Dark and full of terrors — even on Twitter! Game of Thrones star Carice Van Houten, who plays terrifying-but-alluring "Lord of light" priestess Melisandre on HBO's smash series, told reporters at the NYC premiere on Tuesday, March 18 that she gets a kick out of scaring her fans via social media.
Although the Dutch actress, 37, has never experienced any face-to-face encounters with crazed fans, Van Houten fondly recalled one hilarious duo's creative homage to her seductive character. "On Halloween, people sent me their costumes in pictures," she explained. "And there was one guy who was dressed up all in red, and there was a guy in black tights in between his legs," Van Houten said with a laugh. "That was my favorite."
(The costume, of course, was inspired by Melisandre's infamous scene in season two, in which the suddenly-pregnant priestess gives birth to a shadow baby in a cave. The dark wispy sorta-child, as tall as any man, then went on to murder Stannis Baratheon's brother Renly Baratheon, who was among the chief competitors for the up-for-grabs Iron Throne.)
"Sometimes I scare people on Twitter," Van Houten confessed. "I say, 'Be nice or I'm going to make you another shadow baby.'"
As for the upcoming season, the star reveals that viewers will see a more "homey side" to her character. "She's having dinner. You see her in the bathroom," Van Houten joked.
More seriously, the actress revealed that fans will see a more "human side, I would say" to Melisandre — though it has been a challenge for the star to play a magical murderous priestess. In order to properly play Stannis' twisted, near-satanic advisor, Van Houten tried to justify what happens in her character's mind.
"I keep thinking that she does it for a greater good," the star said. "It's the only way to deal with it I guess."
The fourth season of Game of Thrones returns to HBO on Sunday, April 6.
