Rory McCann is "looking forward" to getting the flu – so he can finally watch ‘Game of Thrones’ in its entirety.
The 50-year-old actor admitted he hasn’t watched more than a "few" episodes of the HBO fantasy drama series – in which he bowed out as Sandor ‘The Hound’ Clegane on Sunday (12.05.19) but is planning to watch it from start to finish when he finally has time to stay indoors for a lengthy period of time.
He said: "I’m very happy with the way The Hound’s story ends, thank you very much. I love all the endings.
"I don’t know how they managed to sew it all together. I don’t know how it goes with George R.R. Martin’s ending, if it’s the same or no.
"I haven’t watched the series much. Only watched a few episodes. I don’t watch the telly. And when the show’s on I’m usually out in the wild sailing or something.
"I’m looking forward to getting the whole box set and then I’ll watch it when I get the flu."
While Rory is "absolutely delighted" with his on-screen death, he admitted it would have been "nice" for his alter ego to have stayed alive – and landed a spin-off series.
He told Entertainment Weekly: "It would have been nice to keep living and go on a road trip and do a spin-off. But I’m absolutely delighted.
"I’m blessed to be given this storyline. Blessed to be given storylines in the past seasons with all the [Westeros] politics going on — that we were able to have a Hound-Arya road trip."
Every year, Rory has cut contact with his friends in order to be "lonely" ahead of filming and has only recently started socialising with his co-stars.
He admitted: "Before each season, I phone all my friends and tell them I don’t want to speak or have any contact with anyone at all.
"I make myself lonely before every season, purely because I’m going onto ‘Thrones’. I don’t want contact with anyone before starting the job.
"It’s only been in the past couple years I’ve started to talk to people and go out to pubs and be with the other actors. Before that I was the weirdo who was going back to my room or in the gym.
"I was doing a scene with Kristofer Hivju and he went to hug me as his character and I said, ‘Don’t touch me.’ And I’m so like that home.
"I’m very close to being The Hound. I’m not used to human touch. I’m a bit of a recluse. Now I’ve made some friends. I’ve started to relax. I’ve learned a lot. It’s been a hell of an education."
And now filming is over, Rory is "itching" to spend a few years out at sea.
He added: "But now I’m just itching to get the hell away in this boat I’ve been building…
It’s an old wooden ketch. Two masts. All wood, 45 years old. Gorgeous thing with a peat fire inside it.
"I’d like to go away for a couple years. Maybe I’m meant to take a nice job after this. We’ll just see.
"I’m a sailor and spent all my years trying to do up boats. Now I’m thinking of finishing my last few scenes sand sailing off into the sunset. That’s my dream."
Rory McCann hasn’t seen much of Game of Thrones
