Does Liam Cunningham even like onions?
“I love onions,” said a laughing Cunningham, who plays Davos Seaworth – a.k.a., “The Onion Knight” – on Game of Thrones. “I’m a huge fan of the onion. I’m a fan of the onion to my debt.”
But has the Irish actor always loved onions, or is this a love of recent convenience, so to speak?
“Oh, I’ve always had a hankering for onions,” Cunningham assured. “As Uncle Monty says in Withnail & I, ‘I happen to think the cauliflower more beautiful than the rose.’ I’m more of a vegetable man myself than a floral person.”
With the fourth season of the intensely popular and heavily scrutinized Game of Thrones airing Sundays on HBO Canada, Cunningham was in Canada on Tuesday to promote a series-themed exhibition in downtown Toronto. Cunningham continues to marvel at the devotion expressed by Game of Thrones fans, but he hopes and believes their faith is well-earned.
“The fans have absolutely taken possession of the show, there’s a real sense of ownership,” Cunningham said. “And I think it’s testament to the fact that intelligent viewers who want to be challenged, or want their heads messed with, had been left aside for so long, and they want to be presented with something that’s made for grown-ups. Some of the greatest shows that ever have been on television have been on in the past few years, and I like to think Game of Thrones is one of them.
“Social media plays a big part. The metaphor is, the internet has become the water-cooler. People are expressing their joy, their horror, they’re getting together around, ‘Who do you hate this week? That guy we liked last week has turned into a pig. And the guy we hated, we’re coming around to understanding his motivation.’
“When people invest so heavily, you had better keep the quality up. But I think people are rewarded for the amount of concentration that is required for this show.”
As for Davos Seaworth specifically, Cunningham confirmed the scuttlebutt that the character in the TV series is missing his fingertips on his right hand, rather than the left hand as is the case in the books, because Cunningham is left-handed.
“I told them, yeah, that if I were going to be swinging a sword in this, my right arm basically is for filling sleeves, it’s useless,” Cunningham said. “I asked them if we could change it up.”
Of course, Cunningham has been an acclaimed actor for more than 20 years, so he admits it’s a bit weird now when Game of Thrones fans rush up to him and start checking his hands for regular shaped digits, or pepper him with probing questions.
“I know, I know, I managed to keep under the radar for 20 years with people kind of going, ‘I think I’ve seen that guy somewhere before,’ ” Cunningham said. “My only ambition was to be seen as, ‘He’s good, let’s watch, if he’s in something then it’s normally good.’
“And now this vile creature called famed or whatever has reared its ugly head due to this show. I’ll never forgive HBO for that. Wait, irony doesn’t work well in print, does it? So be careful how you write that!
“No, no, it’s a joy. Listen, anybody involved in this business, if you’re doing your job properly you want to tell good stories that excite people, mess with people’s heads, make them laugh, cry, whatever it may be. And this is an absolutely perfect opportunity to do it with this show. It’s a complete privilege to be involved with it.”
Clearly Liam Cunningham, who plays Davos “The Onion Knight” Seaworth on Game of Thrones, is no vegetable.
Bill.harris@sunmedia.ca
@billharris_tv