Game of Thrones showrunners tell the cast not to read George RR Martin's books
Iain Glen lifts the lid on why the actors tend to avoid doing their homework for the fantasy series
As time goes by, more and more of the Game of Thrones cast are admitting they haven’t read the novels (written by George RR Martin) that the HBO series is based on.
But according to cast member Iain Glen, it’s not necessarily a decision they come to on their own – in fact, actors in the series are encouraged by showrunners David Benioff and DB Weiss to avoid the source material .
“I don’t read the books,” Glen told RadioTimes.com. “I read the first one when they gave me the job, just to get a feel from it and a synopsis breakdown of what was going to happen to the character.
“But beyond that, the writers themselves, David and Dan, they didn’t particularly want actors coming to the scripts from the book, always suggesting what the book did and how it was different – I could see the glazed look in their eyes when that happened.”
He concluded: “They were quite happy for us to move forward and treat them as screenplays with no history, so that’s the reason why I only ever read the first novel.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UIAVvItfqg4
Glen went on to discuss his upcoming role alongside Jack Whitehall in the “very, very funny” Bad Education movie as well as the growing worldwide success of Game of Thrones, which he says took him somewhat by surprise.
“No, I don’t think anyone knew,” he said. “It’s turned into the most successful TV series of all time, so no one was going to predict that! But no, it’s just grown season by season, and now it’s kind of a phenomenon. It’s almost, you know, falling over its success. It’s an amazing thing to be part of.
“I kind of realised in the last scene of the very first series, when the dragons appeared for the first time from the ashes of the pyre of Khal Drogo. That was pretty extraordinary. That was the first hint, the first sense I got that this might be something special.”
He concluded: “I just want Jorah to be there when Daenerys finally succeeds in the end, and sits on the Iron Throne. I’d like to be beside her.”
Hopefully the greyscale infection holds off until then…
The Bad Education Movie will be released in UK cinemas on 21st August
Authors
Huw Fullerton is a Commissioning Editor for Radio Times magazine, covering Entertainment, Comedy and Specialist Drama.
