--- title: Peter Dinklage Confesses He Hasn't Read the 'Game of Thrones' Books description: Actor Peter Dinklage, who plays Tyrion Lannister, tells David Letterman his knowledge of the mythical fantasy saga is limited to the HBO series he stars in, which didn't sit too well with author George R.R. Martin canonical: https://time.com/39993/peter-dinklage-game-of-thrones-confession/ author: Eric Dodds article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-03-27T13:36:44.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-01T08:47:57.504Z article:section: Entertainment og:title: Peter Dinklage Confesses He Hasn't Read the 'Game of Thrones' Books og:description: Apparently you don't need to read the A Song of Fire and Ice to play Tyrion Lannister og:url: https://time.com/39993/peter-dinklage-game-of-thrones-confession/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7144f252e954469d/69868785cd804d10cfcc9f49/peter-dinklage-game-of-thrones.jpg?branch=production&width=999&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 999 og:image:height: 562 og:image:alt: "Game Of Thrones" Season 4 New York Premiere og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Peter Dinklage Confesses He Hasn't Read the 'Game of Thrones' Books twitter:description: Apparently you don't need to read the A Song of Fire and Ice to play Tyrion Lannister twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7144f252e954469d/69868785cd804d10cfcc9f49/peter-dinklage-game-of-thrones.jpg?branch=production&width=999&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Peter Dinklage Hasn't Read _Game of Thrones_ > Sponsored content. 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Terms and conditions apply. * Savings buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Savings Account. * No ATM fees from Ally Bank at Allpoint and Moneypass ATMs plus we reimburse for fees charged by other ATM owners nationwide up to $10 per statement cycle. * Early direct deposit offers eligible direct deposits up to two days sooner. * Spending buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Spending Account. ## Video: Which 'Game of Thrones' Star Has Never Read The Books? [Watch (HLS stream): Which 'Game of Thrones' Star Has Never Read The Books?](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/7HHwG0M6.m3u8) (0:56)  _Published 2014-03-27. Peter Dinklage plays fan favorite Tyrion Lannister on the HBO show, but he confessed to David Letterman he's never read the book series the show is based on, and that makes him a little scared._ by [Eric Dodds](https://time.com/author/eric-dodds/) ## Eric Dodds Mar 27, 2014 1:36 PM UTC Peter Dinklage plays fan favorite Tyrion Lannister on the HBO show, but he confessed to David Letterman he's never read the book series the show is based on, and that makes him a little scared. by [Eric Dodds](https://time.com/author/eric-dodds/) ## Eric Dodds Mar 27, 2014 1:36 PM UTC For as complex as the _Game of Thrones_ TV series is, its literary counterpart, _A Song of Fire and Ice_, is on a completely different level. Thousands of pages, dozens of settings and countless obscure characters make the novels — as compelling as they are — rather involved reading. With that in mind, it’s hard to be too critical of Peter Dinklage — who plays Tyrion Lannister — for not having [read the books](http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/peter-dinklage-i-told-george-691580) on which the show is based. Dinklage revealed to David Letterman on _Late Show_ Wednesday that his knowledge of the mythical fantasy saga is limited to the HBO television series. That fact that didn’t exactly thrill the books’ author, George R.R. Martin. When asked how his confession was received by Martin, Dinklage replied, “Not well.” On a show where no character is safe, fans of Tyrion may want to cross their fingers and hope that Martin — who has finished just five of the seven scheduled books in the series — doesn’t take Dinklage’s omission too personally. \[[_The Hollywood Reporter_](http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/peter-dinklage-i-told-george-691580)\] ## Transcript [00:00] For your late night highlight, what Game of Thrones star [00:03] hasn't even read the books? A confession on The Late [00:07] Show. I haven't read the books that it's based on, and [00:11] George Martin, our, our author, is probably going to kill my [00:13] character soon because I've mentioned that. I, I, I started to [00:17] read it, and I got confused so. Yikes, as [00:22] much as Peter Dinkalage's character is beloved by fans, [00:26] the getting killed off fear is very real for Game of Thrones, [00:30] last season's Red Wedding episode infamously proved [00:34] that. Season four is set to premiere April 6th, so for [00:38] those of us who haven't read the books we'll have to see [00:41] what happens. Though there could be hope, Martin recently [00:45] told the Hollywood Reporter there might be movies, not just [00:48] the show, based on the books. Movies would mean at least [00:51] somebody has to survive. Right? Thanks for watching. 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