Game of Thrones Star Nikolaj Coster-Waldau Was Almost Sued by HBO Over Prank Involving His Hair

Ser Jaime Lannister almost found himself in deep trouble with HBO after a seemingly innocent prank.

While speaking to Digital Spy, Game of Thrones star Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, explained why he was almost sued by the network. "There'd been a lot of talk about Jaime's hair in the early seasons—his long golden locks,” he said. “Once he lost his hand, I thought he should maybe have a haircut. And then I thought, 'Why don't I just pretend?'”

That led to an elaborate prank, in which Coster-Waldau convinced everyone he needed to get rid of his hair for personal reasons. "This is five, six seasons ago—I sent them an old picture where I had a buzz cut,” he continued. “I sent a long letter where I explained I'd taken control of my character and I want to be respected. I said that my integrity as an artist was at stake!"

Ultimately, the joke didn't go over so well. "I was in the car from the airport. The first AD said, 'Do you have any hair?' Then he explained how poor Kevin—who is the head of hair—had been frantically trying to build a wig with what he had, which wasn't a lot,” Coster-Waldau recalled. "I said, 'It's just a joke! Did you really believe?' They all believed it. They'd also called my manager. HBO had started to talk about suing me and it had gotten out of control,” the actor said.

What might have seemed like a silly joke to the actor proves how seriously everything is taken on the set of one of TV’s most popular shows. The world will see what becomes of Jaime Lannister when Game of Thrones returns this Sunday.