Dinklage's on-screen performance as Tyrion Lannister on the show earned him four Primetime Emmy Awards, while Dance played his father, Tywin Lannister. The two characters had plenty of animosity towards one another and shared many scenes across the show’s first four seasons.

In an interview with First We Feast, Dinklage reflects on his experiences filming Game of Thrones, and details his relationship with Dance as a central component in this. He mentions the strained relationship Tyrion and Tywin have on the show, and how Dance’s paternal nature helped comfort him between takes. Dinklage identifies Dance "one of [his] favorite human begins." Check out the 55-year-old’s full comments below:

I love Charlie Dance. He’s one of my favorite human beings and he played my father on the show and all my father did on the show was humiliate me and sent me sentence me to death — spoiler alert for those three people who haven’t seen the show — so he made a habit of — cause we would get really invested in those things cause talk about great dialogue, Dan Weiss and David Benioff wrote, gave us the greatest dialogue...

...so it really felt really lived in and fun and scary at times — so he would just like, between every take, he would come over and just gently touch me on the shoulder. We wouldn’t hug it out we because we had no time, but he would always make a point to just give me a little [shoulder touch] and it felt very paternal too.

What Dinklage’s Comments Mean For Tyrion & Tywin’s Relationship

The Actors’ Close Bond Makes Their Character Dynamic Even More Tragic

Dinklage clearly has great respect for Dance, and his comments lend an interesting dynamic to the relationship between Tyrion and Tywin. The two men hated one another on the show, and Tywin was a pragmatic but cruel leader who resented his son, but the close bond between the actors will no doubt have helped them through some of the weightier emotional scenes. As seasoned professionals, it's likely they remained in character at all times while cameras were rolling, which would likely have been draining in more intense scenes, but having a friendly bond off-camera would have helped their performances.

Tyrion Lannister was always a complicated character, and his relationship with Tywin was awful and tragic, and I feel like the friendship between Dinklage and Dance made this strained relationship deeper.

Having to be horrible to another person, even in character, is no doubt difficult, especially when you have a good friendship with that person. However, in some ways, this can make performances more authentic and adds to the friction between the characters. Dance’s caring and considerate nature, making sure Dinklage was okay between takes, must have made it harder for the two men to play characters with such a tumultuous relationship, adding to the believability of their performances.

Our Verdict On How Dinklage’s Friendship With Dance Shaped His Tyrion Performance

The Star Channeled The Paternal Bond Off-Screen To Help The Tumultuous Pairing On-Screen

Tyrion Lannister was always a complicated character, and his relationship with Tywin was awful and tragic, and I feel like the friendship between Dinklage and Dance made this strained relationship deeper. The two men will likely have felt comfortable enough with one another to post a completely immersive performance, which fed their strained dynamic, and fueled Tyrion’s desire for his father’s approval, ultimately coming to a head when Tyrion kills Tywin with a crossbow. Undoubtedly, the off-screen relationship between Dinklage and Dance led to one of Game of Thrones’ most interesting on-screen pairings.

Source: First We Feast