s not pull any punches—they have British accents and his accent is supposed to be, too. And it is awful. I wish they’d get him a new dialect coach. It’s forgivable enough for me, though, since he at least has the balls to fully commit to it. It’s bad in a consistent way.

    And Tyrion is totally an awesomely written character, but I hope you guys don’t really think his acting isn’t doing an equal part of the heavy lifting. It’s not like Verne Troyer could have been cast and we’d all love Tyrion just the same. Bad acting is bad acting, no matter how awesome the part. I’ve seen plenty of shitty Shakespeare to back that up.

  10. Jamie Lannister’s accent does not sound British to me. Accents vary within all of the houses in this production. It’s a production choice they made, not an oversight.

  11. Jamie Lannister’s accent does not sound British. None of the houses in GoT have uniform accents throughout, this is something that must have been intentional in the production. The production is a Amer-UK hybrid through and through.

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