On “Game of Thrones,” he heroically held back a throng of killer zombies so his young charges could escape.
But in his other career, musician and actor Kristian Nairn — you likely know him as Hodor — welcomes teeming (albeit living) masses into parties like the one he’ll be headlining at Schimanski in Williamsburg on Saturday. He’s not exactly flying under the radar, either (which would be tough for a guy who’s 7 feet tall, anyway): The event’s called “Rave of Thrones.”
Before, during and after his gig as the one-word-uttering giant on HBO’s wildly popular fantasy show, Nairn has worked as a house music DJ. It’s a genre that was formative for him, he says. “I was a huge clubgoer when I was growing up,” the Northern Ireland native tells the Post via e-mail. “And being a gay man, it’s where I really found my tribe. I always had an admiration for what a great DJ could do, and how they could control the atmosphere of a room.”
Nairn, 43, has played on bills with some of the biggest names in the industry, including Fatboy Slim, Steve Aoki and Danny Howard, and cites Danny Tenaglia as one of his biggest influences. He has been hosting the “Rave of Thrones” sporadically for years now. (A Wired.com write up of a 2015 version described his style as “a throwback to the golden days of British house music, with extended running times, seamless hour-long mixes and a focus on keeping the energy level high but not exhausting.”) He had a longtime regular gig at a popular Belfast gay nightclub, where his “GoT” colleagues would show up when the show was filming in Ireland, which it frequently did.
Kristian Nairn as Hodor in “Game of Thrones.”HBO
“Kremlin, where I held my residency, was a very popular spot for cast and crew to let their hair down at the weekends,” says Nairn. “I saw many of my castmates busting moves on the dance floor over the years.”
Nairn’s lucky he didn’t bust his back on “Game of Thrones,” as his role often called for him to carry other actors, especially Bran Stark (Isaac Hempstead-Wright), who is paralyzed in the show. “Some of the more physical scenes were very tough,” Nairn says. “It was always fine initially, but when you take [into] consideration take after take after take … it could definitely get strenuous.”
DJing, though, is not a heavy lift for Nairn, who seems born to do it. “The best part is bringing a mass of people with you on a journey,” he says. “You can really feel it when people are getting what you are putting out and connecting. It’s an amazing feeling. I currently have a track out called ‘Life is Too Short,’ and it’s been getting an amazing reaction and support.”
Though he’s often recognized on the street, “the ‘Hold the door’ thing doesn’t happen as much as everyone imagines. But that’s not to say that it doesn’t happen,” he says. “Honestly, I’m always happy to speak to people who are interested in my work, and if it brings them a little smile, that makes me happy.”
