Game of Thrones: What is happening behind-the-scenes

Now that HBO’s Game of Thrones is going into its eighth and final season it is time to look back on some of the best behind the scenes moments with the extensive cast and some fun facts. For anyone who has read the books and seen the television show, you know that A LOT of planning, writing, and location scouting went into the creation of what will be a classic fantasy show for years to come. It spans all the kingdoms of Westeros and pits its characters against all sorts of foes both from within their own families and those across the infamous wall. We know that you love the characters and all of their exploits, but the offscreen antics are just as interesting. We have collected some of the best facts and antics that occurred when the cast was busy goofing off or simply trying to stay warm. Are you interested in how Emilia Clarke who plays Daenerys first reacted when she met Jason Momoa? Or which actor has been in the most episodes? We have all the answers and more.

Daenerys Targaryen and Khal Drogo

The mother of dragons is most definitely one of the integral characters in this fantasy, and although Khal Drogo was only around for a short time it was definitely an important relationship. However, when Jason Momoa was introduced to his future onscreen wife, Emilia Clarke, he gave her a very special welcome.

According to Clark he charged at her from across the room and swooped her into a giant bear hug while calling her “Wifey.”

Staying Warm

Those snow-laden mountains and blisteringly cold winds that most of the characters in season 7 are subject to were not sets but actually all filmed on location in Iceland. Some stars who were unaccustomed to such cold temperatures being from more temperate climates like England did not necessarily know how to keep the cold at bay.

Tormund Giantsbane, the other main redhead character after Ygritte and played by Norwegian actor Kristofer Hivju made sure that everyone stayed warm. He knew what gear was needed after growing up in the cold himself so he told the production team what to provide.

Tyrion Lannister

The hand of the king, the imp, the dwarf and many other names are what Tyrion Lannister is called on the show. He tends to have a thumb in every pie, so he has shown up in most of the storylines for each of the royal families. Due to this, the actor Peter Dinklage actually has the highest episode count out of all the actors.

He has made an entrance in almost every episode of the show since its inception in 2011. His character always has something pithy to say, no matter what the event. Now that is a lot of lines to memorize!

Baby Name

When Daenerys wed Khal Drogo she was given the title “Khaleesi.” Anybody in the know now knows what this name refers to but it has now been popularized as a baby name, specifically for girls. Looking at some of the birth certificates from 2012 it appears that around 160 infant girls were given this as their first name.

It makes sense if you are a true “Thronie” and you want your baby girl to grow up thinking she is a queen just like her namesake. You definitely have to be a true fan to choose this, hopefully, the origin of the name doesn’t get lost in the future.

A Very Royal Visit

Back in 2014 when Game of Thrones was truly cemented as a fan favorite, a very royal fan decided to pay a visit to one of the sets that was in her own kingdom. Queen Elizabeth II came to the sound stage which was built in Belfast, Ireland. There was an Iron Throne on set which seemed like the perfect chair for the Queen should she get tired but according to royal protocol, she is only allowed to sit in her own throne, not another monarch’s.

She did enjoy looking at the intricately made throne though, even if she did not give it a try herself.

A Dire Adoption

The direwolves play very important roles for the Stark children in the first few seasons, and while you might have thought they went home with their trainers at the end of filming this was not the case for one special pup.

Sophie Turner who plays Sansa Stark decided she loved her character’s direwolf so much that she wanted to offer it a permanent place by her side. She remains with her to this day, and her famous fiance Joe Jonas.

Fast Friends

There is no love lost between the Lannister siblings, Tyrion and Cersei that is… not Jamie. While the two are often at odds on screen (to the point where the two seem to actively plot the destruction of one another) this is most definitely not the relationship the two actors have in reality.

The two try to rent apartments when they are on location and share various culinary events or simple dinners. You can often see them on each other’s Instagram accounts.

Light Versus Dark

Anybody who has seen the monster that Ramsay Bolton is portrayed as could not possibly imagine him in any other role. Iwan Rheon who plays him did not originally audition to play this evil genius, instead, he wanted to be the King of the North also known as Jon Snow.

We can’t imagine anybody other than Kit Harington playing him but apparently, there was a time that Rheon was considered. He definitely embodied all that was evil as Bolton.

Life Doesn’t Imitate Art

Lord Tywin and his son Tyrion Lannister did not have the most easy-going of relationships. The two were often scheming against each other and trying to outwit one another. Not every father and son like each other.

But the actor who played Tywin, Charles Dance did not feel comfortable with how nasty his character was to Peter Dinklage and as soon as filming was over he could be heard saying sorry for his character’s nastiness.

Emperor Inspiration

Out of all the evil kings that have existed in the Game of Thrones universe King Joffrey tends to beat them all. His aggressive and downright disgusting hobbies and treatment of other characters made him universally hated by the audience.

But, if you watched the film Gladiator you may have noticed that the emperor and he share some similar traits. That is because actor Jack Gleeson tried to emulate him for this role and you can definitely see it in his treatment of his subjects.

A Fairy Tale Romance

Jon Snow and Ygritte fell in love with each other onscreen and while that was short lived the off-screen romance between Kit Harington and Rose Leslie also blossomed. In fact, the two dated for so long and felt such a deep connection that they decided to tie the knot at her parent’s castle in Scotland last year in June.

That will surely be a fun tale to tell their future children about how they met, although viewing of the show should probably be left until they are in their teenage years!

Longevity

Most films take around three to four months to film, and tv shows a bit longer if they are just on one set. Not Game of Thrones. It requires at least five countries and thousands of crew members to simply produce one season of the show.

Which means that time-wise it takes an entire year to ensure that filming is complete, special effects are in place, and the music is scored to fit each scene. They say good things come to those who wait, and it hasn’t been wrong for this show.

Bad Blood

Casting the right actors is not easy, and when you find the ones that perfectly fit their roles you have to choose them. However, Lena Headey who plays Cersei and Jerome Flynn who plays Bronn had dated before they ended up on the show.

Apparently, there was some bad blood after that so that is why you do not see them in any scenes at the same time. They simply refuse to be in a room together.

Award Season

This show is not only a fan favorite but also a critical darling. When Emmy season rolled around in 2015 and 2016 they won so many each year that they broke the record two years in a row for winning the most Emmys for a television series.

The won 12 in 2015, and then 38 in 2016. Now that it is in its last season it will be fun to see if they break another record, maybe 40 for 2019!

Death Aplenty

Does it feel like there is at least one death in every episode of Game of Thrones? That is because with the exception of TWO episodes there is. It may be just a cook who looked the wrong way, or a soldier not stepping out of the way of an arrow fast enough but there is always a death be it a major character or an unnamed one.

In seasons one through six a grand total of 45 characters crucial to the storyline met their demise.

Famous Steel

One of the most sort after objects on the show is that os Valaryian steel and according to the Westeros, there is no better. A weapon that is light, yet strong, is the most desired.

Although the tales of this particular metal are nothing more than that, they are based on steel from Damascus, which echos some of the same properties.

Creating A Dragon

The dragons in the show have become some of the most loved beings and fans have gone wild for how life-like they are. With things of mythical origin, it is hard to build a convincing character.

To ensure the dragons looked as real as possible, the producing team worked hard and based them on a combination of bats, cats and birds.

Clash of Contacts

If you have read the books then you know that Daenerys Targaryen is supposed to have deep violet eyes, another characteristic of her lineage. But the actress who plays her, Emilia Clarke did not enjoy wearing them and they caused her a lot of grief making it difficult to act with them in.

Due to this the production team just let her natural blue eye color be the color of Daenerys’ eyes for the on-screen adaptation.

A Girl Has No Name

Last but not least, Arya Stark played by Maisie Williams is quite often recognized by fans on the street. As her character is known to be quite the killer, fans are naturally curious who will be next on her hit list.

Not one to give anything away Williams stays mum on the subject but she does find it a bit odd that fans think she knows or gets to decide who her character will dispatch to the next world. Now tune in for the last season of Game of Thrones to see who will rule all of Westeros!

Casting Perfection

It seems the casting team really try hard to match the character up to the best actor on the show and fans can really see how much of a good job they have done with this. How well an actor can portray their character is what makes a show or movie great, because, without that connection, there is no real life to the scenes.

A perfect example of this is with Aemon Targaryen, a character who has passed the age of 100 and is completely blind. Actually, it is actor Peter Vaughan who plays Targaryen, and he himself is partially blind.

Switching Actors

On occasions, actors can get moved in and out of roles and this was the case when it came to who played the role of Cersei’s monster on the series. In the beginning, it was not the same actor as it is today and in fact, the actor has been changed not one, but two times! The actor was switched after season one and then again after season two.

Today, we watch strong Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson play the role perfectly and after season three, it seems like he easily stuck around.

Writer Problems

Author George R.R had written several books before A Song of Ice and Fire with the hope to see his work be turned into a television show or movie, however, he had no luck. The books that Game of Thrones is based on were some of those he never actually intended to be transformed onto the screen.

With the amount of detail and “peculiar” goings on throughout the book, in thought, it would be impossible.

War Inspiration

Fans will know that the main war throughout the show is known as The War of Five Kings and this war was based on a real-life event. George R.R is an absolute history nerd, and it was through his love for the past that he felt inspired to create the war within the books.

During the 15th century, it was a fight in England that got his creative juices going. There was a battle named the War of the Roses, between two families who battled for the throne.

Changing Names

Apparently, there are many fans of the show, who have not even read the books and nor do they wish too. With the tv series being portrayed so well, most feel satisfied enough to stick with the series. Although this opinion may change as series eight comes to a saddening end.

Those who have read the book will notice that there are a few names changes, for example, the character of Yara Greyjoy goes by the name of Asha as well as Robin Arryn, who was originally named Robert.

Looking Young

Most will know his face from the romantic comedy that is Love Actually, where he plays a character who is in love with a girl at school and has a struggling relationship with his stepfather.

Playing one of the shows youngest characters Jojen Reed, Thomas Brodie-Sangster is 12 years older than his character. Due to his boyish looks, he fit the role perfectly.

They Live On

As the show is not a 100 percent representation of the books there are some things that differ and these can be a good reason as to why it is better to keep the book and the show separate. The show has said goodbye to many characters, which include Barristan Selmy, Stannis Baratheon, Ramsay Bolton and Hodor.

But not to worry, these characters live on in the books and have actually never had to face death.

Dothraki Dictionary

Amazingly, the Dothraki language has mostly been created by a linguist called David J. Peterson. In the books, there are only a few words written and described from the language however producers decided they wanted the language to be a prominent feature in the television series.

Peterson went on to develop the language into thousands of different words which now even have a dictionary to explain what each one means. Now that is cool!

Knight Knot

When it comes to the costume department, there are so many extras that a lot of the time, the regulars have to learn how to put on their costumes themselves. This is because they simply do not have the staff members to do each one.

The knight costumes have a specific knot on the front of their belts, which is the same as what they have done throughout history as it secures their armor. The extras had to learn to do these knots themselves.

Three-eyed Raven

When producers first sat down to run over how they would put the show together, they decided that they would stare clear of flashbacks and dreams, as they felt these were being overused on many of today’s shows.

However, as they made their way through season one, they understood that different angles of certain stories needed to be told and the only way they could do that was by introducing a dream scene, which is when Bran dreamt of a raven with three eyes.

Inspiration

All authors are inspired by other creative people, whether it be movies, actors or other authors and George R.R. Martin was no different. When it came to writing the famous books in which Game of Thrones is featured on, Martin gathered much of his inspirational from the fantastic J.R.R. Tolkien.

The talented writer was the author of The Lord of the Rings, which was another book taken from paper to the screen with huge success. Tolkien went on to inspire Martin and in turn, Martin will, we’re sure, go on to inspire many more.

Hair Pressure

Emilia Clarke plays the beautiful and amazing Daenerys Targaryen. When it comes to her costume, she has to look quite a lot different from her normal self. When filming, she wears a stunning silver wig and when it came to taking the part, she was worried that she would have to dye her hair.

Bleach can really take its toll on hair, especially if the hair is not used to it. Luckily for Clarke, the producers told her that is she didn’t want to use extensions and dye her hair, then they would be happy to use a wig.

Long Time Ago

Although many fans have only recently heard of Game of Thrones, the books have been around for quite a while. The show first hit on television screens in 2011 and gained a wealth of fans almost immediately.

Those fans have gone on to love every season since and their numbers have expanded beyond unimaginable amounts. The show first aired, on the books 15th anniversary. It was in 1996 that George R.R. Martin first wrote Game of Thrones.

Character Change

Characters can often differ from how they are described in books compared to how they are on the screen and sometimes, this can cause authors and directors to clash.

But sometimes, the characters are changed around for the better and that is exactly what happened with Shae, played by Sibel Kekilli.

Love Scenes

Game of Thrones is abundant with many topics, one being love. The emotion is shown through the relationship between Emilia Clarke’s character Daenerys Targaryen and Jason Momoa’s character Khal Drogo, where they play man and wife.

Some of the scenes have been rather x-rated, and the two have spoken out about how comfortable they are with each other and how important it is to run off the scene before and after. Ensuring everyone felt comfortable.

Downloads

Now that it is so easy to have access to the internet, this also means there is a ridiculous amount of illegal streaming activity happening. HBO holds the rights to the Game of Thrones franchise (luckily for them) however since fans have gone more than wild for the show, illegal activity surrounding it has boomed.

Records recently released show that over 15 million people went looking for a way to watch the show and opted for an illegal download.