21 Lesser-Known Facts about Game of Thrones
15 There is a popular fan theory that Lady Stark’s ghost can be seen passing through when Arya Stark and Brienne were training. The figure appears right as Arya says the word “mother!”
In the books, Catelyn Stark comes back as Lady Stoneheart. There is a theory that in the series, the producers have shown that she comes back and keeps tabs on her daughters. In one scene, the supposed ghost of Lady Stark is seen casually strolling in the background around Winterfell. She is seen when Arya and Brienne are talking and Arya reminds Brienne of the vow she made to Catelyn to serve both her daughters.
Just when Arya says the word “mother,” a woman in a long green dress with auburn hair is seen walking behind Arya. Fans feel she is, in fact, Catelyn Stark looking over her daughters. (source)
16 Dean-Charles Chapman played two characters throughout the series. One as Tommen Baratheon and the other as Martyn Lannister. Ian Whyte, on the other hand, played four roles – the Mountain, two giants, and a white walker.
Dean-Charles Chapman played two characters in the series and very few people noticed it! He is primarily known for the role of King Tommen Baratheon. He also plays the role of Martyn Lannister, a squire in the Lannister army and first cousin of Tommen and Joffrey, once removed. It’s easy to miss such small details because the series has a plethora of characters, with new characters appearing every now and then.
Chapman is not the only one. Ian Whyte, a Welsh actor and stuntman, had four roles in the series. In Seasons 1 and 2, he appeared as a “white walker.” In Season 2, he was one of three actors to play “The Mountain,” Ser Gregor Clegane. He played an anonymous giant in Season 3 and the giant wildling Wun Wun in Season 5. This would have been impossible to spot in the series as all these actors had very unique make-ups. (source)
17 Emilia Clarke was covered with so much fake blood for her horse-heart-eating scene that she got stuck to a toilet seat on the set. Also, a gelatin “heart” was made for the scene which was so bad in taste that Clarke did not have to act the gagging part!
Well, the fake horse heart was made from gummy bears. Pasta was inserted within it to resemble the valves in a heart. Emilia Clarke had to eat the whole thing. The puking action that is part of the scene was real as it was very difficult for Emilia to hold everything down! (source)
18 A replica of Gandalf’s sword, Glamdring from the “Lord of the Rings” and “Hobbit” trilogies, is forged inside the Iron Throne. Also, Robin Hood’s sword hilt also appears beside Glamdring.
Sean Bean, who plays Ned Stark in Game of Thrones, also played Boromir in the Lord of the Rings. Well, that’s not the only common element between the two. Gandalf’s sword, Glamdring, also appears on Game of Thrones.
The swords are part of the hundreds of swords that are part of the Iron Throne. (source)
19 Although the wall is shown as being 700 feet tall, it is actually just 18 feet in the studio. The rest is computer-generated imagery.
For the climbing scene, a 50-foot wall was erected. It was made with plaster and polystyrene, and the actors were actually able to dig real ice axes into the wall. It also gave them a feeling of climbing a real wall and made the scene quite realistic. The rest was the magic of VFX. (source)
20 The costumes used in the series drew inspiration from Japanese and Persian armor. Two dozen wigs made of human hair and up to two feet in length were used for the actresses. Each wig cost up to $7,000 and are washed and styled like real hair.
The costume designer for the first five seasons and Season 7 was Michele Clapton. She was replaced for the sixth season by April Ferry. The costume designers have put in a lot of work in dressing up the characters. Costumes were designed based on inspiration from Japanese and Persian armors.
If you look closely, the Dothraki dress resembles the clothing of the Bedouin people, a group of nomadic Arab people. One of the dresses was even made with fish skin so as to resemble scales of a dragon. Actual bone molds were used to design the bone armor that the Wildlings adorn.
Margaery Tyrell’s funnel-neck outfit was inspired by the high-neckline dresses worn by Björk’s Alexander McQueen. Moreover, all pieces of clothing used in the show are aged for two weeks so that they appear realistic when portrayed on high-definition television.
The work done on the wigs is also marvelous. More than 24 wigs are used for the actresses. The wigs are made from real human hair and are up to two feet in length. Each wig costs $7,000 to make. Then they are washed and styled like real human hair. Applying the wigs is no easy task. Emilia Clarke’s silvery-white wig takes about two hours to be styled once she puts it on. Jack Gleeson and Sophie Turner’s hair required constant coloring to make them look exact in every scene. Also, the costumes and wigs worn by Danaerys and her Dothraki Clan are made to appear as if they have not been washed for weeks! (source)
21 As of 2014, Game of Thrones was the most-watched HBO series of all time with an average viewership of 16.1 million for Season 4, slightly ahead of a record that was previously held by The Sopranos. Also, it was the first television series to be shown in IMAX theaters.
The first season of Game of Thrones had an average of 2.5 million views when it aired for the first time. The season drew a gross audience of 9.3 million viewers per episode. Viewers increased to an average gross audience of 11.6 million viewers for the second season. The third season saw 14.2 million viewers making the series the second-most-watched HBO series after The Sopranos.
Season 4 helped the series exceed The Sopranos with 18.6 million viewers. By Season 7, the average viewers for each episode increased to a whopping 30 million! (source)
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