With the premier of the fourth season of the phenomenon that is Game of Thrones (GOT) came sexy, violent, bisexual Oberyn Martell, also known as the "Red Viper", played by Pedro Pascal. Four shows into the season we know that he seems to have arrived in King's Landing on a mission -- it's still unclear what his mission is -- but it has to be related to the murder of his sister.
Oberyn's arrival has brought a lot to GOT. He ushers in a completely new energy on the show, and specifically King's Landing, where he was invited to the king's wedding.
Oberyn, a prince of Dorne from the hottest, southernmost region in Westeros, has a grudge -- and with good cause. Elia, Oberyn's sister, was married to Rhaegar Targaryen, and because he cheated on her with Lyanna Stark, Robert Barathoen started a war. While helping Robert win the war, Tyqin ordered Ser Gregor Clegane to rape and kill Elia and murder her babies.
Is there any better reason for Oberyn to hold a grudge?
Oberyn says he's in King's Landing for the wedding, but suspicions are high that there might be a few other things on his King's Landing agenda.
And he has sex and violence, two of the most important tenets of GOT on lock. He can swing from sex to violence and back to sex again without breaking a sweat.
"I love how unpredictable [Oberyn Martell] is, because he is somebody who will do what he wants, when he wants to do it," said Pascal told The Nassau Guardian during a press junket prior to the start of the fourth season in Miami. "You just never know what he's going to do and when. He will not wait for the appropriate time to do something. It's just based on what he feels, and that's exciting, because it creates a deeper layer of danger and a world of danger."
His character has also set tongues wagging as to his sexual orientation, but Pascal says sexual orientation really doesn't make that much sense to the Red Viper, because he's a person who lives purely through his passions, and wants to experience life to its fullest.
"It doesn't make any sense to him to limit his experiences, so if something is beautiful -- whether it's a woman or a man, it's like I [Oberyn] don't want to miss out on this."
As for any character similarities between Pascal and his character, Pascal says there aren't any really, but he admits to having admiration for the Red Viper because he refuses to compromise.
"He does what he wants when he wants and he doesn't think about consequence. I think that's a very exciting place to imagine living in, but none of us can really live in that place because our lives won't last very long."
Prior to diving into the Red Viper role, Pascal said he had to imagine what it would be like to have no fear in terms of having a goal and going after it, being unshakeable and in terms of experiencing things whether sexually, food, hate or love.
One of the newest characters to the show and one of season four's most intriguing characters, Pascal knows that he can't make long-term plans because a GOT mantra is that all men must die.
"I don't think anyone can make long-term plans in Game of Thrones," he said.
Pascal, who was born in Santiago, Chile and raised in San Antonio, Texas and
Orange County California, was a fan of the show prior to joining the cast. He had been in the middle of watching the third season when the audition came around.
"I binge-watched the first two seasons and then I was up-to-date on the third, so that made it a very interesting experience for me to become a part of something I was already so aware of as a regular audience member. The show is really well done and it's very exciting to watch. When you get into it, you can get really into it," said Pascal.
He prepared for his role early on -- from talking about what emotionally motivates the Oberyn Martell character, why he lives the way he does, the way he moves, the way he speaks, the way he enters a room, the way his feelings can flip on a dime.
Once he had signed on, he had intensive Wushu acrobatic martial arts training to prepare him for his fight scenes.
Pascal who has extensive theater experience and has appeared in plays like "Maple and Vine", "Macbeth", "Hamlet" and "Beauty of the Father", and has been on several television series including recurring roles on "The Good Wife", "Graceland" and "Brothers & Sisters", and has been a guest star in "Charlie's Angels", "Nurse Jackie" "Law & Order", "Without a Trace" and "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and films like "Sweet Lies", "The Adjustment Bureau" and "I Am That Girl" says the part of Oberyn Martell is one of the best roles he's ever played.
"Creatively the experience is unmatchable as far as anything I've ever done so far. I have been given the opportunity to play a really fantastic character on a really well-written TV show that just is excellent storytelling across the board -- no matter what medium you compare it to -- whether it be theater, film or television."
Pascal who has been to The Bahamas -- he visited Club Med on Salvador with his family -- is single, and splits his time between New York and Los Angeles. And like most actors, he at one time worked as a waiter while working towards his big break.
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