George R.R Martin is undoubtedly best known for his work on Game of Thrones and the ongoing A Song of Ice and Fire book series that inspired the fantasy drama, but both he and Academy Award winner Robert Redford are also among the executive producers of AMC's Dark Winds. The duo took the time to make cameos in the Season 3 premiere in the 2025 TV schedule, and the result was an unexpected roast from Redford about Martin's long, long, long delays between books in the ASOIAF saga.
In the Season 3 premiere, Martin and Redford are playing prisoners who are in the middle of a game of chess when Lieutenant Joe Leaphorn (Echo cast member Zahn McClarnon) walks in. Redford's character says to Martin's, "George, the whole world's waiting. Make a move!"
And anybody who has been waiting for Book 6 of A Song of Ice and Fire, called The Winds of Winter, for more than a decade now likely registered that comment as a lot more than just a chess roast between cameo characters on AMC's thriller. According to Dark Winds showrunner Jon Wirth when he spoke with TV Insider, the writers aren't responsible for the line. Wirth shared:
Those words came out of Mr. Redford’s mouth, and he is the author of those words. So I guess I just threw him under the bus, which I didn’t mean to do. I found it very amusing, and I think George did, too.
If anybody on Dark Winds could get away with trolling George R.R Martin about the world waiting for his next ASOIAF book, it would have to be the legendary Robert Redford, right? Based on the showrunner's comments, the author took the ad-lib in good fun, and hopefully won't sour him on cameos in the future. Cast member Kiowa Gordon noted that "It’s really cool of them to make it happen because George hates cameos, but he did it for us" because he "loves the show, and I think that goes a long way."
Martin never did make a cameo in any of the eight seasons of Game of Thrones, choosing to pass on the opportunity for Season 8 to focus on writing The Winds of Winter. Game of Thrones' final season of course ended with its divisive finale in 2019, and the winds of winter are as yet still not blowing onto bookshelves.
He has been hyping the next show on the way to HBO's world of Westeros, as he's "so, so pleased" with A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, due out later this year. (Game of Thrones, House of the Dragon, and eventually Knight of the Seven Kingdoms will be available streaming with a Max subscription.)
For now, you can always check out Martin's cameo and the troll from Robert Redford in Dark Winds below. Take a look:
If you want to check out the full episode for yourself, you can find the Season 3 premiere streaming on AMC+, with new episodes releasing weekly on the streamer on Sundays, and airing on AMC on Sundays at 9 p.m. ET. You can also find the first two seasons streaming with a Netflix subscription. Seasons 1 and 2 only ran for six episodes each, so it won't be too tough to catch up if you're interested. Just don't count on seeing George R.R. Martin and Robert Redford playing chess on a weekly basis!
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