Game of Thrones (2011) was covered in an exclusive piece by Entertainment Weekly in September 2020, a year after the series had ended with the last episode titled – The Iron Throne that aired on May 19, 2019.
The coverage not only took us on a journey to show us what went on behind the scenes of the show, but it also had a sentimental importance for the fans of the show.
Out of the many powerful actors that the series had over its eight-season run, EW threw the spotlight on a former Bond film, On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969), actor – the late Diana Rigg.
Rigg, who died on September 10 of the same year, used to be an incredibly formidable actor; she had been well in her 70s when she took on the role of Olenna Tyrell on one of the most expensive shows by HBO.
Game of Thrones Actor Diana Rigg Scared Co-Workers
The book – Fire Cannot Kill a Dragon: Game of Thrones and the Official Untold Story of the Epic Series by James Hibberd, revealed that Diana Rigg didn’t actually audition for the series and her scene partners were too scared of her.
“In my very first scene with her, I asked her to do a very minor thing, like, ‘Would it make sense if you close the door and walk a few paces before this moment?’ She came back with some rebuttal about why she wanted to do it another way and then said: ‘Thank you! Go away!’ I became a five-year-old boy. I could feel myself blushing and creeping back to my monitor, stripped of any kind of dignity or authority,” said Mark Mylod, a director on the show.
David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, the creators, had similar feelings as well; the former said, “We had tea with her. Dames don’t audition for you; you audition for them.”
Diana Rigg Fiercely Walked Away From A Scene
Game of Thrones was filled with theater artists from all across the UK, but Rigg, being a veteran at the Royal Shakespeare Company, did not digest the ill preparations of the cameramen, noted EW.
Jessica Henwick, who played Nymeria Sand, told the tale –
“She walked onto the set, and she went, ‘I’m ready now!’ A cameraman came over and went, ‘Well, okay, but we haven’t finished setting up.’ She interrupted him and said, ‘Roll the cameras!’ And she just started doing her lines. She did two takes, and then the guy came over and was like, ‘Great, now we’re going to do a close-up.’ And she just stood up and she went, ‘I’m done!’”
She continued –
“Now, she can’t walk fast. She has to be helped. So basically we just sat there and watched as Diana Rigg effectively did her own version of ‘Storming off the set,’ but it was at 0.1 miles per hour. She cracked me up. I loved her.”
The show’s success led to the development of another massive prequel series – House of the Dragon; it is set 200 years before these events.
Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon are streaming on Max.
Source: Entertainment Weekly
