Nikolaj Coster-Waldau took up rock climbing during breaks from 'intense' Silencing character

Nikolaj Coster-Waldau learned rock climbing during breaks from filming his "intense" new crime thriller 'The Silencing'.

The 'Game of Thrones' actor plays reformed hunter and alcoholic Rayburn Swanson in the new movie, and the star took advantage of the movie's filming location of Sudbury, in northern Ontario in Canada, by going climbing to take a break from portraying the grief-stricken character.

Coster-Waldau - who stars opposite Annabelle Wallis (Sheriff Alice Gustafson) in the film - said: "Because of the nature of the story, it wasn't full on. There are these two main stories - you follow her (Gustafson) and you follow him - so there were little breaks. I got to become a member of Sudbury Climbing, so I learned that.

"I had a couple of days to do something completely different, which was great. He is an intense guy. There's no question about it. He's haunted and, until half-way through the movie, he's self-medicating all the time, so that gives you a different headspace.

"With anything, you have to stay focused, so that you don't overdo it. He drinks a lot. If I drank that much, I'd be falling over. He's an accomplished drinker. He knows what he's doing."

As well as taking up climbing, Coster-Waldau also bonded with his character's pet pooch.

He added to Collider: "I did get to bond with the dog, yeah. It was a very nice dog. You're alone, but you're alone with a big film crew, and we had a fantastic crew.

"So, I had a great time, with great people. We shot in Sudbury, in northern Ontario in Canada, and as you can see in the movie, it's a beautiful area. I did enjoy it."