So, by now, you may have heard through the grapevine that Game of Thrones is cutting out a big plot during Season 5 in order to make room for more exotic locales such as Dorne and Braavos. We learned a few months ago that the series has cut Bran, Hodor and the rest of that crew from Season 5. Regardless, Isaac Hempstead-Wright, who plays Bran in the hit series, is actually pleased he has been cut from the latest season of Game of Thrones.
Bran recently confirmed his lack of Season 5 scenes to the Huffington Post, although we’ve also heard from Kristian Nairn (Hodor) and executive producers David Benioff and Dan Weiss regarding the lack of Bran and co. in the upcoming episodes. He also says that while it has been weird to not shoot the hit HBO drama all summer, he’s also a wee bit relieved.
It’s been bizarre, more so because I’ve spent my first full term at school, which has been quite a shock. I usually have my entire summer eaten up by shooting. But it’s been nice to have this year free because I've had some important exams at school.
It’s always a little weird to think about child actors missing out on regular classrooms in order to act in large TV or theatrical projects, but Game of Thrones actually has a slew of school-aged kids involved with the project, alongside Hempstead-Wright. Maisie Williams (Arya), Nell Tiger Free (Princess Myrcella) and Dean-Charles Chapman (Tommen) are still pretty young on the series, as well. It’s probably tough to miss out on some big school moments, including the tests that might help the actors to engage in other activities as adults, provided they no longer have the acting bug after Game of Thrones ends its run (or their characters are killed off).
It’s not a huge surprise that Isaac Hempstead-Wright is actually enthused about heading back to school. After all, he gets to spend time with his non-famous friends and he probably doesn’t have to do as much sitting as he does on the set of Game of Thrones. He’s not the only actor to be pleased about getting a season-long GOT break. When he revealed he would not be a part of Season 5, Kristian Nairn also talked about being excited for the time off, revealing he is spending the time traveling the world as a DJ.
I think the key here is that it is time off, rather than getting “killed off.” If the two characters’ story arcs were ended, it would probably be much more bittersweet. As it stands, it's more like the actors get an extended break to do other random projects. Not a lot of TV shows offer that opportunity, and it’s easy to see why it would be appealing to take some time off and then go back to the epic fantasy story.
While we won’t see Bran or his traveling companions this season, we can catch the rest of the gang back in action when Game of Thrones returns to HBO’s schedule on Sunday, April 12. You can find out when the rest of this season’s shows are returning, here.
