Interview

Nikolaj Coster-Waldau and John Bradley on life, filming Game of Thrones and Jon Snow

Posted on by Sue the Fury

ncw

With season 6 around the corner (59 days and counting!), there are more Game of Thrones cast interviews every day. This morning, we have new features on Nikolaj Coster-Waldau and John Bradley discussing life, filming Game of Thrones and of course, Jon Snow.

In DigitalSpy, Bradley discusses his reaction to Jon’s death and how it has affected his time on set, playing Samwell Tarly.

“When you read something like that, even though you’re a fan of the show and the character, it’s hard not to let your personal, real-life emotions come into it.” The actor explains, “”You think, ‘It’s terrible that Jon Snow’s not going to be in it anymore’, but it’s more terrible for me that Kit’s not going to be on set every day. Not that I’d be acting with him anyway [if he survived], but that presence will be missing.”

Sam GillyBradley elaborates on his feelings about Jon’s alleged death and Kit Harington’s presumed absence from the show. He says, “[M]y professional relationship with this guy that I love very much, who is the first person I ever acted with professionally, I’m not going to ever do that again, so it’s hard to stop those real things creeping into it.​”

For more of this interview, swing by Digital Spy.

Over at Redbulletin.com, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau has a new in-depth personal profile. The actor is very frank about his youth, his family and what matters most to him in life. He discusses his first days on the GoT set and difficult moments in his childhood.

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As for the idea of getting killed off Game of Thrones, Coster-Waldau isn’t worried. “Actually I’m curious as to how it all turns out. I’m sure the story will be told as it’s meant to be told.”

NCW RedBulletinThe Danish actor says, “I’ve learned that you just never know what the future holds for you.” He talks about missing out on the lead in John Carter (ultimately a huge flop) only to land his part as Jaime Lannister around the same time.

When he arrived on set, and saw the Iron Throne room, it was “a profound moment,” he says. “The set has been there since the pilot, and it’s impressive. When I saw that, I thought, “Holy shit. They’re serious.”

Nikolaj appears in a mountain biking video on Redbulletin.com (a visual treat) and covers a wide variety of subjects, sharing thoughts on who he admires and the happiness of Danes. Head on over to Redbulletin to check out the complete interview!

,
Sue the Fury
Susan Miller, Editor in Chief of WatchersOnTheWall.com

103 Comments

  7. John, stop, just stop. You may be the last one that’s even trying with a straight face to say that Kit won’t be back. Everyone else went from those denials to just quiet smirks. John’s like that last WWII Japanese soldier that they found in the jungle in the 70’s who didn’t that that the war ended. Everyone has moved on.

  12. Nobody has worked harder to maintain the “Jon Snow is dead” scheme harder than John Bradley. lol
    Even you said it John…”he always comes back” 😉

  15. John Carter was actually quite a fun movie that could have been enjoyed by a lot of Star Wars fans, with its Han-and-Leia-style grumpy romance. Too bad that so many people avoided it on account of the inept marketing campaign and all the negative advance buzz over cost overruns.

  17. I wonder if they’ll have Sam hear of the news of Jon dying (somehow), or whether the time between his death and return will be so small that there won’t be any room for that.

  18. Firannion:
    John Carter was actually quite a fun movie that could have been enjoyed by a lot of Star Wars fans, with its Han-and-Leia-style grumpy romance. Too bad that so many people avoided it on account of the inept marketing campaign and all the negative advance buzz over cost overruns.

    I happen to agree with you. It took the second watch through to really enjoy it, but I now like the movie very much.

    I think this is the first time in an interview that I have read someone say that they would miss “working with Kit”, rather than just Jon Snow. I am starting to get the feeling that there is going to be a real twist to the rezzie/come back of Jon Whatever, something none of us expected. Which I kind of like, not good to know it all before hand.

  19. JCDavis,

    Not sure what to make of it. Sam’s arc is taking him to Old town and apparently a visit at home. Of course he would not have filmed with Kit.
    Not much longer and we will find out.
    NCW…oh baby, baby.

  21. I thoroughly enjoyed that article (and links) -of course the eye candy of NCW is always appreciated. His wife is one lucky lady!!!

  25. Firannion:
    John Carter was actually quite a fun movie that could have been enjoyed by a lot of Star Wars fans, with its Han-and-Leia-style grumpy romance. Too bad that so many people avoided it on account of the inept marketing campaign and all the negative advance buzz over cost overruns.

    Thank you so much … I thought I was the last one left in the world who thought “John Carter” was exactly that: fun, and well made. I watch it whenever it’s on. Though, before I got into GoT, I probably wouldn’t have given “John Carter” a second thought. That whole “fantasy and sci-fi is only for weirdos and geeks” vibe. I guess I’m a weirdo now. Yay!

    John Bradley always does well in interviews. He’s lively and funny and well-spoken. I would miss Sam if he wasn’t in the show anymore. I still think Sam is going to discover something extremely helpful to the cause while he’s at the Citadel.

    I might even go see Nicolaj in his new movie. It would be worth the money to sit and watch him strut for a while.

  29. Was just rewatching s03 and man I forgot how rough those Boltons were to Jaime. Bet NCW is glad to be less muddy these days.

    Also lol @ the vapahs. 🙂

  31. I imagine a lot of things with NCW.

    He’s just hot as hell, and he’s 45. Damn, son. He wasn’t nearly as hot when he was younger. Talk about aging well. And he seems like just a regular, if slightly dorky, guy.

    I need Jaime to make it to the end. I need it. He’s the eye candy in the show. You can keep Jon Snow, and all the hot Dothraki, I’ll take one Nikolaj to rule them all.

  32. Aryamad,

    Not necessarily! He likes getting muddy while mountainbiking. Maybe for him shooting those terrifying scenes was more pleasant than it was for us to watch them: he might have liked the opportunity to be part of such dramatic events, he might have anticipated the audience’s reactions.

  36. HotPinkLipstick,

    Wait, you’ve got Oathkeeper?! That’s not fair, unless you are Brienne herself! I’ll change if into a drinking competition then.
    Newbietothegame, please join us!

  40. What a great interview with NCW–very revealing. It says something about him that he can go through all that and emerge so level-headed (and charming!).

    He was on Jimmy Kimmel last week, discussing everything from Jon Snow to Big Bird 🙂
    http://youtu.be/ucij7UL1tVA

  44. What a great guy – as well as beautiful to look at. Here is wishing him a very long and fruitful career!

  45. New interview with Maisie Williams and Liam Cunningham:

    http://www.express.co.uk/showbiz/tv-radio/647481/Game-of-Thrones-season-6-Arya-blind-Maisie-Williams-Jon-Snow-dead-Carice-van-Houten

    “So that everyone can have a nice arc and we can all have a pinnacle moment at the same sort of time, like you get one epic episode, and it works a lot more in their favour because they can shape the series as they want,” she explained

    The Falling star revealed that fans would be seeing less of Arya in the upcoming series and that she would be in fewer episodes than in the past. Maisie said that many of her scenes were “split up”, however she felt that her story still “totally flows”.

    “The first episode to kick off with [Melisandre] – without saying anything again – is astonishing,” the 54-year-old Irish actor teased.

  46. HotPinkLipstick,

    “I imagine a lot of things with NCW”.. Lol:)) I know what you mean. But for me it’s KH
    I have to agree with you, NCW is a very attractive guy. But no one can top Jon Snow for me. So I need him to come back to life!!
    Ned Stark and Jon have always been my favorite characters on the show. I guess I got a thing for the honorable good guy ;p
    I can’t wait for the season to start!!?

  47. Name *,

    Fewer episodes of Arya is perhaps a little surprising. She was in 9 episodes in the first three seasons, and then 6 in the last two. Therefore, we can assume that she is in 5 episodes at the most (unless they shift any of her scenes to different episodes). 5 doesn’t seem a lot really, but maybe each episode will now focus on a few characters, but each with a fair bit of screen time, unlike in previous seasons where you’ve had a little screen time for a lot of characters each episode.

    There’s also a few extra story lines this year, such as the Iron Islands and the Citadel, and some more of Dorne, so I guess a few characters will lose some screen time to make up for them.

  49. Cersei’s Brain: Here is wishing him a very long and fruitful career!

    And if his Hollywood career tanks (here’s hoping it survives ‘Gods of Egypt,’ which looks dreadfully cheesy in the trailer), he can always take his GoT costumes and go to work as a roleplayer on the Ren Faire circuit. Lots of semi-employed actors spend their summers that way, and it looks like he probably wouldn’t mind working the mud-wrestling shows.

  50. Jeb,

    I’m not clear if she means fewer than the early seasons or fewer than the last two; granted, the former would be a bit weird to highlight, but I’m having a hard time reconciling Arya being that low in the appearance count with what we know of the season so far.

    In particular, wasn’t at least one person involved with the acting troupe supposed to be in three episodes?

  51. I was hoping for more Arya, rather than less; but it’s undeniably true that other plotlines will have to scale back to make room for Ironborn, Oldtown etc. And a lot of Arya’s story this season could move forward with Maisie offscreen, if she’s warging Nymeria.

    I wonder if ‘split up’ is a reference to there being a gap while she’s sailing back to Westeros, or if there are simply long sequences (like mummer show/Waif chase?) spread across multiple episodes. Wolf dreams could be her way of whiling away the time while aboard ship; and if she’s a stowaway and unable to steal food, eating as Nymeria might temporarily slake her hunger.

  52. Maisie’s statement doesn’t jive with what we know from filming, does it?

    Three episodes for the troupe actors, at least one for the blind begger stuff, then the chase and the fact that we know she will be elsewhere (spoilers!) by the end of the season. That has to be about six episodes at least, which is basically what she’s had for the last few years.

  53. Saturn awards nominations announced! GOT is nominated for Best Fantasy Series while Kit, Lena, Maisie and Olly (don’t know the actor’s name) were nominated in the acting categories! So happy!

  54. Sean C.,

    Yeah. I mean if I had to have guessed before she made the comment I would’ve said 6 or 7. Any less seems bizarre, and we do know a fair bit of her story this year; either there’s going to be a lot of her in each of the five episodes, or she just means less episodes than the early seasons in which case 6 or 7 episodes sounds about right.

    You’re right about the information in the spoiler, which supports the latter interpretation.

  55. Luka Nieto,

    It’s possible there’s some overlap between some of the acting troupe people and the other phases, but even then, it seems awkward.

    I wonder if everything related to the Riverlands isn’t running behind most of the rest of the storylines? Because Jaime appears to be ending the season with his AFFC material and then some sort of Brienne reunion, which is where ADWD left things. If Arya returns to the Riverlands relatively early in TWOW and gets mixed up in that storyline — possible, we really have no idea — maybe the writers don’t have much to work with for this season?

  56. Jeb,

    I guess Arya could be in five episodes and that would still jive with what we know from filming… If so, her five episodes must be really jam-packed with Arya stuff! Which I appreciate —I don’t like it when we just spend a few minutes with a character in an episode. The pace of the character’s arc is interrupted this way; such as Bran in season three and, to a lesser extent, Arya in season five. I prefer it when the character appears in fewer episodes but they have a lot of screentime in their few episodes.

    Sean C.:

    Because Jaime appears to be ending the season with his AFFC material and then some sort of Brienne reunion, which is where ADWD left things.

    I very much doubt that. That should be in episode 7 or 8, if I’m not mistaken.

    We’ll see the resolution of the LSH issue in season six, I’d bet (though LSH won’t be involved, but still; the equivalent scenario for the show).

  57. Luka Nieto,

    Jaime’s still in King’s Landing by episode 6, so the earliest he can arrive at Riverrun would be episode 7. Given all the filming they did for that, one has to imagine that will not be a one-episode deal. Maybe Brienne arrives during this; regardless, it doesn’t seem like he can get far beyond where ADWD left things, other than that the probable omission of Stoneheart has probably cleaved out much of his TWOW plot already.

    We shall, of course, see.

    I hope Maisie gets at least six, as any fewer and she’s out of the SAG nomination roster, and they’ve got to win that one of these days, right?

  59. Sean C.,

    I disagree completely… I think we’ll have an equivalent to LSH in terms of plot, though not in terms of character, and I believe we’ll see how the Jaime-Brienne-LSH scenario pans out this season. In fact, I’d say we know for a fact that the Jaime-Brienne story won’t end with their reunion this season:

    Thanks to L7R we know that Jaime will use “Littlefinger’s jetpack” to be very far away by the end of the season. So he can’t really still be in Riverrun or around there, can he? 😉 My best guess is Winterfell, where Sansa will take LSH’s role (plotwise, not character-wise).

  60. I think John Bradley can say that, this season, because he probably didn’t have any scenes with Kit in season 6!! He is going to the Citadel! So he probably isn’t actually lying in his mind! And I love Nikolai!!! He can be in anything and I would love it!! He is very down-to-earth for someone famous!!

  63. Little concerned about Maisie’s statement that D&D can shape the story as they want. Keep flashing to Dorne storyline of last season. Hope I’m overreacting.

  66. Luka Nieto,

    I agree with you on characters having fewer episodes but more time in those episodes in general, but there are times when I think they should spread it out more. Specifically, the second half of Stannis in season five needed more episodes. It will inevitably feel like more time has passed when characters are seen from one episode to the next, rather than having multiple scenes within one episode. Or, to put it more simply, if the story needs to feel like more time has passed, split up the scenes. If it doesn’t matter, consolidate.

  67. Well, I have to admit that Mr. Bradley’s interview was the most convincing about Jon Snow’s demise so far.

    GeekFurious:
    Nikolaj is too good looking… stop it, bro. You make us 40somethings look bad.

    Don’t worry; we still like you too! ?

  70. HotPinkLipstick:
    I imagine a lot of things with NCW.

    He’s just hot as hell, and he’s 45. Damn, son. He wasn’t nearly as hot when he was younger. Talk about aging well. And he seems like just a regular, if slightly dorky, guy.

    I need Jaime to make it to the end. I need it. He’s the eye candy in the show. You can keep Jon Snow, and all the hot Dothraki, I’ll take one Nikolaj to rule them all.

    Totally, totally agree. The man is gorgeous. I’ve sat through the movie he made with Cameron Diaz twice just so I could look at him.

  71. Seriously, Arya’s going to be in less than 6 episodes? A major character?
    I guess this show is no longer must see TV for me.

    Maisie, I never thought I would say this but get out of this show. Do whatever you need to do and go somewhere they appreciate you and your talent. Don’t sign on for Season 8.
    It may remind them that Arya was the hardest part to cast for a reason. Make them recast her and see how that goes for them.

  72. Great pics of Nikolaj in Tisvildeleje and he seems like a reasonable guy. Btw., I’m a Dane, too which means that my English isn’t perfect but come on: Someone needs to edit these interviews before printing them.

  74. Lady Stark:
    HotPinkLipstick,

    “I imagine a lot of things with NCW”.. Lol:)) I know what you mean. But for me it’s KH
    I have to agree with you, NCW is a very attractive guy. But no one can top Jon Snow for me. So I need him to come back to life!!
    Ned Stark and Jon have always been my favorite characters on the show. I guess I got a thing for the honorable good guy ;p
    I can’t wait for the season to start!!

    Jon has been my favorite since I read the cave scene in ASOS! I will be forever grateful that the showrunners included it in Kissed by Fire. I am blushing as I write this surrounded by co-workers in the lunch room.

  75. Besides admiring the obvious good genes that NCW has, I was thinking about how absolutely perfect he looks in black & white photos. These shots of him are stunning, both above and throughout the linked articles.

    Definitely sent me off to fantasy-land this afternoon!! Thanks for that!!

  77. AryaArya,

    I’ll never understand why people count number of episodes as opposed to screen time and/or impact on the story.

    Arya is probably my favorite character, yet I could not disagree with you more.

  78. Definitely don’t like that Maisie news. I’m wondering if she kinda of disappears for the last few episodes and then pops up in ep10

    back in Westeros. Hopefully with Walder Frey’s head in her hands

  79. AryaArya,

    She needs to be in 6 or more episodes in order to be eligible for the big tv awards (like SAG or Emmy). She’ll more likely be in 6 episodes and maybe won’t have very long scenes. There’s not much to do in Braavos, so I see why she’ll be featured less.

  80. H.Stark,

    Probably. He’ll have to film the first season of Iron Fist and The Defenders for Netflix. Then Iron Fist might get renewed, or they’ll decide to do Heroes for Hire with him and Luke Cage.

  82. Nikolaj probably has a huge flop coming soon with Gods of Egypt so that is why he is doing interviews.
    Interesting that Finn Jones got Iron Fist gig, I know everyone has been saying that Loras’s character has been handled poorly but I have away thought him as a mediocre actor and among the worst these days since Shae is no longer in the show and the quality of actors so great in general.

  83. Firannion: John Carter was actually quite a fun movie

    Barsoom! My childhood was filled with Edgar Rice Burroughs (the Tarzan, John Carter and Pellucidar series). In my teens, I also got into the John Carter comic books from Marvel. I’ll even admit that the Princess of Helium (Dejah) was a great female fantasy during my formative years (yeah, I had the poster of “A Princess of Mars” on my wall). When the film was advertised with Pixar’s Andrew Stanton (Finding Nemo, WALL-E) helming it, I nearly flipped. Although nothing will ever match the imagination of ERB, and I wish it was grittier than a Disney flick could be, the film was pretty cool and inspired.

  85. Firannion: I was hoping for more Arya, rather than less;

    If there is going to be less Arya, that totally throws off the theory I had that much of this season was going to be Arya-centered. Why in the world are the marketers making so many references to the House of Black and White in the promos if there is going to be less Arya? Does this mean that another character from the HoB&W is going to have a pivotal role in the events

    Jaquen maybe pushing an Ironborn king off a rope bridge or something like that?

    or is it just the marketing department making questionable decisions so as not to spoil anything? Or is the showing of faces from the past and present a way of showing how Bran will be pivotal in his role of Greenseer?

    Anyway, I will miss Maisie’s presence in the show, if she’s in fewer episodes. The season that showcased her and the Hound was one of my favorites. I couldn’t wait for those two to show up on screen. For that matter, the season with her and Tywin was wonderful as well. I even loved her HoB&W stuff, AFTER they stopped showing her sweeping floors. I just realized how much I enjoy Maisie’s terrific acting in general, and look forward to seeing her onscreen, whatever she’s doing.

    This season is going to be a big mystery as it unfolds. I’m glad all of you will be here so we can share it, and analyze and agonize over all of it together. How long now? … 59 days, ugh.

  86. Thronetender: John Bradley always does well in interviews. He’s lively and funny and well-spoken. I would miss Sam if he wasn’t in the show anymore. I still think Sam is going to discover something extremely helpful to the cause while he’s at the Citadel.

    Perhaps something about a certain horn in his possession….?

  87. scififantasygirl: Perhaps something about a certain horn in his possession….?

    Does he still have that thing? That would be cool, but I can’t remember seeing it again after they dug it out of the ice with the dragonglass.

    I can just imagine him reading a passage in some huge tome and racing through hallways, knocking people over, to get back to his room and dig it from where it was stowed, to see if the markings are as described in the book. or something like that. Then declaring he has to get back to the wall, get back to Jon. I don’t think he will have heard about Jon yet, don’t see how he could know. It’s not likes some of the Wildings will easily migrate much further south, and spread the story that way.

  89. Congratulations to Finn on his new role. It’s great to see GoT actors get rewarded with fantastic roles, and I wish him all the best in the role.

    I also hope there won’t be a backlash against him. I know a lot of people wanted an Asian American, but hopefully they’ll get behind him now he’s been cast. I look forward to seeing him make his big break, and hopefully he smashes his (probable) final season in GoT. I’m not surprised at all he’s leaving though.

  90. Luka Nieto: Three episodes for the troupe actors, at least one for the blind begger stuff, then the chase and the fact that we know she will be elsewhere (spoilers!) by the end of the season.

    Wasn’t there a scene where she had to jump into water? I seem to remember shots of her emerging from the canal, all wet. Can’t remember if she was still blind when she jumped. Is that one of the episodes you are counting? Was she supposed to still be blind in the chase scene? I’m not putting this in spoiler brackets, because the pics were openly shown and we all openly discussed them.

  92. I don’t think it’s a massive deal if Maisie is in less episodes this year. She was in less last year but most episodes she was in she got quite big sections in them which were all focussed on Arya. Sometimes less is more. I rewatched Season 2 recently and it felt like there were loads of scenes with Tyrion that were just there for the sake of him and Bronn having banter and being witty rather than adding much to the story.

    And this year there is gonna be a lot of storylines (with a varying degree of presence) so I reckon most of the characters will have a slight decline in screentime.

  93. Nicolaj is a prime example of how age works in a lot of people’s favour in the looks department. Something about that 40’s-50’s age in men is so damn attractive (and many women too). Probably explains why I tend to be more attracted to the Iain Glen, Rory McCann, and Sean Bean types, over the Kit Harington, Richard Madden, and Finn Jones age group. They’re good looking, of course, but having a bit of life written on your face is lovely. Tom Wlaschiha is still a youngun, but he’s just so unique looking. Although I must say, I just realized that Michael Fassbender and I are the same age and I was shocked – I would have put him at early 40s.

    What was the topic again? 😛

  94. scififantasygirl: Perhaps something about a certain horn in his possession….?

    I did some further thinking about this: maybe he reads something about this history of the Wall and the White Walkers, or the Children of the Forest that gives a clue about what the original agreement was about the Wall. Or maybe he reads why dragonglass can kill a WW and the other Maesters at the Citadel come up with a substitute. Or maybe a way to prevent the spell of the Night King from working ..something… Stannis did tell him to keep reading, Sam Tarley.

  96. Jeb,

    There is already some backlash but I think enough people will support him. I do and I wish him the best. I’ve yet to be disappointed with any casting done in the Netflix side of Marvel and I can’t wait to see what they do with the character.

    As far as the Jon Snow thing goes, his return has really been botched with the leaks and the half-hearted attempts at misdirection by the cast. Its not really their fault, just a sign of the times we live in with the internet and such.

    Although, if they brought Kit onto to set, dressed him up in Northern leathers and staged that picture like they staged the White Walker thing, that might have been the cruelest but most brilliant way to avoid spoilers that I’ve ever seen. But I don’t think they are that cruel to be honest.

  97. Luka Nieto,

    IIRC the L7R guy had also said that he knew the ending scenes of the season for Jaime, Arya, Dany and Tyrion. Since its likely that Dany and Tyrion will be together in the finale, I had wondered about the possibility of the same happening with Jaime and Arya too. That Jaime would come across Arya in the finale. So the guy would have been talking about 2 scenes and not 3. But his jetpack remark does not gel with this supposition, I guess. If Jaime is in Winterfell in the finale, its funny that he knows Jaime’s last scene, but not Sansa’s.

  98. Sou:
    Well, I have to admit that Mr. Bradley’s interview was the most convincing about Jon Snow’s demise so far.

    Don’t worry; we still like you too!

    You like me! You really like me!

  99. Pigeon:
    Nicolaj is a prime example of how age works in a lot of people’s favour in the looks department. Something about that 40’s-50’s age in men is so damn attractive

    I’m counting on this working for me… because I looked like a big fat hairy baby in my 20s and 30s…

  100. Are all the other ladies dead by jousting, sword, drink, whaterever?

    Because I come to claim my NCW. Neeh nah neeh nah.

    More seriously, I’m very hopeful about Jaime’s and Cersei’s relationship falling apart because NCW is sporting a beard.

    In the books, Jaime shaves clean when he gets to KL because Cersei likes him that way, so that they’d look alike. But Cersei rejects him and his ugly stump. He’s no longer the golden knight in shining armour to Cersei, he’s a less than perfect cripple. Not someone Cersei would want to have in her sphere of POWER.

    Later, he lets his beard grow back, which Cersei hates and criticises. The beard is a symbol of their relationship deteriorating and them being different. The longer Jaime’s beard, the worse his relationship with Cersei… He never shaves.

    I love Jaime, but he’s DOOMED. I’m using all these years between books to brace myself to his death.

  101. Thronetender: Does he still have that thing? That would be cool, but I can’t remember seeing it again after they dug it out of the ice with the dragonglass.

    After reading the books I’m starting to get a bit confused between what’s in them and what’s in the show now but I believe he has it.

  102. Did anyone catch NCW on Kelly and Michael a few mornings ago? He didn’t have much to say about GOT, he mostly talked about his family. He seems like a very down to earth person.

  103. talvikorppi,

    We all got drunk and bruised from sword fight and are holding one another like sisters! We are going to found the Jaime fanclub (the third in Westeros after whores all over the seven kingdoms had founded the Tyrion and the Pod fanclubs), crying in anticipation if Jaime dies 🙂
    Seriously now, I like your beard theory and I’m really scared that Jaime might die because of Brienne, it would be very sad. I will still have my Brienne and Jaime figures near my computer, but still…

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