How Peter Dinklage Rose Above All Insecurities, Odds & Became One of the Most Popular Faces in World

Peter Dinklage hates the word 'lucky' because he thinks the word negates the hard work he has put in to be where he is today. Instead, he calls himself fortunate to find and be found by "talented people". And nothing better explains his cinematic journey so far.

Supervillain Bolivar Trask-- the creator of the Sentinels in X-Men: Days of Future Past, Eitri the Dwarf King who forged Mjolnir and Stormbreaker for Thor in MCU and a railroad-obsessed introvert in The Station Agent, Dinklage has a wide variety of critically-acclaimed roles to his credit. But he is known to many as Tyrion Lannister from HBO’s hit drama series Game of Thrones.

Born in Morristown, New Jersey, Dinklage debuted in the industry in 1995, but it was the 2003 film The Station Agent that got him his first nomination in Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Actor. Much later, he won three Primetime Emmy Awards: Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series for his role in GoT.

Before The Station Agent, which brought Dinklage into the attention of "talented people", his most memorable movie role was his 1995’s debut film, Living in Oblivion. Other credits include small yet memorable parts in Human Nature and a comedy film, Elf, in which the actor essayed the role of a snooty children’s book author who attacks an eccentric human for calling the former an elf.

While his cinematic journey is right at the table for everyone to see and admire, Dinklage has always made sure nothing about his personal life comes in the public domain. In 2005, he married Erica Schmidt, a theatre director. In 2011, the two welcomed their first child together, a baby girl, but he refused to reveal her name. Later in 2017, the couple was blessed with their second child and this time, the actor made sure that neither the name nor the gender of the baby was known to the public.

The actor, who was struggling to establish his foot in the mainstream industry, turned down roles typically offered to actors with his condition. Dinklage has achondroplasia, a form of dwarfism which affects bone growth. The four feet five inches tall actor has an average-sized head and torso but shorter than average limbs.

Even though Dinklage has now come to terms with his condition, he initially found it challenging in days when was growing up. The actor has never pretended that size doesn’t matter, he has just learnt to counter people’s curiosity over his height with out-right humour, he claims. During a film festival in 2003, he revealed that as an adolescent, he was bitter and angry, and had walled himself. But as he grew up, he realised, "you just have to have a sense of humour. You just know that it’s not your problem. It’s theirs."

The actor, who flailed for years but never stopped working hard, finally landed the role of Tyrion Lannister in Game of Thrones, and rest they say is history. Dinklage is currently one of the highest paid actors on television and earned over $1.2 million per episode for the final season of Game of Thrones, according to Hollywood Reporter.

Interestingly, Dinklage’s own story resonates with his GoT's character Tyrion Lannister. The youngest Lannister was initially mocked for being a dwarf, but it was his wit and humour that he rose above odds and became one of the most important characters in the show. Even as he rightly said, "Don't wait to be ready. You won't be, until you start."

Here's wishing Peter Dinklage, a very happy birthday.

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