Kristen Bell Turns Lincoln Into a Game of Thrones Fan

Actress tried and failed to "play it cool" while working with Peter Dinklage on The Boss

By Zach Johnson Mar 24, 2016 10:57 AMTags

Kristen Bell's Game of Thrones obsession is unparalleled.

So, when the actress got the opportunity to work with one of the HBO show's stars, Peter Dinklage, in Universal Pictures' upcoming comedy The Boss, she had a tough time keeping her chill. "Peter is my favorite because, first of all, he is charisma personified. He had everyone on our set eating out of his hand. He's always sitting on set vaguely listening to us chatter and doing The New York Times crossroad puzzle—and not the Monday one! The Sunday one!" she said on Jimmy Kimmel Live! Wednesday. "He's hyper intelligent and he'll throw out a witty comedy every now and again." Bell added that she and co-star Melissa McCarthy were both "desperate" for clues about the popular series' sixth season, but Dinklage "just toyed with us."

Because they loved working with Dinklage so much, they kept a Tyrion Lannister figurine by the monitors. Later on, someone on set placed a Princess Anna doll next to it. Bell, who voiced the princess in Disney's Frozen, may or may not have put the two toys in uncompromising positions. "I'm not saying I put them in these positions," the actress said, "but I'm not saying that I didn't." Jimmy Kimmel showed photos from her Instagram account, saying, "These are adults at work." Bell added that Dinklage "didn't know" about the toys. "I tried to play it very cool around him."

Instagram

"I'm such a Game of Thrones junkie. One of the first phrases I taught my kid to say was, 'Winter is coming.' She used to run around before she knew what it meant, and she would say, 'Winter coming! Winter coming!'" the 35-year-old actress said of her 3-year-old daughter, Lincoln Shepard. "I made her a Jon Snow costume because our grandparents had given us a toy castle—you know, that little thing you get from the Playskool guard? She was on it and I was like, 'Oh, my God! This looks just like Castle Black! I should make her a costume.' So, I went to Jo-Ann Fabrics and I cut her a Knight's Watch costume. Here's how I knew it was meant to be: That afternoon I was like, 'We're doing this photo shoot, kid!' And she was like, 'Eh, I don't understand.' Some random friends stopped by with a giant white German Shepherd. A dire wolf, you guys! I obviously popped him in the photos, and it's great. I got 'em up on the wall."

Kimmel couldn't resist teasing his guest about her obsession with Dinklage and the fantasy series. "You're aware that your show, House of Lies on Showtime, is at the same time as Game of Thrones?" he asked. Bell shrugged it off and replied, "That's a real bummer. That's a bummer for us. Our show is very good, but when I met him, I tried so hard to be cool. I think I said, 'It's so nice to meet you, Peter. I'm Kristen. Wait...you're on a show, right? Aren't you on a show?'"

"Is that playing it too cool, though?" Kimmel asked.

"Probably," Bell said. "I think he saw right through me."

(E! and Universal Pictures are both members of the NBCUniversal family.)