Nicolaj Coster-Waldau, the Danish actor who plays Jaime Lannister in the popular TV series 'Game of Thrones', and several of his co-stars have successfully negotiated new contracts with their employer HBO.

The new contracts were negotiated individually and will see the actors involved sign on until season seven of the show, receiving healthy pay rises in the process.

According to Deadline.com, Game of Thrones uses a tier system when it comes to paying its actors. Belonging to the top tier, Coster-Waldau’s newly negotiated contract will see him earn $300,000 per episode – the equivalent of 1.8 million kroner.

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Long-term future uncertain
The Dane will not be resting on his laurels however. George RR Martin, the author of the books on which the show is based, is known for having a penchant for killing off characters, often in brutal fashion. 

As such, if Martin were to end Jaime’s life in future books to come, HBO reserves the right to tear up Coster-Waldau’s contract with immediate effect.

For now he can rest assured his involvement with the show will run until the end of season six at least, and very possibly until the end of season eight if the producers continue to make two seasons from every book like they did with the third book to make seasons three and four. 

Television's most downloaded show
The drama series is one of the most popular shows on television. The season four finale was watched by 7.1 million viewers in the US, and it also set a new piracy record as the episode was downloaded 1.5 million times in the first 12 hours following its airing.