April 17, 2021 marks 10 years to the day that the first episode of “Game of Thrones” first aired, kicking off an extraordinary eight-season run as one of television’s all-time most-watched shows. In honour of this 10-year anniversary, check out these 10 fun facts that fans may not realize about the HBO’s beloved fantasy drama.
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Way back in 2014, an eagle-eyed Reddit user revealed that, upon close examination, he discovered that one of the many swords melted into the Iron Throne was actually Glamdring, the blade used by Gandalf the wizard in the "Lord of the Rings" movies.
The Redditor also claimed to have spotted several swords that appeared to have been borrowed from the props department of the 2005 film "Kingdom of Heaven".
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There's no denying that fans have fond memories of the first episode of "Game of Thrones", that's because they never saw the original pilot. According to exec producer David Benioff, after watching the pilot they'd filmed “I had this yellow legal pad, and I just remembered writing in all caps, ‘MASSIVE PROBLEM.’"
As a result, the entire thing was scrapped and reshot, with some new actors brought in. Catelyn Stark was originally played by Jennifer Ehle, but in the reshot pilot was replaced Michelle Fairley. Another key role, Daenerys Targaryen, was also recast, with Emilia Clarke brought in to replace the original Daenerys, Tamzin Merchant.
Fans also missed out on a special cameo from "GoT" author George R.R. Martin, who appears in the original pilot but not the reshot version.
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One of the saddest moments in the first season comes when Sansa Stark's direwolf is put to death after attacking Joffrey Baratheon, heir to the throne of Westeros.
The real-life events are far happier. Actress Sophie Turner adopted the dog that serves as her character's wolf in the show. “Growing up I always wanted a dog, but my parents never wanted one. We kind of fell in love with my character’s direwolf, Lady, on set,” Turner told a British newspaper. “We knew Lady died and they wanted to re-home her. My mum persuaded them to let us adopt her.”
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The warm and wooly capes worn by Jon Snow and the rest of the Night's Watch, revealed by "Game of Thrones" costume designer Michelle Clapton, "are actually IKEA rugs. We take anything we can. We cut, and then we shaved them, and then we added strong leather straps, and breakdown," in which everything from dye to sandpaper is used to make the costumes look aged and weathered.
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Sharp-eyed viewers may have noticed that Cersei Lannister and Bronn the sellsword rarely appeared in a scene together. According to a report in the Telegraph, there's a big reason for this: the actors who play the characters — Lena Headey and Jerome Flynn — were once a couple, until their relationship ended badly.
"Jerome and Lena aren’t on speaking terms anymore and they are never in the same room at the same time," a crew member told the newspaper.
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A lot of people have watched "Game of Thrones" — and a lot of people have done it without paying for an HBO subscription.
In fact, "Game of Thrones" has topped the list of television's most-pirated shows each year since 2013 — and episodes have been illegally downloaded more than a billion times.
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Fans of "Game of Thrones" will recall the episode that featured British singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran in a much-hyped cameo. However, there have been some other musical acts to have appeared on the show that may have evaded viewers' radar.
Icelandic rockers Sigur Ros played the minstrels who performed at Joffrey Baratheon's wedding. In addition, Coldplay drummer Will Champion played one of the musicians at the Red Wedding.
Then, in the episode“Hardhome,” heavy metal band Mastodon play wildlings who are killed by the White Walkers before being resurrected as White Walkers themselves.
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Actor Ben Hawkey played bread-baking Hot Pie, pal to Arya Stark. In 2017, he partnered with food delivery service Deliveroo to launch a pop-up bakery.
Not only did the bakery specialized in "Game of Thrones"-themed baked goods, it also boasted the hilarious name of "You Know Nothing Jon Dough."
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When casting the role of Tyrion Lannister, "Game of Thrones" author George R.R. Martin insisted that the only actor who could play the character was Peter Dinklage. As a result, no auditions were held, with Martin insisting producers “just had to get Dinklage.”
“His performance as the character is extraordinary,” said Martin of the actor. “He is the character come to life. When we originally started doing this (show) years ago, there were two roles we agreed on instantly (and one was that) we had to have Peter Dinklage as Tyrion Lannister.”
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One of the most beloved "Game of Thrones" characters is big-hearted Hodor, whose name is also the single word he can say.
The actor who played the character, has a whole other sideline as a DJ, laying down beats at Vegas pool parties and massive raves. In fact, he spent several years travelling the world with his successful "Rave of Thrones" tour.