Dinklage, Gad unlikely heroes in Pixels

MANILA, Philippines - Peter Dinklage (HBO’s Game of Thrones, X-Men: Days of Future Past) and Josh Gad (Frozen) star as two of four unlikely heroes who are called upon to save the world in Columbia Pictures’ new action comedy Pixels.

In the film, which also stars Adam Sandler, aliens attack the Earth, using ’80s video games as the model for their attacks. As US President Cooper (Kevin James) calls on Sam Brenner (Sandler) to put together an expert team of Arcaders to help fight the aliens, Brenner tracks down the now-grown men who were the champions as kids.

Gad joins the cast as Ludlow Lamonsoff, the youngest member of the Arcaders. “He’s a little younger than the other guys — he was kind of the Wonder Kid,” says Gad.

Dinklage stars as Eddie Plant, a.k.a. The Fire Blaster. Though he has risen to fame with his dramatic role in Game of Thrones, Dinklage is equally adept at comedy.

“Eddie was the other guys’ childhood nemesis,” says Dinklage. “He has quite a large ego, in terms of his championships, and he loves to remind everyone else how good he is. That’s the way he’s portrayed as a child — and when we jump to the present day, his attitude hasn’t changed all that much.”

Opening across the Philippines today, Pixels is distributed by Columbia Pictures, local office of Sony Pictures Releasing International.