Interview: Kristian Nairn at GalaxyCon Raleigh
Kristian Nairn never expected any of…this.
“My career started in music. Acting kind of just happened, which I’ve been eternally grateful for,” the Game of Thrones and Our Flag Means Death star recently said at GalaxyCon Raleigh. “I just feel very lucky to be part of these huge franchises. Like, I never imagined how big Game of Thrones was going to get. I never expected Our Flag to have such a huge fan base. I’ve been very lucky.”
Nairn still scratches the music itch with DJ sets at cons and on tour, but his most recent artistic endeavor is writing a book about his life, including stories of doing drag and his experience growing up gay in Ireland, plus his experiences on the sets of two huge TV franchises. But Nairn wasn’t the one who came up with the idea to write it.
“It was an idea by my manager. We spend a lot of time together and I would always be telling him stories about my past. And he would always make quips like, ‘You gotta write this down. You gotta put it in a book,’” he said. “And then I started to put it together and then I started to enjoy the process. It’s been a hugely cathartic process. I’m very proud of it. I’m excited to see what the world thinks.”
During the cast panel at the con, Nairn’s OFMD costar Nathan Foad (Lucius) came out on stage holding an advance copy of the book and even placed it on the couch so the audience could see it the whole time.
“He wants a commission but he’s not getting it!” Nairn joked about Foad’s enthusiasm. “One percent maybe. Actually, I can’t say that. He’d probably take it!”
Through the book, titled Beyond the Throne, Nairn hopes fans will get to know him on a personal level.
“People will know me better when they read it. They’ll know more about what makes me tick. I mean, I’m always who I am. I’ve never changed myself ever. But there’s stuff about me I wouldn’t mind the world finding out. I don’t have anything to hide,” he said.
Another way he has connected with fans is through Wee John Wednesdays, a Q&A he started hosting on Instagram Live during the UK airing of Our Flag season one. He continued to bring on the cast and crew to discuss season two post-SAG and WGA strike, plus he’ll pop on for random one-offs here and there. While he doesn’t remember exactly how WJW got started, he for sure knows why.
“How did it come about? I have no memory at all,” he said. “But I wanted to do them because I was missing these guys [his fellow castmates], and we weren’t getting any information from HBO at the time, and people wanted something to grasp onto. And I said, ‘Well, if you’re not going to do it, I’m going to freakin’ do it!’”
In one memorable WJW, he brought on costume designer Gypsy Taylor, who was in charge of creating the iconic Calypso look for Nairn in season two. Through the process, he and Taylor closely collaborated on the vision to bring Calypso to life, with Nairn drawing inspiration from his former drag life, even mentioning during the fan panel that he sent OFMD creator David Jenkins photos of himself in drag to entice him to let him dress up sometime during the course of the show.
It’s clear Nairn couldn’t be more proud of how Calypso turned out and couldn’t heap enough praise on Taylor’s execution of the look.
“We had so many makeup tests and everything. I always had a lot to say because obviously I do my own makeup. I didn’t do that makeup. But I did have a lot to say!” he said. “My drag would be more goth. But I loved that look. I just remember Gypsy was just as excited about it as I was. Because we were running out of time towards the end of season two, there was a real, real chance that it was going to be cut. Because of the costs, because of everything. And both me and Gypsy were like, ‘No, we have to do this.’ And Gypsy had made that incredible dress. Yeah, we had to do it. It was very collaborative. And Gypsy is incredible. So talented. Just one of the coolest people I’ve ever met. Soul sister. I really connected with Gypsy.”
Nairn is also proud of the representation offered by OFMD and is honored to be part of a show that uplifts queer joy and acceptance.
“It’s everything,” he said. “You know what, I’m not into celebrating queerness. We’re just celebrating humanity. I think this show showed people that we were just human. And that’s so important. It’s so fucking important for me that we were represented that way. I’m just honored to be a part of it.”
