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Spoilers (26)
Jack Gleeson ("Joffrey") received a letter from author George R.R. Martin after the show aired, stating,"Congratulations on your marvelous performance, everyone hates you!"
Maester Aemon Targaryen of the Night's Watch is revealed to be blind in the novels. He was played by Peter Vaughan, who is legally partially blind himself.
A replica of Gandalf's sword, Glamdring, from the "Lord of the Rings" and "Hobbit" trilogies is forged inside the Iron Throne.
Cersei and Tyrion Lannister loathe each other. In real life, Lena Headey and Peter Dinklage are very close friends and lived together during filming.
Executive Producers David Benioff and D.B. Weiss said the production of the show is a massive undertaking. It lasts the entire year and they shoot the show like a ten-hour movie. Season 5 alone was shot in five countries, on 151 sets, for 240 days, having 166 cast members, over 1,000 crew members and over 5,000 extras.
No character appears in every episode, and only three have appeared in every episode of a given season: Lena Headey ("Cersei Lannister") and Jack Gleeson ("Joffrey Baratheon") appeared in every episode of the first season, and Peter Dinklage ("Tyrion Lannister") appeared in every episode of the second and fifth seasons.
Emilia Clarke ("Daenerys Targaryen") was doused in so much fake blood during one scene that she got stuck to a toilet seat during a break.
In sharp contrast to his turn as sadistic Joffrey, everyone on the show describes actor Jack Gleeson as a warm and friendly person. He is also good friends with Sophie Turner, who he often has to antagonize on-screen.
Iwan Rheon was the primary runner-up to play Jon Snow, but was later cast as Ramsay Bolton
Daenerys had purple eyes in the books, but the contact lenses Emilia Clarke wore affected her performance so they were abandoned.
George R.R. Martin was inspired to write the novel series "A Song of Ice and Fire" after years of writing for restrictive television budgets, and deliberately wrote the series to be nearly unfilmable. After the success of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) Martin was approached to license the novels into a series of films, one project was proposed using only Daenerys' story line, and another project proposed only including the conflict between the Starks and Lannisters.
In June 2014 Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip visited the sets at Paint Hall Studios in Belfast as part of a three-day visit to Northern Ireland. They met members of the cast and crew and were presented with a miniature version of the Iron Throne. Elizabeth was offered the chance to sit on the Iron Throne but declined, as the monarch of England is not allowed to sit on a foreign throne, even a fictional one. Some news sources claimed Elizabeth is a viewer of the series, though Maisie Williams remarked on the visit, "I did not get the impression she is a fan" as the Queen was unaware of her role on the series.
In the year 2012, over 160 baby girls in the U.S. were legally named "Khaleesi", after the character in the show, although it is not the character's name (Daenerys) but a title.
As of 2014, this is the most watched HBO series of all time, with an average viewership of 16.1 million (Season 4), slightly ahead of a record that was previously held by The Sopranos (1999).
The character Joffrey Baratheon is modeled after the unbalanced Roman emperor Caligula, whose four-year reign, by most accounts, was marked by extreme cruelty and sadism.
Maisie Williams, who plays Arya Stark, says that fans often ask her to recite the list of names Arya always recites before sleeping--the names of the persons in the series who have injured her or her family and who she intends to kill--and to insert the fan's name into the list.
Author George R.R. Martin intended to write an episode for each season, but did not write one after the fourth season because he was busy focusing on finishing the sixth book of the series, "The Winds of Winter".
With winning a total of 12 Emmys in 2015, the show took home more Emmys in a single year than any other show, surpassing The West Wing (1999) (9).
Daenerys' dragons are named Drogon, Rhaegal and Viserion. Each one is named after someone she has lost in her life: Drogon, the largest dragon with black/red scales, is named after her husband Khal Drogo; Rhaegal, who has green/bronze scales, is named after Daenerys' brother Rhaegar Targaryen, who was killed by Robert Baratheon during Robert's Rebellion; Viserion, the cream/gold scaled dragon, is named after Daenerys' abusive brother Viserys. She claimed that she named her dragon this because "Viserys was cruel and weak and frightened, yet he was my brother still. My dragon will do what he could not."
Charles Dance found Lord Tywin's appalling treatment of his son awful. He remarks that it's hard for him to mistreat a nice man like Peter Dinklage.
Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson, who plays Gregor "the Mountain" Clegane, is 6'9". That's still shorter than Kristian Nairn ("Hodor"), who is 6'10.5".
Women in Westeros typically take their husband's surname upon marriage, with the exception of the house holding the Iron Throne, where the surname is only inherited by birth and not marriage. This is why consorts to kings and heirs of the Iron Throne retain their own name, i.e., Cersei Lannister instead of Cersei Baratheon, Elia Martell instead of Elia Targaryen.
The original pilot left everyone so unsatisfied that HBO agreed to reshoot most of it, bringing Timothy Van Patten to do the second episode and letting the creators rewrite whatever they felt they needed to.
Natalie Dormer claims that she only reads the script to the extent that is absolutely necessary for her role, so she can enjoy watching the completed episodes on TV when they air without spoiling them.
Daenerys' dragon Drogon, the largest of the three with black and red scales, is considered in the novels to be the reincarnation of Balerion the Black Dread. Balerion was the largest of Aegon the Conquerer's dragons, and was also responsible for the creation of the Iron Throne.
Natural brunette Emilia Clarke has stated that she has never dyed her hair for the show. Daenerys Targaryen's impressive platinum blonde locks are achieved via an elaborate wig and makeup system that takes considerable time to get into place.
In Westeros, bastards (also "natural child" or "baseborn") born to nobles are given surnames different than their father's, according to the region they were born in. These surnames are mostly associated with the geographic or climatic features of the respective regions: The Reach - Flowers; The Westerlands - Hill, The Iron Islands - Pyke, The Riverlands - Rivers, Dorne - Sand, The North - Snow, The Vale - Stone, The Stormlands - Storm; The Crownlands - Waters. These special surnames or "bastard names" apply only to noble-born bastards, who are openly acknowledged by their noble parent. Therefore, bastards both of whose parents are commoners, or noble-born bastards that are unacknowledged by their noble parent (like Gendry), cannot use the special surname. A noble-born bastard can be legitimized by royal decree, thus being considered as a trueborn child and changes the surname to the father's. However, the social stigma of the bastard may not always be lifted even after legitimization.
Thomas Brodie-Sangster, who plays the 13-year-old Jojen Reed, was 22 when cast in the role.
The official words of House Lannister, "Hear Me Roar!", are seldom mentioned. Their unofficial motto, "A Lannister always pays his debts", is often used, mostly in negative context, meaning that Lannisters always repay unkindness with unkindness.
Author George R.R. Martin was asked if he had a resolution or ending to the seemingly endless conflict. He jokingly replied that the next book would just be a description of a cloud of dust or snow being driven by the wind across a vast graveyard full of tombstones.
The average cost of production per episode of the show, up to Season 6, was around $6 million, with the most expensive episode being Episode 9 of Season 2, "Blackwater", which cost a reported $8 million. However, HBO decided to set a budget of $100 million for Season 6 which means each episode of the season will have an average production cost of $10 million. This puts the show on par with Friends (1994) as the most expensive TV show of all time (although most of the budget of "Friends" went to its stars' salaries rather than the production itself, as in "Thrones").
Each season shoots from July to December. Two units, the "Wolf" and the "Dragon", shoot concurrently in various countries. A third unit was added in Season 6, the "White Walker".
The first season used Northern Inuit dogs, a type specifically bred for wolf-like appearance, to stand in for the direwolves (the Stark's house sigil). However, since direwolves are known to be much larger than normal wolves, real wolves were digitally composited into scenes for Season 2. This strained the budget and the schedule, which is why there are only a handful of scenes with Grey Wind (Robb Stark's wolf), Summer (Bran Stark's wolf) and Shaggydog (Rickon Stark's wolf); Ghost, who belongs to Jon Snow, is shown in brief glimpses.
Charles Dance dressed an actual stag carcass on-camera for Tywin Lannister's first scene. Dance was shown the procedure the previous day by a butcher.
George R.R. Martin has stated that several of the show's characters are improvements over his own versions in the books in both writing and performance, specifically mentioning Natalia Tena as Osha and Sibel Kekilli as Shae.
Producer David Benioff wanted the theme song to be the Lannister song "The Rains of Castamere." Co-producer D.B. Weiss convinced him not to do it.
Some of the inspiration for the War of the Five Kings in the series comes from the War of the Roses, a series of dynastic wars in the 15th century where rival houses fought for the throne of England.
In the unaired pilot, George R.R. Martin cameoed as a Pentoshi nobleman at the wedding of Khal Drogo and Daenerys Targaryen. The scene, alongside most of the pilot, was subsequently reshot and Martin did not appear.
While the first two seasons roughly cover the novels "A Game of Thrones" and "A Clash of Kings" respectively, the third season covers about two-thirds of the third novel "A Storm of Swords." The fourth season covers the rest of "A Storm of Swords" and chapters from the fourth and fifth novels "A Feast for Crows" and "A Dance with Dragons". Finally, the fifth season covers almost entirely "A Feast for Crows", "A Dance With Dragons", and even early events of the unreleased sixth novel "The Winds of Winter".
Although the Wall is the largest structure in the "Game of Thrones" world, it is not the tallest. In the books, the tallest structure is the High Tower in Oldtown and the second tallest the Great Pyramid of Meereen.
Liam Burke was cast as Aerys II Targaryen, the "Mad King" in flashback scenes, but the scenes were cut.
Yara Greyjoy, introduced in the second book and season, is named Asha in the books. The name was changed for the television series to avoid confusion with Osha. However, in the German dubbed version she is called Asha, like in the books. Similarly, Lysa Arryn's son Robert is named Robin in the series to avoid confusion with Robert Baratheon.
The role of Tommen Baratheon, played by Callum Wharry, was completely absent from the third season of the series and was later recast for Season 4, but was played by Dean-Charles Chapman, who had appeared in the show playing Martyn Lannister in Season 3.
Prior to being cast, Lena Headey and Jerome Flynn were in a relationship that ended on such bad terms that each had a clause inserted into their contracts that they were never to share scenes and must remain apart on set.
According to George R.R. Martin, "The Lord of the Rings" was a major influence behind his "A Song of Ice and Fire" novels, which the television series is based on.
Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson was the third actor to take on the role of Gregor Clegane (aka "The Mountain"), a role previously played by Conan Stevens in the first season and Ian Whyte in the second season. Whyte had a brief appearance in the third-season premiere, although as a different character.
Theon Greyjoy is played by Alfie Allen, brother of singer Lily Allen, and was the inspiration for her song "Alfie".
In a rare move for a cable channel, the fifth and sixth seasons were announced simultaneously less than 24 hours after the Season 4 premiere.
Kit Harington, who plays Jon Snow on the show, has claimed that his great-grandfather invented the flush toilet.
The series takes its name from the first novel in the book series "A Game of Thrones", which is actually known as "A Song of Ice and Fire." George R.R. Martin's story credit acknowledges the entire series under this title, rather than the title of individual volumes.
Carice van Houten ("Melisandre") had previously been asked to audition for the role of Cersei Lannister but was unable to because she was filming Intruders (2011).
Features nine actors from the "Harry Potter" film series: Bronson Webb ("Will") played an unnamed Slytherin student in the third film; Natalia Tena ("Osha") played Nymphadora Tonks; David Bradley ("Lord Walder Frey") played Argus Filch; Julian Glover ("Grand Maester Pycelle") voiced Aragog; Michelle Fairley ("Catelyn Stark") played Mrs. Granger in the seventh film; Ciarán Hinds ("Mance Rayder") played Aberforth Dumbledore; Ralph Ineson ("Dagmer Cleftjaw") played Amycus Carrow; Edward Tudor-Pole ("Protestor at King's Landing") played Mr. Borgin and Ian Whyte ("Gregor Clegane") played Madame Maxime in full-body shots. Stephen Dillane ("Stannis Baratheon") is also the father of Frank Dillane, who played the young Voldemort / Tom Riddle in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009). "Potter" cast members 'Jamie Campbell Bower' (young "Gellert Grindelwald") and Simon Fisher-Becker ("Fat Friar") were originally set to play Waymar Royce and the High Septon before being replaced by Rob Ostlere and David Verrey, respectively.
Sri Lankan cricket legend Mahela Jayawardene named his first daughter "Sansa Arya Jayawardene", after the two daughters of House Stark.
Executive Producer David Benioff confirmed in the Season 6 "Inside Episode 5" video that the way Hodor came about the name "Hodor" was George R.R. Martin's idea.
Merited the dubious distinction of the most pirated TV show of 2014 for the third consecutive year, ahead of The Walking Dead (2010) and The Big Bang Theory (2007).
Catelyn Stark was played in the pilot by Jennifer Ehle, but she dropped out when the series was picked up, and Michelle Fairley was cast.
Characters from noble houses often have images of their house's sigil incorporated into their costumes. For example, Cersei almost always appears wearing jewelry with images of lions. Sometimes the inclusion is almost indiscernible to the television viewer, such as the blue dress Daenerys' wore through season three which was embroidered with a texture resembling dragon scales.
After a brief but memorable appearance as Daario Naharis in a few episodes of the third season, Ed Skrein quit the show to star in the reboot of The Transporter Refueled (2015) films. Michiel Huisman was chosen to take over the role for the fourth season.
In the series, Charles Dance's character, Tywin Lannister, was previously married to a woman named Joanna, who died and with whom he had three children. In real life, Dance was previously married to a woman who was also named Joanna before their divorce, and has three children.
The series has used many locations to bring Westeros and Essos to life. Most of the Northern scenes are filmed in Northern Ireland. The country is the production's home base and most interior scenes are filmed in a studio in Belfast. Scenes in King's Landing are filmed in the Croatian city of Dubrovnik. Scenes in Essos were also shot in Croatia. Many of the scenes in Essos and King's Landing were filmed in Malta in the first season, but for unknown reasons the production never returned there after Season 1. Morocco was used as a location for Daenerys' sequences in Astapor and Yunkai in Season 3, but the country was dropped as a location after Season 3. Scenes beyond the Wall were filmed in various locations in Iceland. Season 5 added Spain as a filming location for Dorne. It has been revealed that the production will return to Spain for Season 6, but it is unclear if it will be for Dorne or another location (the locations scouted are different to those used in Season 5).
George R.R. Martin has confirmed that the words of House Bolton are "Our Blades are Sharp", most likely because of the Boltons' history of flaying their enemies alive.
Tamzin Merchant played Daenerys Targaryen in the pilot but was replaced by Emilia Clarke for the series. While the reason for Merchant's departure has not been made public, George R.R. Martin praised her performance as "wonderful" in his blog.
While most of the show is largely faithful to the books, composite characters do appear. The most prominent is the prostitute Ros, who is a composite of several named (Alayaya, Chataya, Kyra) and unnamed characters from the book series. Another composite character is the trader Spice King in Qarth, who appears in Season Two.
In 2014 Emilia Clarke ("Daenerys Targaryen") was announced to succeed Linda Hamilton as Sarah Connor in the sequel to The Terminator (1984), Terminator Genisys (2015). Lena Headey ("Cersei Lannister") had played Sarah Connor in the TV series Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles (2008), which was a spin-off of the "Terminator" films.
In the show, only the banners from the main houses, along with several banners from smaller houses in Dorne, are ever disclosed. According to the Citadel heraldry page on westeros.org, the number of known banners of all houses is 370.
During an interview for the second season, Sophie Turner ("Sansa Stark") said she was most looking forward to filming Sansa's relationship with Sandor Clegane--aka "The Hound"--played by Rory McCann.
In the pilot episode as the three boys are preparing for the king's welcome, Alfie Allen ("Theon Greyjoy"), Richard Madden ("Rob Stark") and Kit Harington ("Jon Snow") were all trying to one-up each other in their shirtless scene by flexing and doing push-ups right before they went on camera.
Jorah Mormont is often referred to as "Jorah the Andal" mainly by Essosi characters pointing Jorah's Westerosi heritage despite the fact that House Mormont is a house from northern Westeros meaning they are descended from the First Men, not the Andals.
The first season premiered on Sean Bean's birthday (April 17th).
In early 2016 it was announced that Season 8, which will premier in 2018, will be the final season of the series.
The dominant religion in Westeros is the Faith of the Seven, a polytheistic religion, with each of the seven representing aspects of the same one god, though they are often incorrectly referred to as multiple gods. They are the Father, the Mother, the Maiden, the Crone, the Warrior, the Smith and the Stranger. The religion is based on Catholicism, which likewise involves different aspects of the same God, the father, the son, the holy spirit, prayer to the virgin Mary.
Executive Producers David Benioff and D.B. Weiss said in a podcast once that while making the show they worked all through the year, non-stop. They would write an outline for each season and then start writing the actual script while managing production at the same time. The scripts had to be all done by the time they started filming the season, and being such a huge production, they were filming for months with several units in several countries at the same time while constantly rewriting and improving the scripts. They also made sure that there was always someone from the writing crew at one of the filming units, to supervise. Almost immediately after finishing filming one season they started writing the outline for the next season. At the same time, the previous season was in post-production (editing, sound mixing, etc.) and they had to oversee all these procedures while writing, and then after all that was done, they had to deal with marketing the upcoming season. They noted several times that at the time, they said all they wanted to do when everything was finally done was to "get some sleep".
Tom Hollander was reportedly offered the role of "Littlefinger" and now regrets turning it down.
In April 2016 a new channel launched in Israel called the "Game of Thrones Channel". It aired only things related to "Game of Thrones" throughout the day, such as the episodes, interviews, behind-the scenes-videos, special features from the Blu-Ray edition, etc., as preparation for Season 6. It was the first time in Israeli Television's history that a complete channel was dedicated to only one show.
Roy Dotrice, a frequent collaborator with George R.R. Martin and narrator of the "A Song of Ice and Fire" audio books, was cast as Grand Maester Pycelle but had to withdraw from the role due to health reasons. He was replaced by Julian Glover. Dotrice would later appear in the show as Hallyne.
George R.R. Martin once cited _The Golden Compass (2007), the failed film adaptation of Philip Pullman's novel "Northern Lights", as one of the reasons he wanted his books to be made as a television series rather than being turned into movies.
Roy Dotrice ("Wisdom Hallyne") also narrates the audio books of the novels. He and George R.R. Martin have been friends since they both worked on Beauty and the Beast (1987).
As of 2016, the highest rated seasons of "Game of Thrones" (on IMDb) are as follows; Season 6: 9.0; Season 4: 8.7; Season 5: 8.6; Season 1: 8.3; Season 3: 8.2; Season 2: 8.1,
Alfie Allen's sister Lily Allen falsely claimed she was offered the role of Yara Greyjoy.
Jon Snow is coincidentally the name of a Channel Four (UK) news anchor, making the line "You know nothing, Jon Snow" unintentionally funny.
Natalie Dormer revealed on The Jonathan Ross Show (2011) that she originally auditioned for another unnamed character before she was offered the role of Margaery Tyrell.
According to the novels, the sigil of House Baratheon is a black stag with a crown above its head on a field of gold. In the TV series, the Baratheons' banner depicts a stag with a crown around its neck.
In the novels the title of the King of Westeros is "King of the Andals, the Rhoynar, and the First Men, Lord of the Seven Kingdoms and Protector of the Realm." In the show, "the Rhoynar" is omitted from the title. The Rhoynar is a reference to the Dornish, who immigrated to Westeros from the River Rhoyne. The writers believed this would cause confusion since the Dornish did not appear until later seasons so it was left out.
Both Jack Gleeson ("Joffrey") and Aidan Gillen ("Littlefinger") appeared in Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight Trilogy. Gleeson appeared in Batman Begins (2005) while Gillen appeared in The Dark Knight Rises (2012). Richard Brake, who portrays The Night's King, also appeared in "Batman Begins" as Joe Chill, and Burn Gorman (Karl Tanner) appeared in The Dark Knight Rises (2012).
US President Barack Obama requested to see Season 6 before anyone else because he's such a fan of the show.
Carice van Houten ("Melisandre") and Michiel Huisman ("Daario Naharis") are both Dutch actors and starred in the Dutch film Black Book (2006) (aka "Black Book").
The 67th Emmy Awards ceremony, in which this series won Best Drama series, Best Writing for an Episode of a Drama series and Best Directing for an episode of a drama series, was held on George R.R. Martin's 67th birthday.
Four locations are always shown in the main title sequence, regardless of if the episode has scenes set there: King's Landing, Winterfell, the Wall, and wherever Daenerys is. King's Landing is always shown first, with the crowned stag of House Baratheon. Winterfell is shown first in the hands of House Stark, then sacked and torched, and later with the House Bolton sigil. The Wall is the last main shot before the camera pans to Essos. The sequence shows up to six locations.
During the series you can see characters wearing belts with a particular knot twisted after the buckle, this is clearly visible in most knights. The knot is actually correct and was used in medieval times, is often referred to as a garter and used to fix leg armor pieces to the knights' legs below the knees. It is one of the symbols of the English "Order of the Garter", the highest chivalric order, which was founded in 1348 by the English King Edward III in the early stages of the 100 Years War with France. The arms of the Order of the Garter is a blue belt, or garter, with this same characteristic knot seen in the TV series. An example can also be seen in the tomb of one of the Order founders, Sir Reginald of Cobham, at Lingnfield Church in Surrey; his effigy has the garter below his left knee.
In March 2014 HBO released a ten-track mixtape called "Catch the Throne" as promotion for the show's fourth season. The tape includes rap songs from artists like Common, Big Boi, Wale Folarin, Kilo Kish and others, and each song is related to things in the show in its lyrics. Most of the songs also sampled music from the original Ramin Djawadi soundtracks of the show's first three seasons.
Stephen Dillane (Stannis) revealed on an interview given in March 2016 that even though he didn't have anything bad to say about his experience on the show, he didn't particularly enjoy it or understand most of the story lines. He described it as an overwhelming experience, and one that he ultimately undertook for the money.
Of all the international locations used throughout the series, Emilia Clarke's favorite is Croatia.
Starting off in the series, Carice van Houten (Melisandre) and Liam Cunningham (Davos Seaworth) play enemies. However, they previously starred together in the film Black Butterflies (2011), playing lovers.
Oded Fehr was a strong contender for the role of Oberyn Martell.
Kit Harrington broke his ankle in 2012 when he was locked out of his apartment building in London and fell while trying to climb to his flat. During Season 3 of Game of Thrones (2011) the film crew had to figure out how to shoot around the injury, including the use of stand-ins in "Jon Snow wigs". Harington felt so guilty that he bought the production manager a bottle of whiskey.
The series first premiered in 2011, which also was the 15th anniversary of the publishing of the very first "A Song of Fire and Ice" novel by George R.R. Martin in 1996.
There are only two American actors in this show: Peter Dinklage ("Tyrion Lannister") and Jason Momoa ("Khal Drogo").
Features actors from two different adaptations of "The Lord of the Rings": Peter Vaughan, who played Denethor in the BBC Radio adaptation; and Sean Bean, who played the character's son Boromir in the Peter Jackson films.
Troy (2004) contains three "Game of Thrones actors": Sean Bean ("Ned Stark"), Julian Glover ("Pycelle") and James Cosmo ("Jeor Mormont"). Also, "Game" producer David Benioff wrote the screenplay for "Troy".
This is Ron Donachie's ("Ser Rodrick Cassel") second time playing a master at arms; the first time was when he played master at arms in Titanic (1997).
Nero, the mad Roman Emperor, is considered to be a major influence behind Aerys Targaryen II (aka "The Mad King"), who threatened to burn King's Landing down to the ground with hidden wildfire and murder the capital's five million inhabitants.
The show has three Doctor Who (2005) guest stars, each of whom participated in two-parters: Harry Lloyd ("Viserys Targaryen"), Iain Glen ("Jorah Mormont") and Thomas Brodie-Sangster ("Jojen Reed"). Both Lloyd and Sangster were in the same episodes.
Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens (2015) features a total of eight cast members from Game of Thrones (2011). They are Gwendoline Christie ("Brienne of Tarth"), Mark Stanley ("Grenn"), Max von Sydow ("Three-Eyed Raven"), Thomas Brodie-Sangster ("Jojen Reed"), Miltos Yerolemou ("Syrio Forel"), Jessica Henwick ("Nymeria Sand"), Emun Elliott ("Marillion") and Hannah John-Kamen ("Ornela").
This is the first TV show or series to hit over 1,000,000 User-Submitted reviews on IMDB. It is the highest-rated TV show on IMDb, with a 9.5 score..
On IMDb, this is the first--and so far the only--TV series to have gathered more than 10,000 votes for all its individual episodes.
Season 7 will start in the summer of 2017 and will have seven episodes, with a budget of 100 million Euros.
Features two actors from the original cast of the UK teen drama series Skins (2007): Hannah Murray ("Gilly") and Joe Dempsie ("Gendry").
Sam Heughan auditioned to play various characters including Renly Baratheon, Loras Tyrell and a few different members of the Night's Watch. He went on to star in Outlander (2014) alongside "Game of Thrones" alumnus Tobias Menzies.
The show will sometimes briefly introduce a character and then recast for a formal introduction later on. Selyse Baratheon was played in the second season by an uncredited Sarah MacKeever before being recast with Tara Fitzgerald and formally introduced in the third season. The Three-Eyed Raven was played by Struan Rodger for a brief appearance in the fourth season and recast with Max von Sydow for the sixth season. Gregor "The Mountain" Clegane was played by Conan Stevens and Ian Whyte for brief appearances before Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson took over the role when the character became more prominent in the fourth season. Lord Beric Dondarrion appears briefly in series one played by David Michael Scott and returns in Season 3 played by Richard Dormer.
According to their respective IMDb ratings out of 10, the top ten episodes are as follows: 1. S06x09 Battle of the Bastards - 10.0; 2. S06x10 The Winds of Winter - 10.0; 3. S05x08 Hardhome - 9.9; 4. S03x09 The Rains of Castamere - 9.9; 5. S06x05 The Door - 9.8; 6. S04x02 The Lion and the Rose - 9.7; 7. S04x08 The Mountain and the Viper - 9.7; 8. S04x06 The Laws of Gods and Men - 9.7; 9. S02x09 Blackwater - 9.7 10. S04x10 The Children - 9.6. When the ratings are the same (as in the case of 6, 7, 8 and 9) they are in order according to the number of ratings, with the higher number of ratings meaning a higher rank.
Dominic West and Perdita Weeks were offered major roles.
Almost all actors in the series are at least five years older than their character counterparts in the novels, with many key actors being over ten years older.
Excluding the title sequence, the Fire and Ice theme is heard only twice in the series' run so far: both pertain to Jon Snow as he leads the Night's Watch defense against the Wildlings; and the other is when he is named King in the North by the Northerners.
Gillian Anderson admitted in 2016 she turned down one character in this series. She had two little sons at the time. It was rumored that the character was, in fact, Cersei Lannister.
Tricia Helfer auditioned for the role of Cersei Lannister.
Natalie Dormer (Margaery Tyrell) and Gwendoline Christie (Brienne of Tarth) both appear in The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2 (2015) as Cressida and Commander Lyme, respectively. Dormer also appears in Part 1.
Emilia Clarke watched films and TV shows with strong female characters to help her get into character as Daenerys and did the same when portraying Sarah Connor on Terminator Genisys (2015).
Ian McNeice played Illyrio Mopatis in the pilot but was unable to appear in the series due to scheduling conflicts. He was replaced by Roger Allam.
At least 11 series cast members are also in Ripper Street (2012). They are Jerome Flynn ("Bronn" / "Sgt. Drake") Ian McElhinney ("Barristan Selmy" / "Theodore Swift"), Kristian Nairn ("Hodor" / "Barnaby"), Iain Glen ("Jorah Mormont" / "Madoc Faulkner"), Clive Russell ("Brynden Tully" / "Chief Insp. Abberline"), Anton Lesser ("Qybern" / "Dr. Karl Krabbe"), Francis Magee ("Yoren" / "Davies"), Michael McElhatton ("Roose Bolton" / "Commissioner Monroe") Joseph Mawle ("Benjin Stark" / "D.I. Shine"), Philip Arditti ("Goatherd" / "Marvel") and Dean-Charles Chapman ("King Tommen" / "Harry Ward")
Jamie Bamber auditioned for the role of Jaime Lannister.
The office that Ned fills is simply called "Hand of the King". Given that the name is derived from the concept of being someone's right hand, the fact that the brooch he wears as insignia depicts a left hand could be considered inappropriate.
Derek Halligan was cast as Alliser Thorne but left the show before production began. He was replaced by Owen Teale.
Peter Dinklage has been nominated six consecutive times (once for each season) for the Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series at the Emmys. He's only won twice for the first and fifth season consecutively.
Iwan Rheon (Ramsey Snow/Bolton) and Michelle Fairley (Catelyn Stark) both had roles in the Channel 4 TV show Misfits (2009). Rheon played main cast member Simon, while Fairley played the mother of another character. Ellie Kendrick (Meera Reed) also had a brief role on the channel 4 show for 5 episodes in 2013.
Ian McShane and Jonathan Pryce have both also starred in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, although they have never shared a scene in either the films or this television show.
Jonathan Pryce and Diana Rigg both starred in James Bond films.
Rachel Hurd-Wood was considered for the role of Sansa.
Simon Fisher-Becker was originally set to play the High Septon of the Faith of the Seven, which he confirmed in an interview, but David Verrey was cast.
The BBC program Merlin (2008) had many "Game of Thrones" actors in minor roles, including Joe Dempsie ("Gendry"), John Bradley ("Samwell Tarley"), Donald Sumpter ("Maester Luwin"), Liam Cunningham ("Davos Seaworth"), Joseph Mawle ("Benjen Stark"), Mackenzie Crook ("Orell"), Charles Dance ("Tywin Lannister"), James Cosmo ("Jeor Mormont"), Julian Glover ("Pycell"), Ralph Ineson ("Dagmer Cleftjaw"), Alexander Siddig ("Doran Martell") and Clive Russell ("Blackfish") as well as Alexandra Dowling ("Roslin Frey").
Natalie Dormer responded to false news stories that she condones sex with minors due to her character Margery Tyrell being married to Tommen Baratheon. She went on record that herself and her character were misinterpreted and pointed out that she plays a fictional character in a fictional land.
Elena Satine screen-tested against Emilia Clarke for the role of Daenerys Targaryen.
Benjamin Gur auditioned for the part of Trystane Martell in Season 5.
Many actors in the series have also appeared in Doctor Who (2005): Harry Lloyd ("Viserys Targaryen") in the same episode as Thomas Brodie-Sangster ("Jojen Reed"); David Bradley ("Walder Frey"); Liam Cunningham ("Davos") in the same episode as Tobias Menzies ("Edmure Tully"); Iain Glen ("Jorah"); Faye Marsay ("Waif"); Joe Dempsie ("Gendry"). Maisie Williams ("Arya Stark") is set to be in an upcoming episode of Season 9.
In the books, Daenerys Targaryen was 13 years old and had silver hair and purple eyes. Emilia Clarke wore purple contact lenses in a few takes, but it was decided by the producers that Emilia Clarke was not to wear the purple contact lenses because they hid the emotions from her eyes.
The "direwolves" on the show were played not by wolves, but by Northern Inuit dogs, a crossbreed developed from Siberian huskies, Alaskan malamutes, and German shepherd dogs. Sophie Turner (Sansa Stark) ended up adopting Zunni, the dog who played Sansa's direwolf Lady, after learning she was to be rehomed.
Each episode is rated on IMDb on a scale of 1-10. If you total up the ratings for all episodes in this series, 100 is the maximum possible score for a season, since there are ten episodes per season, each with the potential for 10.0 stars. Based on this system, Season 4 is the highest rated series and Season 5 is the lowest. The total season scores out of 100, along with their respective ranks, are as follows: Season 1 - 90.1 Rank #3; Season 2 - 89.3 Rank #5; Season 3 - 89.6 Rank #4; Season 4 - 92.7 Rank #1; Season 5 - 87.6 Rank #6; Season 6 - 90.7 Rank #2.
Danny Dyer revealed that he auditioned for a role.
The Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials (2015) contains 3 Game of Thrones (2011) actors/actresses. This includes Thomas Brodie-Sangster (Jojen Reed), Nathalie Emmanuel (Missandei) and Aidan Gillen (Littlefinger).
The following Game of Thrones (2011) cast members took part in a short promotional video by HBO and the International Rescue Committee to create awareness on the refugee crisis: Lena Headey ("Cersei Lannister"), Deobia Oparei ("Areo Hotah"), Nikolaj Coster-Waldau ("Jaimie Lannister"), Liam Cunningham ("Davos Seaworth"), Maisie Williams ("Arya Stark"), Tom Wlaschiha ("Jaqen H'ghar"), Sophie Turner ("Sansa Stark"), John Bradley ("Samwell Tarly"), Oona Chaplin ("Talisa Maegyr"), Eugene Simon ("Lancel Lannister"), Iwan Rheon ("Ramsay Snow"), Hannah Murray ("Gilly") and Michiel Huisman ("Daario Naharis"). Their efforts were primarily targeted towards Syrian refugees. In addition, Lena Headey, Liam Cunningham and Maisie Williams attended a Syrian refugee camp in Greece in 2016, while Michiel Huisman and Tom Wlaschiha, respectively, visited camps in Jordan and Lebanon.
Season 1 was the only season of the series to be given the R16 rating in New Zealand, when it was released on DVD. All the other seasons were given the R18 rating when they were released on DVD.
Two actresses who dropped out of the show have appeared in an adaptation of Jane Austen's novel "Pride and Prejudice." Jennifer Ehle, who was set to play Catelyn Stark, played Elizabeth Bennet in BBC's Pride and Prejudice (1995) and Tamzin Merchant played Georgiana Darcy in Pride & Prejudice (2005).
A good number of "Game of Thrones" actors had major roles in horror films. Sean Bean ("Ned Stark") starred in Silent Hill (2006) and its sequel, which also starred Kit Harington ("Jon Snow"). Bean also had major roles in both the Dark and Black Death (2010), In the latter film Bean had to match wits with Carice van Houten ("Melissandre"). Joseph Mawle (Benjen Stark) and Michael McElhatton (Roose Bolton) starred opposite each other in the horror fairy tale The Hallow. Rose Leslie ("Ygritte") had a lead role in Honeymoon. Katie Dickie (Lysa Arryn) had significant roles in two scary films the ALIEN prequel Prometheus as well as The Witch this film also starred Ralph Inneson (Dagmer Cleftjaw). Finn Jones (Loras Tyrell) was the lead in The Last Showing, while his TV sister Natalie Dormer (Margaery Tyrell) had a double role in The Forest. Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (Jaime Lannister) also played two different people in Guillermo Del Toro's Mama. His small screen sister/lover Lena Heady (Cersei Lannister) has appeared in several scary pictures Laid To Rest The Purge and The Cave. Isaac Hempstead-Wright (Bran Stark), portrayed another very special boy In The Awakening. Liam Cunningham (Davos Seaworth) portrayed Old Nick in Let Us Pray. True to form Charles Dance (Tywin Lannister) portrayed another highly intelligent but implacable father in Patrick Evil Awakens, while in ALIEN 3 Mr Dance plays a very kind but ill-fated doctor. Kristofer Hivju (Tormund Giantsbane) had a relatively big part in The Thing Awakens, prequel to John Carpenters's classic. Free Folk King Beyond The Wall Cirián Hinds (Mance Rayder) starred opposite Daniel Radcliffe in the supernatural revenge tale The Woman In Black. Michelle Fairly 'Catelyn Stark' was part of the spooky classic The Others. Iain Glen headed the cast in the occult thriller Darkness. Loving Horror films Noah Taylor starred in no less than 3. In Red White & Blue he portrays a haunted soldier. Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None reunites him with fellow Thrones Actor Charles Dance. In The Windmill Massacre Taylor plays a man with something to hide. Eugene Simon (Lancel Lannister) is set to play a lead role in the Irish haunted mansion movie The Lodgers.
Broke Frasier (1993)'s record of most Emmy wins for a TV series of any kind (comedy or drama) in 2016, with the show receiving its 38th award in 2016.
Emilia Clarke received her second Prime Time Emmy nomination for her performance in Series 6, but lost out to Maggie Smith.
Isaac Hempstead Wright (Brandon Stark), Joseph Mawle (Benjen Stark) and Ian Hanmore' (Pyat Pree) have all starred in the horror movie The Awakening (2011).
Composer Ramin Djawadi said that during after initially watching some visuals of the show before starting composing it, the idea for the Main Title theme just came to his mind and he whistled it while he was driving his car to the studio, where he started to actually write the piece.
Lena Headey received a lot of mail from fans which fans wrote to her about how much they hate her character Cersei Lannister.
Conleth Hill (Lord Varys) originally auditioned for the role of Robert Baratheon.
Jonathan Nolan, brother of acclaimed film director Christopher Nolan, co-writer of The Dark Knight Trilogy and Interstellar (2014) and creator of the HBO series Westworld (2016), was described by his wife Lisa Joy as a "huge fan" of "Game of Thrones".
The BBC programme The Fades (2011) contains 4 Game of Thrones (2011) cast members. This includes Natalie Dormer (Margarey Tyrell), Joe Dempsie (Gendry), Francis Magee (Yoren) and Ian Hanmore (Pyat Pree).
Each of the Stark children adopted one of six orphaned Direwolves (similar to conventional wolves except for being much larger and powerful) which appears on the Stark banner as their sygil. They were - Grey Wind/Robb Stark, Lady/Sansa Stark, Nymeria/Arya Stark, Summer/Bran, Shaggy Dog/Riccon Stark, and the runt of the litter Ghost went to the bastard Jon Snow.
Various "Game of Thrones" actors appeared in Tom Fontana's Borgia (2011) (partly filmed in Dubrovnik, Croatia, a frequent location for "Thrones"): John Bradley ("Samwell Tarly") portrayed Giovanni Di Medici during Season 1; Iain Glen ("Jorah Moremont") played Girolamo Savonarola during Season 2 (Savonarola was a religious fanatic who may have inspired the High Sparrow); Tom Wlaschiha ("Jaqen H'ghar") played Philip von Hapsburg during Season 3; James Faulkner ("Randyll Tarly") played Piero Soderini during Season 2 (in a bit of irony, Faulkner's character was an ally of John West's character, though they never appeared on screen together)
Stars Dean-Charles Chapman ("Tommen Baratheon") and Faye Marsay ("The Waif") have a habit of appearing on the same shows. They both starred in the crime drama Glue (2014), in which Marsasy portrayed a woman who lies about her identity. Both also had major roles on the Starz/BBC period drama The White Queen (2013). The series details The Wars Of The Roses, a 15th-century English dynastic struggle that partly inspired "Game of Thrones".
Sean Bean and Owen Teale starred together in TV movie 'The Fifteen Streets' 1989, based on the Catherine Cookson novel. They played rival brothers, with Teale's character 'John' the protagonist and Bean's 'Dominic' the antagonist.
Finn Jones (Loras Tyrell) and Jessica Henwick (Nymeria Sand) were cast as the lead roles in Iron Fist (2017).
The 2011 BBC drama The Hour (2011) consists of 4 Game of Thrones (2011) cast members. This comprises of Oona Chaplin (Talisa Maegyr), Anton Lesser (Qyburn), Hannah John-Kamen (Ornela) and Burn Gorman (Karl Tanner). Also starring the series was Dominic West, who turned down a major Game of Thrones (2011)'s character.
Upcoming Australian director Matthew St Vincent is a massive fan of the show "Game of Thrones" that after he finishes the script for his drama/horror film "The Effects" he will be offering roles to Sophie Turner (Sansa Stark), Maisie Williams (Arya Stark), Charles Dance (Tywin Lannister) and possibly Sean Bean (Ned Stark). He said that depending on how he goes working with them (if they accept) he'll have them on his list of regulars like Quentin Tarantino and Samuel L Jackson (or Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio).
Danish cast members Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (Jaimie Lannister) and Birgitte Hjort Sørensen (Karsi) have both starred in Ved verdens ende (2009) and 3 Ting (2017).
Dire wolves have been extinct for thousands years fading out in the controversial Quarternay extinction event
On February 4th 2017, Emilia Clarke recorded and posted a video on her official Instagram account of herself miming to the song "I Believe I Can Fly" by R. Kelly, during production on Series 7, which she wore her white wig in the video.
The upcoming movie King Arthur: Legend of the Sword (2017) features three Game of Thrones (2011) cast members. This includes Aidan Gillen (Littlefinger), Michael McElhatton (Roose Bolton) and Eline Powell (Bianca).
Ian McShane (Brother Ray), Anton Lesser (Qyburn), Roger Allam (Illyrio Mopatis) and Deobia Oparei (Areo Hotah) have all appeared in Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (2011).
The upcoming movie Underworld: Blood Wars (2016) features a total of 3 Game of Thrones (2011) actors. This includes Charles Dance (Tywin Lannister), Tobias Menzies (Edmure Tully) and James Faulkner (Randyll Tarly). In addition, this movie also features Lara Pulver (Elissa Forrestor) from Game of Thrones: A Telltale Games Series (2014).
The The Last Legion (2007) included various Game of Thrones (2011) cast members. This included Iain Glen (Jorah Mormont), Thomas Brodie-Sangster (Jojen Reed), Nonso Anozie (Xaro Xan Daxos), Owen Teale (Alliser Thorne), Alexander Siddig (Doran Martell), James Cosmo (Jeor Mormont) and Robert Pugh (Craster).
Charles Dance (Tywin Lannister) and Lena Headey (Cersei Lannister) have both starred in Century (1993), The Contractor (2007) and Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (2016).
Cast members Kit Harington (Jon Snow), Elyes Gabel (Rakharo) and Tim McInnerny (Robett Glover) have all starred in the British spy-thriller MI-5 (2015) alongside Lara Pulver from Game of Thrones: A Telltale Games Series (2014) who voiced Lady Elissa Forrestor.
Classic Alien³ (1992) features three Game of Thrones (2011) actors. This includes Charles Dance (Tywin Lannister), Clive Mantle (Greatjon Umber) and Deobia Oparei (Areo Hotah).
The movie "Robin Hood (2010)" contains six Game of Thrones (2011) actors and actresses. This includes Max von Sydow (Three-eyed raven), Mark Addy (Robert Baratheon), Robert Pugh (Craster), Ralph Ineson (Dagmer Cleftjaw), Mark Lewis Jones (Shagga) and Kerry Ingram (Shireen Baratheon).
BBC production Da Vinci's Demons (2013) carries a total of three Game of Thrones (2011) cast members. This includes Eros Vlahos (Lommy Greenhands), James Faulkner (Randyll Tarly) and Alexander Siddig (Doran Martell). In addition, Lara Pulver (Lady Elissa Forrestor) from Game of Thrones: A Telltale Games Series (2014) was also present as Clarice Orsini.
The BBC series Wolf Hall (2015) features a total of nine Game of Thrones (2011) cast members. This includes Thomas Brodie-Sangster (Jojen Reed), Tim Plester (Black Walda Rivers), Anton Lesser (Qyburn), Jonathan Pryce (High Sparrow), Enzo Cilenti (Yezzan),Kerry Ingram (Shireen Baratheon), Miltos Yerolemou (Syrio Forel), Harry Lloyd (Viserys Targaryen) and Mark Gatiss (Tycho Nestoris).
Spoilers
George R.R. Martin has stated that the infamous "Red Wedding" was the hardest chapter for him to write in "A Storm of Swords." He was so emotionally attached to the characters that he actually wrote the rest of the book first, then that chapter last. Executive Producers David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, upon reading it, declared it was one of the major reasons they decided to option the books for a TV series. Their dramatization differs from the book in a few details, most notably that Robb's wife is not present at the wedding, nor is she killed. Whether she is pregnant is unknown.
After filming his death scene, Sean Bean played football with his replica head.
Series author George R.R. Martin reported on his blog that after the filming of the episode in which Sansa's direwolf Lady is executed, the dog that played Lady, a Northern Inuit named Zunni, was adopted by Sophie Turner, the actress who plays Sansa.
Robert Baratheon is never seen sitting on the Iron Throne. The first king that we see sitting on it is Joffrey.
Executive Producers David Benioff and D.B. Weiss stated when the show began they set a rule of "no prophecies, dreams, or flashbacks". All three rules were eventually broken, with the inclusion of Bran's dreams of the three-eyed raven, prophetic visions in the House of the Undying experienced by Daenerys and a flashback scene to Cersei's childhood.
Grand Maester Pycelle's elderly and feeble demeanor is an act, briefly alluded to in a scene from season one's finale "Fire and Blood" showing Pycelle doing a series of exercises and stretches. A deleted scene between Pycelle and Tywin Lannister shot for the third season and included on the DVD/Blu-ray set shows Pycelle's normal posture and speaking cadence, explaining that he maintains the facade to appear harmless. In the season two finale he shows he true demeanor to Tyrion.
George R.R. Martin has said that some fans have correctly guessed the ending of the series. One of the most popular fan theories is that Jon Snow is in fact a Targaryen, with his true father being Rhaegar Targaryen and true mother being Ned Stark's sister Lyanna. It is debatable if this could make him an heir to the Iron Throne, as his presumed father was married to another woman (Elia Martell) and he would still be a bastard, however because the Targaryens were known to practice bigamy, if Lyanna and Rhaegar had been married then he would be a legitimate heir.
In every season at least one king (or claimant) dies. In season one they are Robert Baratheon (King on the Iron Throne), Viserys Targaryen (claimant to the Iron Throne), and Khal Drogo (a Khal is a chieftain similar in position to a king); in season two Renly Baratheon (claimant to the Iron Throne) and Xaro Xhoan Daxos (King of Qarth); in season three Robb Stark (King in the North); in season four Joffrey Baratheon (King on the Iron Throne); in season five Mance Rayder (King Beyond the Wall) and Stannis Baratheon (claimant to the Iron Throne); and in season six Balon Greyjoy (King of the Iron Islands) and Tommen Baratheon (King on the Iron Throne).
In the novel, Robb Stark's wife is named Jeyne Westerling. House Westerling is a staunch supporter of House Lannister and takes part in the sinister scheme to bring the Starks down. In the show she is called Talisa Maegyr and her backstory is changed. In addition to this, she dies while carrying Robb's child along with Robb and Catelyn at the Red Wedding. In the novel, Jeyne does not attend the wedding, she is not pregnant and discovers the fate of her husband while residing in Riverrun.
In the series King Renly Baratheon has his own Kings Guard and inducts Brienne of Tarth into the order. In the novels they are known as the Rainbow Guard, but HBO elected to omit the name as it could be interpreted as a jab at Renly's homosexuality which is only subtly referenced in the novels but made explicit in the series.
The ominous theme song of the Lannisters, "The Rains of Castmere", was played throughout each episode of the fourth season (save for the ninth episode) to foreshadow the deaths of Tywin and Joffrey.
Many of the characters have nicknames, mostly based on specific deed, behavior or physical feature of the person in question. The nicknames can be derogatory (Kingslayer) or for mockery (Brienne the Beauty). For example: Eddard Stark: Ned; Jaime Lannister: the Kingslayer; Tyrion Lannister: the Imp or Halfman; Varys: the Spider; Sandor Clegane: the Hound; Gregor Clegane: the Mountain that Rides (or simply the Mountain); Petyr Baelish: Littlefinger; Jeor Mormont: the Old Bear; Loras Tyrell: Knight of Flowers; Olenna Tyrell: Queen of Thorns; Roose Bolton: Leech Lord; Aerys Targaryen: the Mad King; Viserys Targaryen: the Beggar King; Theon Greyjoy: the Turncloak or Reek; Melisandre: the Red Woman; Vargo Hoat: the Goat; Robb Stark: the Young Wolf; Jon Snow: the White Wolf; Brienne: the Beauty; Qhorin: Halfhand; Mance Rayder: the King Beyond the Wall; Davos Seaworth: the Onion Knight; Jon Umber Sr.: Greatjon; Jon Umber Jr.: Smalljon; Eddison Tollett: Dolorous Edd; Samwell Tarly: the Slayer; Gerold Hightower: the White Bull; Arthur Dayne: Sword of the Morning; Brynden Tully: Blackfish; Oberyn Martell: the Red Viper; Oberyn Martell's bastard daughters: the Sand Snakes.
Maester Aemon is the first prominent character on the show to die of natural causes. Hoster Tully (Catelyn's father and Lord of Riverrun) also died of natural causes, but only appears on-screen after his death at his funeral. Old Nan also died of natural causes, according to the producers, after the death of Margaret John, who portrayed her, but the death was never seen or mentioned on-screen.
The first five seasons were largely based on published novels, though beginning late in Season 5 the series began including plot points from future novels told to the executive producers by author George R.R. Martin. Beginning with Season 6, the show included a large amount of original content as well as adapting an outline of future novels provided by Martin. The producers stated there were "three "holy shit!" moments" revealed by Martin--that Shireen Baratheon would be burned alive by her father, the meaning of Hodor's name and its correlation to his eventual death, and a third to be revealed at the end of the series. Martin responded "Yes and no" to fan inquiries about whether the show would spoil the final two novels, and the producers stated, "So much of what we're doing diverges from the books at this point . . . there are certain key elements that will be the same".
In the show, Ramsay Bolton is arranged to be married to Sansa Stark to solidify the Boltons' hold on the north. In the novels, he is arranged to marry Sansa's best friend Jeyne Pool. Jeyne is married to Ramsay under the guise of being "Arya Stark." However, Jeyne does not have a major role in the show, so Sansa Stark became the most suitable marriage choice for Ramsay.
Sean Bean, who plays Eddard Stark, also plays Boromir in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001). "Lord of the Rings" was one of George R.R. Martin's biggest influences while writing the series. Coincidentally, both of Bean's characters don't make it past the first installment in both "Game of Thrones" (dies at the end of Season 1) and "Lord of the Rings" (dies at the end of the first movie).
Only two episodes-- Game of Thrones: Lord Snow (2011) and Game of Thrones: The Bear and the Maiden Fair (2013)--have no deaths. One--Game of Thrones: Blood of My Blood (2016)--only has flashback deaths of already deceased characters, and three others-- Game of Thrones: The Prince of Winterfell (2012), Game of Thrones: Valar Dohaeris (2013), and Game of Thrones: Dark Wings, Dark Words (2013)--only include off-screen deaths.
In the Season 6 finale, it is revealed that Jon Snow is the son of Lyanna Stark and Rhaegar Targaryen. This makes him literally the Son(g) of Ice and Fire, which is the title of the book series.
Although not shown in the show, where Ser Arthur Dayne uses two swords, the true sword that Ser Arthur wielded was a sword named Dawn forged from a fallen meteoroid, just as strong as Valyrian steel. Unlike the other Valyrian swords of Westeros, like Longclaw (Mormont) and Ice (Stark), Dawn wasn't passed from lord to lord of House Dayne. It was bestowed upon a knight deemed worthy of using it. The wielder of Dawn was given the title Sword of the Morning.
Mass murder is when a person kills numerous victims in a single incident. The wildfire of the Great Sept of Baelor, set by Cersei Lannister, kills 296 people in Game of Thrones: The Winds of Winter (2016).
One of the hallmarks of the show is its willingness to kill off beloved characters, oftentimes without warning. Examples include the unexpected deaths of Ned in season one, Catelyn in season three, and Hodor in season 6.
Jon Snow's betrayal and murder at the end of Series 5 was strongly influenced by the assassination of Julius Caesar on March 15th 44BC which in that day in Roman history, Julius Caesar was stabbed to death by a group of rebellious senators.
List of major characters who as of season 7 are dead on the show, but have yet to be killed off as of the end of a Dance of Dragons: Stannis Baratheon Shireen Baratheon Sylise Baratheon Ser Barristen Selmy Margery Tyrell Ser Loras Tyrell Lord Mace Tyrell Jojen Reed Doran Martell Trystane Martell Green Pyp Ser Alliser Thorne Ser Bowen Marsh Lord Roose Bolton Ramsey Bolton Myrcella Baratheon Tommen Baratheon Brynden Tully Rickon Stark Walder Frey Black Walder Lancel Lannister Hodor The three eyed raven Wun Weg Win Dar Wun High Sparrow Shaddydog Summer Mance Rayder The Waif Osha Greatjon Umber
Alliser Throne (Owen Teale) is an almost similar role to Teale's role in Doctor Who: Vengeance on Varos: Part One (1985) and Doctor Who: Vengeance on Varos: Part Two (1985), in which Teale played the guard Maldak. In that story, Maldak keeps watch over the execution of the rebel prisoner Jondar (Jason Connery). In the Series 5 finale of this series,, Allister Throne murders Jon Snow.