Peter Dinklage sits in the stairwell of a centuries-old Croatian fort wearing his scuffed battle armor.
A gap in the forts thick stone wall provides him with a view of a peaceful blue sea.
Its so great, Dinklage says, not to be wearing a costume with Velcro on it.
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: When your name was called at the Emmys, what was your first thought?
PETER DINKLAGE: Uh-oh.
I have to get up there in front of a lot of people.
I was a little shy about that, but it was a fun night.
Does the win change anything for you as an actor?
I mean, its lovely to be recognized.
I cant deny that, but life goes on.
You could be submitted for lead actor this time, given how much focus is on you this season.
I dont know how that all works out, but yeah.
Or maybe I can just blow the entire season and be terrible and they wont want me.
Do actually worry that you might go on set and be bad?
But I sort of make it notmyconfidence, but thecharactersconfidence.
So maybe that might seem like Im confident.
Its really just masking it.
Is there anything you do to get in the mindset to play Tyrion?
Sometimes on sets, I shut down, have a go at focus.
But this one, I find myself socializing a lot more.
And maybe that helps, because Tyrions so social and puts himself out there.
Other than that, Ive never been one to really prep for a role too much.
The greatest preparation for a TV show is to already have one season behind you.
Whats been the difference in shooting season 2 versus season 1 so far?
The mood generally seems to be much better.
We all know each other, were like a family.
You still have to shoot the battle scenes, though.
Is there anything in particular theyll have you doing for those?
Hes sort of more of an intellectual.
I thought that was great.
But this season, for all the people who miss battles, we definitely will serve them up.
Is it fun to be a leader this season?
The character, Tyrion, enjoys it.
Hes surprised by how much he enjoys it.
So you gotta sort of get in that mindset.
Its fun because this is a character thats been shit upon his whole life.
He never had that before.
Tyrion definitely enjoys that part and hes trying desperately to hold onto it.
Hes enjoying it while it lasts cause hes not sure its gonna last very long.
Whats been the toughest thing to shoot so far?
Last season we shot one scene on horseback on the side of a cliff during a serious windstorm.
Although it didnt seem like it from what we shot, the horses were very nervous.
One guy was thrown from the horse literally a couple feet away from the edge of a cliff.
Other than that, its been a real joy …
I guess what makes it difficult is that you want to do justice to the material.
Youre not just serving up the regular hash and doing your job and going home.
When [the cast and crew] go out at night, we dont talk about the weather.
We talk about the show.
Are you still going from script to script instead of reading the books?
Like I could never read a book after I see the movie version.
Ill just be thinking of the movie and that sort of negates the whole idea of a book.
Theyre lovely books, but I also dont want to know too much about my characters future.
The less I know of my future, the better.
Since youre not reading ahead, its not a spoiler to ask: How do youhopeyour character ends up?
Hes been treated very poorly his whole life.
So I like to think that he finds happiness.
Ready for the April 1 return ofGame of Thrones?
Oh no youre not!
Pick upthis weeks issuegoing behind-the-scenes of season 2 with our nine-page cover story.
See ourQ&A with Emilia Clarke.
Read our recaps of season 1.
