Game of Thrones is one of the most popular and influential shows of the last few decades. The epic fantasy series was one of the most-watched shows for HBO. It had earned the most number of Primetime Emmy awards for a drama series in its eight-season run, winning Outstanding Drama Series four times.
The show has attracted some of the best actors in the business. Legendary actors such as Sean Bean, Charles Dance, and Peter Dinklage appeared in starring and supporting roles. Legendary actress Diana Rigg also starred in the series. She once reportedly stormed off the set as the crew was taking too much time to start shooting.
Diana Rigg in Game Of Thrones
Legendary actress Diana Rigg played the role of Queen Olenna Tyrell in Game of Thrones, was the matriarch of House Tyrell, and was the grandmother of Natalie Dormer’s Margaery Tyrell. The actress joined the series in the third season.
Diana Rigg’s Queen Tyrell was known for her quick wit as well as her diva behavior. She was the only character who could match the witty sarcasm of Peter Dinklage’s Tyrion Lannister. Apparently, the wit and pompousness were not limited to her character. Rigg was known to be an intimidating presence off-screen as well.
Showrunners David Benioff and Dan Weiss spoke about their first meeting with the actress in the book ‘Fire Cannot Kill a Dragon’. Benioff said in the book (via Entertainment Weekly),
“We had tea with her. Dames don’t audition for you; you audition for them. We loved her, she was funny, she was bawdy, she was everything we wanted for that character.”
Rigg was known for starring in the James Bond film On Her Majesty’s Secret Service. She was also known for her starring role in the British TV series The Avengers.
Diana Rigg Stormed Off The Sets Of Game Of Thrones
Diana Rigg once reportedly stormed off the sets of Game of Thrones after the crew was delaying the shoot. Usually, Rigg would decide when she would be ready to film her scenes and the rest of the crew were supposed to be ready for it. However, on a particular day, the crew was still getting the set ready when Rigg announced that she would be shooting her scene.
Actress Jessica Henwick, who played Nymeria Sand in the show and was Rigg’s scene partner recounted the incident in Fire Cannot Kill a Dragon (via Entertainment Weekly),
“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!’”
However, Rigg was in her late 70s at the time and was quite old. Hence, she could not exactly storm off the set in anger. But she sent the message in her own way. Henwick 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 incident was on character for Queen Tyrell. Diana Rigg was nominated four times for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series. She passed away in 2020 at the age of 82.
Source: Fire Cannot Kill a Dragon (via Entertainment Weekly)
