By the time Game of Thrones ended in 2019, it was one of the most talked about shows in the world by far. As a result, there has been a lot of interest in spin-offs since then even though .
By the time Game of Thrones ended in 2019, it was one of the most talked about shows in the world by far. As a result, there has been a lot of interest in spin-offs since then even though .
Thanks to Game of Thrones' success, a lot went great for which allowed series leads like . Despite that, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau fired his agent when he was still starring in the show even though it cost him millions.
From 2011 until 2019, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau was one of the biggest TV stars in the world. Previously a virtually unknown actor on the international stage, Coster-Waldau had worked for years, but he'd never found the role that took him to another level.
When Coster-Waldau was working on Game of Thrones for the first several years, he was represented by Impression Entertainment. In specific, the main agent that worked with Coster-Waldau was named Jill Littman.
Given that Coster-Waldau's and Littman's working relationship was so fruitful for them both, it seems surprising they went their separate ways. After all, Littman wouldn't have been the only one working on Coster-Waldau's career since she companies like Impression Entertainment have a lot of people working to help stars.
The fact that Coster-Waldau parted ways with his agent at the height of his success seems even more surprising considering where his career has gone since Game of Thrones.
As of the time of this writing, it has been four years since Game of Thrones ended. During that time, Coster-Waldau's career momentum has slowed down significantly from where it was when the show was ongoing. In fact, Coster-Waldau's career has arguably even slowed down from where it was before Game of Thrones.
Since 2019, Coster-Waldau has only appeared in one TV show. While Coster-Waldau starred in that series which was titled The Last Thing He Told Me, it didn't make enough of an impact on viewers that it became talked about.
On the other side of things, Coster-Waldau has starred in several movies that didn't get a theatrical release.
The only really notable project that Coster-Waldau has shown up in since 2019 is The Flash, but he only had a cameo role in that film as "Pizza man".
Given the current state of Coster-Waldau's career, that begs an obvious question, why did he part ways with Littman at the height of his career?
Of course, the only person who knows all the details of why Coster-Waldau fired his agent when he did is the actor. That said, in 2015 Coster-Waldau put out a statement that was supposed to be the explanation for
.
“I am nothing but grateful for our many years working together and the success we shared. And the reason I have decided to leave Impression is not to go somewhere else but to basically take control myself. Game of Thrones is coming to an end now.”
Given that Coster-Waldau was the one who fired his management team, it initially made sense to take his statement at face value. After all, it would seem egotistical for anyone else to claim they knew better what was going on behind the scenes.
However, based on what would happen in the years after Coster-Waldau released his statement, observers can't just believe Coster-Waldau's statement.
The reason for that is Coster-Waldau and Littman engaged in a bitter legal battle that makes it seem like their working relationship may not have been great.
A little bit less than two years after Nikolaj Coster-Waldau and Jill Littman ended their business relationship, things took a big turn. By September 2017, Littman and Impression Entertainment were seeking a lot of money from Coster-Waldau, so he decided to return the favor by .
According to Littman's side of things, they were owed a commission for deals they brought to Coster-Waldau.
That meant that Littman and Impression Entertainment were owed part of the actor's Game of Thrones salary until the show ended even if they no longer worked together.
To make their case, Littman produced a document that they said stipulated why Coster-Waldau continued to owe them money.
On the other hand, Coster-Waldau argued that he no longer owed Littman and Impression Entertainment a dime after he parted ways with her and the company. Worse yet, according to Coster-Waldau's legal filings, he was tricked into signing the document they produced.
According to Coster-Waldau, he was led to believe the papers he signed were only to get him an American work Visa.
The following year in 2018, Coster-Waldau's legal battles with Littman and Impression Entertainment came to an end. Unfortunately for Coster-Waldau, the arbitration process ruled that to Littman and Impression Entertainment.
First off, it was ruled that Coster-Waldau owed roughly $1.75 million in owed commissions. On top of that, Coster-Waldau was also instructed to pay around $225,000 in interest.
Based on that settlement alone, Coster-Waldau's decision to part ways with Littman was costly. After all, Coster-Waldau had to pay $2 million to someone that no longer was working to advance his career in any way.
On top of that, there is another thing to consider when trying to figure out how costly parting ways with Littman was for Coster-Waldau.
Since Coster-Waldau enjoyed the greatest success of his career while working with Littman, it is reasonable to think she may have gotten him better roles in recent years. While it is impossible to guess how much revenue Coster-Waldau may have cost himself by firing Littman, in theory it could be a significant figure.
