MANILA, Philippines – In a surprise that, perhaps, rivals the show it documents, it’s the unlikelier personalities that shine the most in Game of Thrones: The Last Watch, which follows the creation of the final season of the hit HBO series. 

And it’s Vladimir Furdik, stunt choreographer and Night King in Game of Thrones, that shines the most. 

“You cannot be stunt man forever. But choreographer, you can forever. Thirty-three years, I’ve been a stuntman. I prepare the actors to be famous. I prepare them to look good before the camera…. Now, I’m in the frontline so I’m like wow, what am I doing here? Why me?” he says, as footage rolls of him in the makeup room preparing for a scene as the Night King. 

Vladimir, who grew up in the Czech Republic, first portrayed the antagonist in season 6 of the series. “The mask completely changes you…. Step-by-step, you come into the dark side,” he says as he dons the mask.

The casting story is also heartwarming. “He called me in, he asked me if I’d like to be the Night King. And I didn’t hear Night King, I just heard King. And I said…I can be any king, you know?” Vladimir recalls. 

And his insight into his character? “I think he’s angry. he didn’t want to be Night King…. The Children of the Forest, they changed him and now he’s [like] ‘Ok, you want me to be Night King? I will kill you.'”

Vladimir is stunt choreographer in many episodes of the series. In the documentary, he is seen choreographing “Cleganebowl.” 

The Night King has a much larger and pronounced role in the TV series compared to the book series by George RR Martin, which the show is based on. In the TV series, the Night King was created by the Children of the Forest, mythical humanoid creatures, to defeat the First Men. 

But the Night King eventually goes beyond their control, forcing the warring sides to band together and form a pact. He resides beyond The Wall in the North and has an army of White Walker and wights – zombie-like creatures who are resurrected by either the Night King or his White Walkers. 

The third episode of the final season, “The Long Night,” features the long-awaited battle between the Night King’s forces and the living, who band together at Winterfell. The episode, however, recieved mixed reactions from both fans and critics. 

The Last Watch, by acclaimed British filmmaker Jeanie Finlay, was given unprecedented access to the filming of the final season of the hit HBO TV show. It began airing on Monday, May 27, at 9 am in Asia on HBO and HBO Go. It will air again for an encore telecast at 10 pm on HBO.

The documentary is set for another encore telecast on Tuesday, May 28, at 10 pm on HBO Signature. – Rappler.com

More stories about the final season of Game of Thrones and The Last Watch: 

• The Night King is the surprise hero in the ‘Game of Thrones’ documentary
• Kit Harington and Emilia Clarke’s reaction to that Iron Throne scene will break your heart too
• Gwendoline Christie, Sophie Turner bid farewell to their ‘Game of Thrones’ characters
• Into the throne and out again: A post-‘Game of Thrones’ panel
• IN PHOTOS: More stills from the ‘Game of Thrones’ season 8 finale
• It’s not just you – even Emilia Clarke struggled with Dany’s character arc
• Who won the ‘Game of Thrones’: Questions the finale resolved, opened, and raised