10 Things You Should Certainly Know About 'Game of Thrones'
While we need to wait and see who ends up on the Iron Throne, here are some lesser-known facts about the Game Of Thrones series, its actors, etc.
By Sadho Ram — 06 Apr 2014, 03:26 PM — Updated over 10 years ago
1. Game of Thrones' opening title sequence was inspired by one of Leonardo da Vinci’s machines
We wanted to do something different from the standard tropes for fantasy maps," title designer Angus Wall told The Hollywood Reporter. "So we came up with the idea of a world inside a sphere." The map mirrors the culture and feel of each kingdom, some more rustic or wintery than others, and its spherical shape came from a 60s science-fiction space station. The interlocking cogs represent the multi-family struggle for power, and the sequence briefly shows each family’s history. Each season has its own version as the storyline progresses.
2. The 1400s’ War of the Roses inspired the Game of Thrones storyline’s largest plot device: the fight over proper succession
Monarchies during that time often chose to inbreed to ensure bloodlines’ pedigrees -- consider what happened in the Targaryen line, as well as with Jaime and Cersei Lannister. Writer George RR Martin also says he’s fascinated by the truth in both the glory and horror of war, but asserts that there’s no precise character correlation. Some fans, however, aren't convinced.
telegraph.co.uk3. Sophie Turner, who plays Sansa Stark, adopted her direwolf, who is named 'Lady', in real life
She brought Lady home after King Joffrey had her direwolf unnecessarily killed in the series. "Growing up I always wanted a dog, but my parents never wanted one," she told English newspaper Coventry Telegraph. "We kind of fell in love with my character’s direwolf, Lady, on set.” She renamed the Northern Inuit dog Zunni.
Sophie Turner, who plays Sansa Stark, brought Lady home after King Joffrey had her direwolf unnecessarily killed in the series.
Image via Imgur4. In one of the series' most unforgettable scenes, a pregnant Khaleesi consumes a raw horse heart to prove herself to the Dothraki people. The horse heart was actually 3.2 kg of a gummy bear-like mass.
“That was one of those amazing scenes that you get as an actor that there’s just no acting required -- at all,” actor Emilia Clarke told Vulture. "It was disgusting! They promised me that it would taste similar to a gummy bear and it definitely didn’t." Apparently it tasted like bleach. She describes it as being similar to congealed jam with fake blood-sugar and dried pasta -- for added texture. Yum.
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5. Harry Lloyd (Viserys Targaryen) is Charles Dickens' great-great-great-grandson. Lloyd also wrote his thesis at Oxford University on Dickens.
6. The producers asked the Language Creation Society to construct the Dothraki language. Linguist David Peterson started with the culture of the Dothraki people and created almost 2,000 words even before translating the first season’s scripts. This video explains the language’s inner workings:
7. The Wall is inspired by Hadrian’s Wall of Roman Britain
Martin visited the wall in 1981, and kept it in mind when creating the 700-foot-high wall of solid ice that protects the Seven Kingdoms. "Of course fantasy is the stuff of bright colors and being larger than real life, so my Wall is bigger and considerably longer and more magical,” he told SF Site. "And, of course, what lies beyond it has to be more than just Scots."
sfsite.com8. In its most likelihood, King Joffrey may never act again
Last year, Jack Gleeson, who plays King Joffrey, announced that he plans to give up acting after Game of Thrones wraps up because he doesn’t enjoy it as much as he used to. He also wants to make way for other pursuits, including humanitarianism -- last year he traveled to Haiti to help the poor. "I started acting when I was eight, and really, really loved it," Gleeson told a class at University College Dublin. "But I think when it became less of a recreation and more of a profession, it kind of put more pressure on the acting itself and made it a tiny bit less enjoyable.” He also plans to continue writing and performing with his own theater group, Dublin-based Collapsing Horse Theatre Company.
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9. The three middle Stark kids, Sophie Turner, Maisie Williams and Isaac Hempstead-Wright, have a penchant for singing the GoT theme song. They have the opening theme down pat in these amusing voice-overs.
10. There's a Game of Thrones-themed burlesque show
Creative director Russall S. Beattie presents the "Dames of Thrones Burlesque Show," an ongoing and entirely unaffiliated parody production, in Australia. "Inspired by the stories and people of Westeros, this show is set to light a fire in people’s hearts hotter than wildfire," says live entertainment venue The Vanguard. There’s even a "meal and show" package, complete with a GoT-themed menu.