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I think we're at the point in pop culture's history where even the layperson knows fantasy is a varied genre. Hopeful tales and depressing depictions both fit nicely into the genre's frame, and then, of course, there's a whole new wing of it that's pretty much just horniness and sorcery. Among all those overlapping and opposing themes, there's a pretty wide gap between two of the genre's most popular modern entries: that is, The Lord of the Rings and Game of Thrones. And recently, one of the creative minds behind the later touched on why he thinks that is.

That mind was Peter Claffey, the actor who will portray the titular character in the Game of Thrones spinoff/prequel A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms. As Ser Duncan the Tall ("Dunk" to his friends), Claffey has clearly done his homework in exploring the world his new series will be exploring, understanding the themes of Westeros and how it differs from perhaps the most important work of fantasy in the genre's history.

"In Game of Thrones and in George R.R. Martin’s world," the actor recently told Nerdist, "People get so far in positions and status and stuff by doing hideous things and being part of and stabbing people in the back, literally, figuratively. And with, for example, the glorious trilogy that is The Lord of the Rings, you see so much more honor there, other than we’re talking Morgoth and Sauron, other than those pure evil beings, it’s a lot more of that sort of fairytale evil, that sort of thing."

So what does that mean for Claffey himself? Well, the difference of worlds seems to put an extra layer of difficulty in the persona that the actor needs to play his character. The way he talks about it, Dunk would fit in a bit more in a world like J.R.R. Tolkien's.

"Navigating trying to be a decent knight like Dunk," Claffey concludes, "A knight with some status, must be a truly difficult thing."

We're looking forward to seeing how that plays out, Peter. And while we're at it, have you talked to Prime Video about any open roles in the Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power? Just saying, we wouldn't balk at the idea of a very tall Celeborn.

A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms comes to HBO January 18.

House of the Dragon season 2 may be over, but Popverse is still in the Westeros spirit, and we've got more Game of Thrones articles than could fit on a spiky chair. We've got everything you need to dive into the series, including:

• How to watch through the Game of Thrones/House of the Dragon saga in order 
• How to read Game of Thrones in order 
• The biggest differences between the two HBO shows set in Westeros,
• The history of Westeros's greatest houses & families
• Every single dragon in House of the Dragon so far
• A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, HBO's upcoming GoT spinoff

Plus much more coming as it gets announced!