A lot of characters have died on Game of Thrones, which means a lot of actors have been told their characters were going to die on the hit HBO fantasy drama. Recently, actor Ian Beattie shared in an interview how he learned his character, Ser Meryn Trant, was getting cut on the show. The behind-the-scenes story is pretty great. Check it out, below.
Well, funny, [executive producers David Benioff and D.B. Weiss] have said this once before -- and not without a touch of style -- that when it's your turn [to die], they phone you at the start of the season to let you know that it's your turn. I thought that personal touch was typical of the two of them - that they phoned me before to say ‘Valar Morghulis.’
It’s often typical on TV shows that feature a lot of deaths to hear stories about getting a dreaded phone call from the showrunners or producers telling an actor that his or her character is about to bite the dust. In fact, HBO’s other death-filled drama Boardwalk Empire also called up actors and actresses ahead of time before big death scenes. So, it’s not shocking that the Game of Thrones team would get something similar from showrunners Benioff and Weiss. I love the added touch to the Game of Thrones call, though, where the two showrunners throw out a “Valar Morghulis” for the actors in question.
Ian Beattie also spoke a little bit more to IGN regarding the phone call from the two showrunners, noting that what he thought his character’s ultimate fate would be didn’t totally match up with where Ser Meryn Trant’s story ended up going.
They did say I would have a spectacular death, which of course it was, and that we also get to see a real side of Ser Meryn -- which I thought meant I was going to kill Bronn or something, like a popular character. Alas, no. It turns out we saw a pretty gruesome and despicable side to the character, which proved to be very, very challenging -- perhaps the most challenging two days of my career, to film those particular scenes. But nonetheless, I was extraordinarily grateful to get them.
If you caught the last few episodes of Game of Thrones Season 5, you should already know that Ser Meryn Trant was on Arya’s kill list for offing her former sword instructor Syrio. When he showed up in Braavos, Arya saw him and followed him to a brothel, where we found out that he was even more of a monster than we initially expected, with a penchant for abusing young girls. Arya reveals herself to the Kingsguard member before promptly killing him, leaving him to an unspectacular fate. In fact, his character was probably never hated more than in his final moments. So, it wasn’t a particularly happy ending.
Ian Beattie’s time on Game of Thrones is done, but we’re sure more actors and actresses got phone calls similar to his before Season 6 started filming. While there’s still a while to wait before new episodes premiere, you can check out what we know about Game of Thrones Season 6.
