Peter Dinklage just shared a heartwarming behind-the-scenes story about his Game of Thrones co-star Charles Dance. During his Oct. 17 interview on Hot Ones, Dinklage said that Dance went out of his way to differentiate their relationship from the relationship between Tyrion and Tywin Lannister. He said that Dance was “very paternal” and protective whenever the cameras stopped rolling.

Hot Ones host Sean Evans had heard that Dance was “so appalled” by how Tywin treated Tyrion that he “made a habit” of apologizing to Dinklage between takes. Dinklage confirmed that that was basically true, saying: “I love Charlie Dance, he’s one of my favorite human beings.” He described the abusive paternalistic relationship between Tywin and Tyrion, and said: “We would get really invested in those things, because, talk about great dialogue – Dan Weiss and David Benioff gave us the greatest dialogue. It really felt lived-in, and fun, and scary at times.”

“Between every take, [Dance] would come over and just gently touch me on the shoulder,” Dinklage went on, miming the gesture. “Just like, we wouldn’t hug it out, because we had no time, but he would always make a point to just give me a little… And it felt very paternal, too. He played a horrible human being, but he’s one of my favorite human beings.”

Both Dinklage and Dance gave some career-defining performances while they were on screen together in Game of Thrones Seasons 3 and 4, doubtless contributing to the cast’s SAG Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series the following year. Many critics cite this as the point where the show’s version of Tyrion diverged from the character in George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire novels. They argue that the show tried to keep Tyrion likable and relatable by softening some of his most evil deeds.

Dinklage still joked about the characters’ final confrontation on Hot Ones, gesturing at the hot wings as he said: “It was a shame how that one ended. On the toilet. Kind of like how this is going to end. But yeah, that’s one of the more classic death scenes in a TV show I think.”

Dance has also praised his co-stars and colleagues on Game of Thrones at every turn, although he has not been so diplomatic about the show’s controversial ending. In my interview with him back in 2020, Dance said he would sign the petition asking HBO to remake the final season. He said: “I mean, I saw it. I continued to watch the whole series even after I’d been killed off in the lavatory. Because I just thought it’s a fantastic television show, you know? I was very lucky to be part of it. I loved it; there were storylines [where] I wanted to know what was going to happen to these people! I know that the finale satisfied a lot of people. It also disappointed a lot of people, and I’m afraid I am in the latter camp.”