If you thought 2016 was bizarre, turns out 2017 is pretty weird too.
Here’s a wild headline for you: “Jaime Lannister does a squat with Alexander Hamilton sitting on his shoulders.”
In the realm of late night antics, James Corden makes a habit of exploiting guests’ hidden, or not so hidden, talents. If you’re a good dancer, he’ll probably ask you to show off you moves. If you can literally bench press a human being, he’ll probably ask you to prove it.
So when Corden had Nikolaj Coster-Waldau and Lin-Manuel Miranda on as guests, the Late Late Show host saw an opportunity and went for it.
Nikolaj Coster-Waldau In Prison Drama Shot Caller
Here’s some background: Coster-Waldau appeared on Corden’s show to promote his new film Shot Caller, in select theaters Friday, August 18. In the film, Coster-Waldau plays a successful businessman turned hardened prison gangster, forced to adapt to the gang politics and violence in order to survive.
As Corden points out, Coster-Waldau had to be in pretty good shape for the role. The actor explained that prison gangs would work out “like little armies,” sometimes using fellow inmates as weights—a trick that he learned how to do himself. Obviously, Corden asked him to demonstrate, and Miranda was only too happy to help out.
Nikolaj Coster-Waldau Uses Lin-Manuel Miranda As A Weight
Having watched this clip about ten times, I really feel a need to dissect it, almost frame by frame, because there is just so much. First of all, Miranda hops onto James Corden’s desk with exactly zero hesitation, then starts climbing onto Coster-Waldau’s back like he’s the luckiest koala bear (or a Game of Thrones fangirl). Doing a squat with the Hamilton star on his back would be impressive enough, but no, no. Coster-Waldau instructs Miranda to get onto his shoulders. His shoulders, people!
I think I can detect at least five instances throughout this entire thing where Nikolaj Coster-Waldau’s life flashes before his eyes. “What have I done? Why did I agree to this? How did I get here? Surely there’s a better way to get free Hamilton tickets. If I drop this national treasure, I will be the most hated man in America.” Miranda, meanwhile, is wearing the most joyful “OH MY GOD” face you could possibly imagine for a person perched atop a six foot tall man’s shoulders in front of a live audience.
Then comes the most harrowing moment when Coster-Waldau descends into the deepest squat known to man, wavers for a second, probably now watching Miranda’s life flash before his eyes, before successfully straightening out and wiping what I have to assume was very real sweat from his forehead. There’s wild applause, Miranda is safely deposited back onto Corden’s desk, and at last, Coster-Waldau can breathe again.
The entire event was as stressful as an actual episode of Game of Thrones. But also, incredibly impressive, let’s just face facts.
Nikolaj Coster-Waldau and Lin-Manuel Miranda Take The New Bromance To Twitter
Both Miranda and Coster-Waldau addressed the squat seen around the world on Twitter, complete with Game of Thrones jokes, obviously:
I dreamed Jaime was my Hodor
Dreams come true https://t.co/E6TKcbgIAq— Lin-Manuel Miranda (@Lin_Manuel) August 16, 2017
“The things I do for for Laughs . ” (or for a ticket to Hamilton) https://t.co/b9qPBUbuCo
— Nikolaj CosterWaldau (@nikolajcw) August 16, 2017
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