Game of Thrones season 6, episode 7: Ian McShane on landing his secret role

'The Hound has not been shown much humanity in his life, and he gets a little from Brother Ray and carries that forward into his character'

*WARNING* MAJOR SPOILERS FOR GAME OF THRONES SEASON 6, EPISODE 7*

It's been such a lengthy wait, but Ian McShane has finally made his Game of Thrones debut, only to immediately exit again.

Not that his presence went wasted, tasked was he with re-introducing the formidable, and fan-favourite character, The Hound (Rory McCann) back onto the playing field. McShane's Brother Ray: once a warrior, now leader of a peaceful commune of the Faith of the Seven, came across Sandor Clegane on the verge of death; which is exactly where we last saw him in season 4.

Nursed back to health under Brother Ray's guidance, the episode saw quite a thoughtful pause in the action; giving time for reflections on the very nature of violence, and its accepted reality within Westeros. That didn't last too long, though; as Ray and his commune are swiftly massacred at the hands of the Brotherhood, leaving the Hound to enact vengeance on them all. Oh well, it was nice while it lasted.

Turns out, McShane was largely invited to the role because of his stellar monologuing on Deadwood; with the actor revealing to Entertainment Weekly, "Well, they wrote a two-page speech – so that’s why they invited me. It’s a big soliloquy, like in Deadwood, and they needed to get somebody who could do that. It was really well written. Rory was a delight to work with, and so was the director. The whole experience was five days in Belfast, and I enjoyed it a lot."

Why did he accept that part? Well, "It was one episode, for a start"; though he did recognise the importance of his role in bringing the Hound back to the show. "The Hound has not been shown much humanity in his life, and he gets a little from Brother Ray and carries that forward into his character, which makes it more interesting for those who watch him."

Beyond the simple prestige of appearing on Game of Thrones, it does appear as if the role had some attraction to McShane; maybe disproving that rather unforgettable descriptor of "only tits and dragons" the actor had previously given the series.

Game of Thrones airs on Sunday nights in the US, at 9PM on HBO; and will be simulcast at 2AM on Sky Atlantic in the UK.