SAN DIEGO − It's been several years since Peter Dinklage visited the Comic-Con faithful with "Game of Thrones," and he's back with a role very unlike Tyrion Lannister.
In director Macon Blair's unrated remake of "The Toxic Avenger" (in theaters Aug. 29), Dinklage stars as Winston Gooze, a janitor at a chemical factory who's dumped in some toxic waste by villainous goons. He's transformed into a disfigured, underdog do-gooder with a radioactive mop, and "Toxie" quickly becomes a folk hero around town, doling out some serious violence to baddies (but kind of feeling bad for it).
"I really wanted someone who the audience could get really sympathetic with super-quick, so that when the transformation does happen, they're down. They want the best for him and they're on his side," Blair says in an interview with Dinklage prior to the "Toxic Avenger" panel on Thursday, July 24, at the pop-culture convention Comic-Con. "I felt like Peter would be such a great secret weapon to use in that capacity."
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Taking on the role of Winston in the gory and satirical horror comedy was "the easiest thumbs up probably ever," Dinklage says.
