Peter Dinklage on "Elf" (2003): "Everybody asks me about Will Ferrell, because I knew him for about three days. But he's extraordinarily funny, and he's quiet between takes. I thought that was interesting. I think a lot of great male comic actors are introspective, quiet personalities, which I really admire. But they are really able to turn it up when the camera's on. I really enjoyed that movie, and the final result that Jon Favreau made was really entertaining. I had a good time. And it's shot in Vancouver, which is a very pretty city."
Dinklage has achondroplasia, a genetic disorder which affects bone growth. As a result, he is 4 feet 5 inches tall, with an average-sized head and torso but shorter than average limbs. He has come to accept his condition, but sometimes found it challenging when growing up. In 2003, he said that when he was younger he was often angry and bitter, but that as he got older, he realized he "just [has] to have a sense of humor" to know "that it's not your problem. It's theirs."
When asked in 2012 whether he saw himself as 'a spokesman for the rights of little people', Dinklage said: "I don't know what I would say. Everyone's different. Every person my size has a different life, a different history. Different ways of dealing with it. Just because I'm seemingly okay with it, I can't preach how to be okay with it." He has nonetheless been viewed as a role-model for people sharing his condition.
"I feel really lucky; Although I hate that word-'lucky.' It cheapens a lot of hard work. Living in Brooklyn in an apartment without any heat and paying for dinner at the bodega with dimes-I don't think I felt myself lucky back then. Doing plays for 50 bucks and trying to be true to myself as an artist and turning down commercials where they wanted a leprechaun. Saying I was lucky negates the hard work I put in and spits on that guy who's freezing his ass off back in Brooklyn. So I won't say I'm lucky. I'm fortunate enough to find or attract very talented people. For some reason I found them, and they found me."
I have not seen a lot of his movies but I think his finest performance was in Game of Thrones. Few would dispute that. I saw Death at a Funeral 2007 and he did a hilarious turn.
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