When it comes to book-to-screen adaptations, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau is no stranger to helping bring that world to life while illustrating the joys of our favorite novels. After all, the Game of Thrones alum starred in the groundbreaking George R.R. Martin series for almost 10 years across seven seasons, knowing very well what it takes to bring a sharp spirit to such beloved characters. But following the series finale four years ago that left fans in a daze and heated debate over the showrunners working outside source material, Coster-Waldau is back in another adaptation with Laura Dave’s The Last Thing He Told Me. With the Apple TV+ series, co-starring Jennifer Garner, playing close to the New York Times bestseller, Coster-Waldau reveals to Collider in an exclusive one-on-one interview how his character, Owen Michaels, parallels that of his Game of Thrones Kingslayer, Ser Jaime Lannister, in one of the most “truthful” ways.
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The limited series, premiering April 14 with a two-episode debut followed by the final five premiering on a weekly basis until May 19, follows the story of Hannah Michaels (Garner), a woman forced to develop a relationship with her 16-year-old stepdaughter Bailey (Angourie Rice) in order to find out the truth about why their family patriarch, Owen (Coster-Waldau), has mysteriously disappeared. Created and adapted for the screen by the author alongside her husband and co-creator, Josh Singer, Coster-Waldau’s character in The Last Thing He Told Me might be deeply layered with a dark past, but the actor tells Collider in our exclusive Q&A that if he had to change one thing about Owen, it would be the thing you’d least expect — which we wholeheartedly agree with.

Image via Apple TV+

COLLIDER: Congratulations on this series! I really loved this one, it’s such an incredible twisty, sort of mystery. When this came your way, I know that Jennifer Garner and Angourie Rice were already cast, but how familiar were you with the book? Moreover, how excited were you to get started?

NIKOLAJ COSTER-WALDAU: I hadn’t read the book. So I read the scripts, and I was very excited. It was one of those where I wanted to guess it. I wanted to figure it out. I wanted to be clever enough, but I didn’t. I didn’t see what was coming. It was really… It was very surprising. And it was clearly incredibly well-written. Both Laura [Dave] and Josh [Singer], I didn’t know they were a couple at all. I had no idea, and I was so impressed that they could do this together… I was like, ‘This character, it’s so confusing on many levels.’ It was such a puzzle, and I thought, ‘This is interesting. I’d like to see if I can find my way through this.’

And Owen is such an interesting character. He’s very layered; there’s so much more to him than meets the eye. I’m curious, what do you think the words “protect her” reveals about his personality?

COSTER-WALDAU: What I like about any good writing is that even when you have massive twists and surprises, it’s all grounded in a truthful character. Even a character that lies, even a character that makes up crazy stories — if you believe the core of them, then you can kind of get away with a lot. I think that’s what’s done so well in this piece because they set up the love story between Hannah and Owen very, very well. And of course, the love between the father and daughter, and you really believe that. Even when you question it… the seed has been laid. That’s why it works – that’s why I think the payoff at the end is a real payoff. There is a logic underneath, an emotional logic that’s very well made.

I know that Hannah made some very tough choices in this series, but Owen made even more difficult ones. And I noticed that you’ve played a lot of characters… Even like Ser Jaime from Game of Thrones, these are characters who are rooted in the need to protect their family. What has been the biggest draw to a character like this for you, and what have you learned about yourself playing this kind of role?

COSTER-WALDAU: Well, what I’ve learned about myself, I think that I need to… I’ve never had therapy. Maybe I should go and have some therapy so I can answer these questions better [laughs]. But I think that my way into this character was exactly that, that I can relate to that at the end of the day, love is kind of the most important thing we have, the most important force in our lives. The relationships we find ourselves in, whether it’s family or close friends, are the most important things. Those are the ones you’re willing to go far for. Of course, here, it’s a drama. [Owen] had to make some very extreme choices in his life, but they all came out of a good heart, if you will.

Image via Apple TV+

Yeah, a very good heart. I mean, to have this type of father who still wants to protect his family after everything they’ve been through, means a lot. Speaking of that family, I was wondering how you created that sort of relationship with Jennifer and Angourie because you guys have such great chemistry together on screen. Even in those little, tiny moments, we get to see these flashbacks. How did you build that to create such a convincing sort of dynamic that you guys are a real unit?

COSTER-WALDAU: First of all, those two ladies are just wonderful people to be around and then they’re very sharp. They’re a lot of fun. They also happen to be, on top of that, brilliant actresses, so I just had to react to what they were doing and follow their lead. That was really it. And the funny thing is, it’s obviously a very dark story in many ways because it’s horrible what happens — it’s kind of this nightmarish situation. The good thing was we had a lot of fun on set, which made it… a real joy.

Yeah, it looked like you guys were just an actual little family unit of three, and it was so sweet to see. Knowing that the author, Laura Dave, helped develop this for TV with Hello Sunshine, and we have seen shows that have worked outside source material like Game of Thrones, I’m wondering if we ever did get a Season 2, without spoiling anything, where would you ideally like to see this show go with what we saw in the ending?

COSTER-WALDAU: The only thing I learned from reading this when I read it the first time, was that I wouldn’t know. I know I would be surprised. I would love to find out, but we’ll see what happens. I don’t know if they have any plans for future seasons. [But], if I had to choose, I would love to be — Owen would be a present-day character throughout because it’s been so much. I mean, it’s been so much fun to play this puzzle of memories, if you will. But I know that Laura, she was writing the book, she had a hundred pages on what happens, what Owen was doing and why he was doing this. But obviously, the way it’s done now works just perfectly because it’s a mystery, but it’s really about a love story between a mother and a daughter.

There are a lot of scenes with Owen that I thought were so interesting. They opened up so many layers to him, like understanding who this person is. So, without spoiling it, of course, what scene do you think was the quintessential scene for knowing who this person is?

COSTER-WALDAU: Oh, I think it’s a scene when Hannah asks Owen what defines him, and he says, “I’ll do anything for my daughter.” And I think that that is really the key. Because that is what you find out later has set everything in motion and led to that moment. Then, of course, going forward, I would say Owen, if he has to learn anything — I guess if you ask me what have I learned? Yeah, if I write notes, they should be longer than three letters or three words. You can do more. I mean, you can write a little more.

The Last Thing He Told Me begins streaming April 14 on Apple TV+ with a two-episode drop and a new episode every Friday until May 19.