Actors Look Back at Trainwreck That Was the Pilot of Game of Thrones
You think the last season of Game of Thrones was a tragedy? Well, the actors and creators have much worse memories about the first episode of the series. The pilot in its original shape was supposed to have fallen very short of all expectations.
On October 6, 2020, a new book worthy of attention will be published. It will be a series of behind-the-scenes interviews with the crew and cast of HBO's Game of Thrones, titled Fire Cannot Kill a Dragon. Entertainment Weekly journalist James Hibberd is responsible for bringing together all previously unpublished stories from the set. The official website of the magazine we can read the most interesting excerpts from the conversations concerning the experience of shooting the series' pilot episode. It turns out that it was not easy and the moods in the team were not so optimistic.
"It was a frightening time because it was our first time running a production of any scale. And there are many, many moving parts, human and otherwise, that go into any production, especially one of this size," said Dan Weiss, showrunner of Game of Thrones.
"Nobody knew what they were doing or what the hell this was. During King Robert’s arrival, I remember finding the whole thing ridiculous.. [...] There was certainly not a sense that this was going to be some game-changer for anyone. But we had a lot of fun," mentiones Nikolai Coster-Waldau (Jaime Lannister).
"I looked like a Vegas showgirl in the [original] pilot — furs and massive hair, like a medieval Dolly Parton. Not that I’m complaining, I loved it," said Lena Headey (Cersei Lannister).
"I went to Morocco for Dany’s wedding in the first pilot. I played a Pentoshi nobleman with beard extensions and an enormous hat. I looked like an idiot, but it was fun," remembers George R. R. Martin, the author of the original, co-executive producer of Game of Thrones.
"I had a different wig. It was titanium and silver, and it was shorter and a bob. Looking back, it was a mistake. There were consultations: “I’m not like Draco Malfoy, I’m not like Legolas … how do we do this?"," said Harry Lloyd (Viserys Targaryen).
Both Benioff and Weiss emphasize that the original pilot simply failed and some scenes had to be shot again. Despite the failure, the creators received a second chance from HBO and the series proved to be a great hit. However, not everyone received such credit of trust from the station, which was best summarized by Harry Lloyd:
"We were very lucky to be given a $10 million-dollar rehearsal."
