For Game of Thrones star Tom Wlaschiha, eating chilli crab was like doing surgery
Chilli crab may be a common treat for many celebrities who visit the island nation, but it is admittedly not the easiest dish to eat, as Game of Thrones star Tom Wlaschiha found out.
“[I tried] the chilli crab last night, it was amazing – although it was a bit of a surgery,” said the German actor, who was in town for HBO Asia’s 25th anniversary on Friday (1 December).
Wlaschiha, who plays Arya Stark’s (Maisie William) assassin mentor Jaqen H’ghar on Thrones, also had laksa and chicken rice with “lots of chilli” on his first visit to the country.
“I really like spicy food, so this the perfect place for me,” the 44-year-old said in an interview with Yahoo Lifestyle Singapore and several other media outlets. “I didn’t know it before I came here, that people like it spicy here.”
“It’s a great place,” Wlaschiha said of the Lion City.
During his stay, the actor visited the Kwan Im Thong Hood Cho temple and the Sri Krishnan Temple in Chinatown, Sultan Mosque in Kampong Glam, as well as popular tourist spots like the Singapore Botanic Gardens, Boat Quay and Sentosa.
“It’s a mix of things. It sounds like a cliché, but it’s true. It’s such a small place and there are so many things to do… It’s a great mix of things in a small place,” he said.
Wlaschiha also shared some of his thoughts about his character’s role in shaping the future of the hit HBO series, which will return for a final six-episode season in 2018 or 2019.
“We don’t know, maybe there are already people in Westeros that are just wearing faces,” he said in reply to a question from Yahoo Lifestyle Singapore, drawing some cautious and speculative laughter from the gathered media.
“It’s just that we don’t know that,” he said with a laugh. “It’s possible.”
In the series, the Faceless Men are an order of assassins from the House of Black and White, who are known for their abilities to “take the face” or shapeshift into different people and their reference to themselves as “no one”.
Reminiscing on how far the series had come, Wlaschiha shared that he was “f***ing nervous” when he had to shoot his first scene, which happened in the second season.
Being part of an internationally-acclaimed production, he now finds himself approached by fans who speak to him in third person (as his character does in the show) or say “Valar morghulis”, which means “all men must die” and is a common greeting in the Faceless Men’s home city of Braavos in the series.
“Before Game of Thrones, you walk the street and you’re not always conscious of yourself, what you do and how you present yourself,” he said.
“Ever since Game of Thrones started, I’ve been finding photos of me online that I probably would not have approved. Just snapshots of me sitting in a restaurant like this,” Wlaschiha said with a laugh, spreading his legs wide as an example.
“People just taking photos everywhere… But it’s okay, I can live with it.”
Wlaschiha, who admitted to binge-watching the seasons which he didn’t star in, also shared who he was rooting for to take the Iron Throne in the finale.
Though he was careful to include that it was his personal opinion, “not based on any knowledge” and “just a theory”.
“I think that maybe ‘no one’ will sit on the Iron Throne. Get it?” he said with a smile.
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