A few weeks ago over on my Instagram account I started doing a Binge fest on 7 seasons of Game Of Thrones. ( I do not own the 8th season but I definitely know what happens) So I decided to research some “GOT” facts that I did not know about and it led me to create this list.
Here are my top Six Game of Thrones Facts that I found to be the most interesting.
6) The aged up Stark family.
For a Game of Thrones fan who has not yet had the chance to read the novels, I was surprised to find that all the Stark children had been aged up significantly for the series compared to their ages in the books.
At the start of the George R. R Martin novels, Robb and Jon are both 14 years old. Sansa is 11, Ayra is 9, Bran is 7 and young Rickon was just 3 years old.
In season one of the Game of Thrones TV series, the eldest boys Robb and Jon are now 17. Sansa is 13, Arya is 11, Bran is 10 and Rickon aged up to 6 years old.
I can understand why the show-runners decided to do this as the explicit themes and sexual references are extremely strong for kids so young.
5) Sansa and Lady
In the first season of Game of Thrones Sansa had her own Direwolf called “Lady”.
Unfortunately much like any beloved character human or animal, Lady met her end quite early on in the shows run. Luckily Sophie Turner, the actress who plays Sansa Stark on the series had bonded with her “direwolf” and asked her mother to adopted the newly unemployed Mahlek northern inuit pup named Zunni.
Zunni remained with the Turners until her alleged passing two years ago.
4) Only one man can play Tyrion Lannister.
While the life of a working actor can be filled with much uncertainty, stress and anxiety. Auditions can be a tedious and harrowing experience for some, there was only one actor considered for the role of Tyrion Lannister and that man was Peter Dinklage.
Peter Dinklage at the time was known for his role as the Red Dwarf in the chronicles of Narnia series, a role that required over 3 hours of uncomfortable makeup and prosthetics each and every day.
Dinklage was chosen by both the show runners of the series and George R.R Martian himself. No other actor auditioned for the role and no other actor was even considered if Dinklage turned it down, which was a possibility as Dinklage himself did not want to do another fantasy series.
Peter Dinklage’s performance in Game of thrones has been widely praised and no bigger praises can come from the writer and creator himself whom has said “He is the character brought to life”.
Peter Dinklage has gone on to win Various awards, gained legions of fans and won various other blockbuster roles like X-Men and The avengers Infinity war for his portrayal as the Wine loving Lannister whom always pays his debts.
3) A former President is a Fan.
It is no secret that during the height of Game of Thrones fame there were legions of fans worldwide. Some of those fans would be big time celebrities and one of those is Former U.S President Barack Obama.
It is said that the former president was such a fan of the hit show that he approached one of directors and asked about Jon Snow’s fate after seeing the season five finale. The show-runners also revealed that the “in touch” former president asked to see the first episode of season six before anyone else. Imagine going to a Game of Thrones watch party at the white house!
2) Gandalf’s sword.
Fans of another middle aged fantasy series “the Lord of the Rings” might be happy to discover that Gandalf’s sword, Glamdring is forged into the Iron throne.
Yes beloved Gandalf still manages to show up at “first light on the Fifth day” with this little fact.Although a nice and welcomed little nod to the movie trilogy and the character, show runners have explained that “Glamdring” just happened to be one of the swords around at time the creative team constructed the Iron throne for the set.
With this fact I like to think that maybe one of those members on the creative team was a fan of LOTRS and that’s how Glamdring came to be in the Iron Throne.
1) Total Death count.
Something many fans might wonder after watching a show like Game of Thrones would be the total death count of a series full of wars, murder and carnage. Just how many people actually did die in the series? well the answer to that might actually be underwhelming to some.
In season one only 56 people died compared to the seasons to come, with season eight having the highest death toll of any previous season.
It is estimated that between 150 and 170 thousand people died throughout the whole series. A number that I personally thought would be much higher.
So that’s all six game of thrones facts. As always if you think I have missed a fact or left something out let me know in the comments below. You can also see what I am up to on @theoutpostprincess Instagram account. Thank you so much for reading xx.
The Outpost Princess 