50 Things You Didn't Know About Game of Thrones

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Where to buy a direwolf puppy and how to pronounce the name Khaleesi correctly - Lifehacker has collected everything that you never dreamed of learning about the popular TV series.

About heroes

1. The King of the Night in the TV series and the King of the Night in the book are two different characters

Responding to comments from fans on his blog, Martin explained that the TV version of this hero is very different from the book character. In the book, the Night King is a legendary figure akin to Lann the Clever or Brandon the Builder. Moreover, in the sixth season of the series, it is shown that the King of the Night and the White Walkers are the work of the Children of the Forest.

2. The mountain really could crush Oberyn's head

According to Time magazine, if the battle between the Mountain and the Red Serpent took place in reality, the first could well crush the head of the second, pressing it with a force equal to 230 kilograms. Icelandic strongman Haftor Julius Björnsson, who played the role of Mountain in the series, is considered the third most powerful person in the world and could easily crush a person's head like a nut.

3. Jon Snow would never climb over the wall

Experienced climber Katie Mills argues that the type of rope that the wildlings used to climb is only suitable for conquering small slopes, not a huge vertical wall. If John really broke, he would have pulled off the next one, who, in turn, dragged another one with him, and so on until the whole group would not hang on the safety line. And the rope, most likely, would not have held it.

4. Daenerys is also the Mother of Clams

In 2013, scientists discovered a new species of marine molluscs that live off the coast of Brazil. The group of biologists who made this discovery drew attention to the similarity of the light processes on the body of the animal with the silvery curls of Daenerys. In honor of the heroine Emilia Clarke, the new species of marine life received the proud name of Tritonia Khaleesi.

5. There are 70 different ways to pronounce the word "Hodor"

The performer of the role of the laconic giant Christian Nairn, whose entire text consists of the character's name, says that you can say "Hodor" in 70 ways. The actor claims that there is a happy Hodor, an evil Hodor, a sad Hodor, a curious Hodor, and even a naked Hodor.

6. Dragons grow by leaps and bounds

Throughout the series, we watch the growth of Daenerys' favorite pets. They were very small, then they began to attack livestock, and later on people, until they turned into huge fire-breathing beasts. In the seventh season, the dragons were so big that they were equal in size to the Boeing 747.

7. Applying makeup for gray ailments took 4 hours a day

For the realism of the terrible disease, the creators of the series consulted with doctors, and also studied the consequences of leprosy and the use of "crocodile". Ian Glen, who played Jorah Mormont, wore a special silicone prosthesis, and it took three makeup artists and 4 hours to completely make up.

8. There is a cheeky joke in the Gray Worm and Missandei sex scene

In Season 7, Counselor Dany and Commander of the Unsullied caress each other, but as soon as the head of the Gray Worm drops below Missandei's hips, we are transported to the Citadel. In the next shot, the archmeister inserts his hand between two books in the shape of a vagina. This is not an accidental cut, but a joke specially planned by the screenwriter.

About the actors

9. Cersei is the spoiler world champion

In 2014, the performer of the role of Cersei, Lena Headey, posted several pictures on Instagram with hints of the further development of the series' plot. Give Headey his due: these photos weren't outright spoilers. Rather, they contained subtle clues that were impossible to guess if you did not know the plot. For example, a few months before the Mountain duel with the Red Serpent, Headey posted a picture in which she herself jokingly pressed her fingers into the eyes of Pedro Pascal, the performer of the role of Oberin.

10. The actor who played Eamon Targaryen was actually blind

The late Peter Vaughn, who played Maester Aimon Targaryen in the series, was partially blind. The actor passed away in December 2016 at the age of 93.

11. Arya loves dancing

In ordinary life, Maisie Williams, who plays Arya Stark, has a much more peaceful hobby than killing enemies. From the age of 10, the actress studied at a choreographic school and always dreamed of becoming a dancer.

12. Jon Snow dated Jon Snow

In a video interview, renowned American TV presenter Jon Snow met with Keith Harington, who plays the eponymous character in Game of Thrones. According to Dan Snow, John's nephew, it was a real tragedy for his uncle when a new Jon Snow appeared, who is more popular than him.

13. Jon Snow's buttocks don't belong to Keith Harington

In the only love scene in the entire series where we could see the actor naked, we were shown someone else's ass. These were the buttocks of one of the members of the film crew, who replaced the then broken ankle Harington.

14. The Mountain has a cute dog

The brutal actor Haftor Björnsson, who is well known to Game of Thrones fans for his role as Grigor Gora Clegane, is not only the owner of the title of the most powerful man on the planet, but also the owner of a Pomeranian named Asterix. Haftor loves his pet and spends a lot of time with him.

15. Rory McCann donated half of his beard

The performer of the role of Sandor the Dog Clegane during the filming had to walk with a beard on only one half of his face. The second had to remain shaved so that the makeup artists could fix the mask and apply makeup on the burns.

16. John Bradley had to learn calligraphy

John Bradley, who played Sam Tarley, attended calligraphy school for several weeks to then write three lines in the fifth episode of the seventh season during a scene in the library with Lilly.

17. Real porn actresses took part in the filming

For the filming of the fourth season of the series, the producers invited real actresses from adult films. In addition to the role of Shai Sibel Kekilli, who starred in porn in her youth, among them were Jessica Jenson and Samantha Bentley, who played prostitutes from a brothel in Volantis.

18. In real life, Jon Snow is married to Ygritte

After working together on the set, Kit Harington and Leslie Rose began dating. In 2017, the couple announced their engagement through The Times newspaper, and in the summer of the following year, the lovers got married in Leslie's ancestral castle in Scotland.

19. Peter Dinklage - vegetarian

In real life, the actor who played Tyrion Lannister has eaten only plant foods for many years. Therefore, the creators of the series had to replace all the meat that the half-man feasts on in the frame with a dummy.

About the creators

20. The screensaver is even harder than it looks

The incredible 3D map in the Game of Thrones screensaver won an Emmy award. For Angus Wall, who is directing its creation, it is endless work. His company is forced to update the animation every season, adding new lands to it and marking each city with the coat of arms of the one who now rules it. A team of 10 people is working on creating a screensaver for each new season, which takes about three months.

21. George Martin prefers sex to violence

The author of the books that formed the basis of the series finally answered why there are so many sex scenes in his work. In an interview with Reuters, Martin said: “I can describe in great detail how the ax blade crushes the skull and enters the head, but no one blinks. As soon as I describe in the same detail how the penis enters the vagina - and a stream of angry letters falls on me. In my opinion, this is crazy. In the history of mankind, penises penetrating vaginas have given many people a lot of pleasure, which cannot be said about axes."

22. At the same time, Martin becomes enraged when his mail is stolen

In 2011, Martin complained to his blog readers that a postal employee had stolen some of the Game of Thrones scripts sent to Martin by mail. The writer urged his fans to keep an eye on the appearance of manuscripts on eBay. However, the missing scripts, which described the ninth and tenth episodes of the first season, have not yet been found.

23. Dragon makers were inspired by geese and cats

In an interview with Wired, special effects specialist Sven Martin said that the creators of the dragons wanted to do something similar to geese lying on the ground, flapping their wings. The movements during the flight were spied on by bats, and in the scenes where Daenerys strokes her pets like a mother, their habits, as conceived by the authors, resemble those of a cat.

24. Gray ailment is very similar to a real-life disease

Obviously, when describing the gray ailment, Martin first of all thought about leprosy. However, there is another disease that resembles a terrible ailment from the book - ossifying progressive fibrodysplasia. This rare incurable disease causes the degeneration of the affected soft tissue into bone. As the disease progresses, the patient actually turns to stone.

25. Everyone pronounces the word "Khaleesi" wrong

Linguist David Peterson, creator of the Dothraki and Valyrian languages, argues that it is correct to stress the first syllable in Khaleesi. The first erroneous version with the stress on the second syllable was voiced by Ian Glen, known as Sir Jorah Mormont. The producers liked Glen's version more.

26. Glass bowls were used to record the sounds of the White Walkers

Series composer Ramin Javadi has created for famous houses and characters with slightly different musical themes that match the mood in the frame. He wrote the soundtrack for the White Walkers using glass salad bowls. Ordinary dishes gave the same ominous sound that blows cold. Even without looking at the screen, we immediately understand that the action is taking place somewhere behind the Wall.

27. The series set the record for the most burning stuntmen

Game of Thrones stunt coordinator Irlam Rowley set a world record for the number of stuntmen engulfed in flames who were simultaneously in the frame. During the filming of the Season 7 episode of War Trophies, there were 20 burning people on set.

About props

28. On the basis of the series, there were door locks "Khodor"

Everyone remembers the heartbreaking episode in which Hodor, at the cost of his mind, holds the door and thereby gives his friends the opportunity to escape from the White Walkers. Soon after its release, photographs of first home-made and then professionally made door latches named after the selfless Hodor began to appear on the Internet.

29. In 2013 HBO and Firebox produced and sold full-size copies of the Iron Throne

The fiberglass and polymer replica weighed 159 kilograms and was over 2 meters high, 1.8 meters deep and 1.65 meters wide. You could buy your own Iron Throne for £ 20,000. Unfortunately, thrones are no longer being issued at this time.

30. The Iron Throne should have been much larger

In his blog, Martin describes him like this: “Ugly. Asymmetric. Made from a thousand swords, not just a few. " The series plays up this discrepancy well: in one of the episodes, Littlefinger states that a thousand swords are a myth. He says: "There are no more than two hundred of them, I counted."

31. Valyrian steel has a real prototype

It seems that when describing the legendary weapons of his heroes, George Martin was inspired by Damascus steel. This famous steel from India and the Middle East was renowned for its toughness as well as the characteristic patterns on the blade. The secret of its production was also lost several centuries ago.

32. All swords in the series have blood channels

Each sword in Game of Thrones is the size of a real weapon, and is also equipped with grooves to drain blood. It is believed that thanks to these indentations on the blade, blood flowed from the wound, and the sword could be easily pulled out of the enemy's body. Some historians offer a more plausible explanation: thanks to these grooves, the weapon weighed less without sacrificing strength.

33. Madonna borrows the Khaleesi costume

In March 2014, the famous singer decided to come to the masquerade in honor of Purim in a Daenerys costume. But since Madonna is Madonna and she should not dress up as a fake, she contacted the producers of the series and asked them to lend her a real Khaleesi costume. Those, of course, happily agreed.

34. Winterfell's scenery is falling to pieces

Initially, it was not planned to use it during the construction of the castle's scenery throughout the entire series. Winterfell's buildings are made of wood and plaster and therefore suffer from rainfall and require a lot of maintenance.

35. The skull of Balerion was created for two months

The skull of the legendary dragon, on which Cersei tests the arrow launcher created by Maester Qyburn, was made by the set specialists for two whole months. It is made of polystyrene and has a size of 9 × 5 × 3 meters.

36. Jaime's armor rattles very hard

The costume designers went to great lengths to design the armor for the characters on the show. Jaime Lannister's armor not only looks realistic, but also rattles like the vestments of real knights. Moreover, it is so loud that most of the dialogues recorded while walking have to be re-voiced later.

37. Berik's fiery sword filmed without special effects

The famous flaming sword of the leader of the Brotherhood without banners really burns in the frame. In fact, there are two swords: one for ordinary scenes, the second for combat. The first has gas tanks inside and can be ignited by pressing a button on the handle. The second has inserts made of ceramic fiber, which is impregnated with a combustible material and ignited.

38. Jon Snow's raincoat has an air conditioner

The fur coat of the Guardian of the North looks truly monumental and weighs as much as 20 kilograms. It is so hot in it that the creators took care of a built-in cooling system that prevents sweat from dripping and fainting.

About the fate of the series itself

39. The series is banned from showing in the Turkish army

In November 2014, several television programs and series, including Game of Thrones, were banned from showing at Turkish military academies. The reason for this was the desire of the authorities to protect young people from demonstrating "sexual exploitation, pornography, exhibitionism, violence, harassment and other manifestations of unacceptable behavior." In 2012, several officers from the Istanbul Military Academy were fired for allowing cadets to watch the series.

40. This is the most stolen TV series in the world

According to TorrentFreak, Game of Thrones is downloaded more illegally than any other series. In 2012, BitTorrent counters recorded 4,280,000 downloads of one of the series. According to 2015 data, worldwide piracy of the series has grown by 45% compared to 2014.

41. At the moment, the series has 174,373 death scenes

One YouTube user compiled a 23-minute compilation of all the murders. True, it also includes scenes of the death of unnamed third-plan characters (for example, a soldier of the Lannister army) and animals, including thousands of horses, dogs and even pigeons.

How the series got into reality

42. There is a free 8-bit game based on Game of Thrones

Engineer and comic book author Abel Alves has developed and made publicly available an 8-bit multi-level storyline of the series. This is Alves' first experience in this area, but he intends to make several more similar retro games.

43. The series helped a farmer to preserve a rare breed of pigs

The series, which requires traditional livestock breeds for medieval surroundings, has kept Northern Ireland farm owner Kenny Gracie afloat during the challenging times for smallholders.

44. Direwolf can now be bought

American shepherd breeders managed to breed a large breed that looks like a wolf. This American Shepherd Dog reaches a weight of 60 kilograms and is informally called the direwolf. For just $ 3,000, you can become the proud owner of a puppy of this breed. At the same time, northern Inuit dogs were used for filming in the series.

45. Judgment by duel is probably legal today

Due to a loophole in American law, this is not so fantastic. The last trial by duel in Britain took place in 1818, and the practice was banned a year later. However, in 2002, 60-year-old Leon Humphreys demanded a trial by a duel with the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency after receiving a parking ticket. Alas, he was refused.

46. There is a Game of Thrones world roadmap

Designer Michael Taiznik drew his own road (more precisely, railway), reflecting the geography of the world, created by George Martin. On it you can even find references to the events of the book and the series. For example, in the area of Harrentown station there is a warning about a large accumulation of dust "in connection with the restoration of Harrenhal Castle", destroyed by dragons 300 years before the events described in the book.

47. At Harvard, you can take a course on "Game of Thrones"

The introductory course, entitled “The Real Game of Thrones: From Modern Myths to Medieval Models”, does not so much provide practical skills for survival in Westeros, but rather tells about the perception of the history of the Middle Ages through the prism of “Game of Thrones”.

48. Westeros knows a lot about good wine

There are two blogs that reveal the secrets of Westeros cuisine and recommend Seven Kingdoms wines. On you can find a recipe for honey goat meat in Dothraki, and on the second you can get complete information on Westeros wines, gleaned from books and the TV series.

49. Famous houses became brands

50. The main theme of the series plays instead of beeps at the office phone

If you call one of the Game of Thrones production office numbers, instead of the usual beeps, you can hear the title soundtrack written by Ramin Javadi, which opens each episode of the series.