Dinklage stayed in New York and soon was landing stage work and the occasional low-budget film. But he couldn’t book commercial jobs, because he wasn’t interested in the kinds of roles that paid well for dwarves. Specifically, he wouldn’t play elves or leprechauns.
The NY Times interviews 4’5″ actor Peter Dinklage, who plays the royal dwarf Tyrion Lannister in HBO’s series Game of Thrones.
Even when you’re not playing elves, being a short actor has its own occupational hazards:
In the film “Prince Caspian,” part of the “Chronicles of Narnia” series, he had played the dwarf Trumpkin and spent the seven-month shoot in Eastern Europe and New Zealand sweating under a long red beard. “It was a lovely experience,” he said diplomatically, “but it was pretty uncomfortable.” So in that meeting with [the producers], before anyone explained “Game of Thrones” or Tyrion Lannister to him, he made a simple request: no beard, no pointy shoes.
Peter Dinklage won an Emmy and a Golden Globe for the first season of Game of Thrones.