Most of us are going to have to wait until April 24 to watch the Game of Thrones Season 6 premiere, but the cast and crew, along with a few lucky fans, get to watch it tonight in Los Angeles. It’s the Game of Thrones Season 6 premiere event, and red carpet coverage will be streaming from the Game of Thrones Facebook page.
This morning, Michiel Huisman (Daario Naharis) put up a new video encouraging fans to submit questions to cast members. They’ll answer select questions while walking the red carpet. If you have a question, just go to the Game of Thrones Facebook page, write in the name of the cast member you want to query, write “#GoTPremiereLA,” and then fire away with a question. For example, “Peter Dinklage #GoTPremiereLA So how’s the weather out there?” But make it more exciting.
The live stream will start on the Game of Thrones Facebook page tonight at 5 p.m. PST, 8 p.m. EST. We’re not sure what the cast members will be saying, but they’ll be loose and having fun, so who knows—maybe they’ll drop enormous finale spoilers out of turn. Tune in tonight to find out.
And from there, it’ll only be a couple short weeks until the proper Season 6 premiere. It’s all happening.
Okay, first news of the evening: the live stream will start a little later than anticipated:
No word on what’s causing the delay. Could it be smog? I hear Los Angeles has a lot of smog.
Also note that Kit Harington is not on the list of cast members arriving.
UPDATE: Okay, the live stream is finally live. Head here to see it.
HIGHLIGHTS
Host Veronica Belmont talked to Monsters and Men, a real-world band that will play “a band” in Season 6. Tight-lipped bunch, them.
She also spoke to Tom Wlaschiha (Jaqen H’ghar). “I had to blind recently, but she deserved it.” Other than barbs like that, Wlaschiha is keeping pretty mum on spoilers.
Michael McElhatton (Roose Bolton) said that he did most of his filming at Winterfell this year, and that the lion’s share of his work was done in early summer. Does that mean he won’t be around much?
He says that the loss of Sansa is a “major, major problem” for the Boltons, and that it’ll cause a lot of acrimony between father and son as a result.
Meanwhile, Nicolaj Coster-Waldau (Jaime Lannister) kept tight-lipped when asked about whether he was “Team Cersei” and “Team Brienne” when it comes to Jaime’s love life. Also, what would Jaime like people to call him other than Kingslayer? “Jaime.” Makes sense. He also says hi to Gwendoline Christie, who apparently couldn’t be at the premiere.
Showrunners David Benioff and Dan Weiss were also in attendance, and we were naturally hanging on every word. They say they were happy with the season, and said that being beyond the books freed them up in some respects. Also, now that no one knows what’s coming, cast members are trying to butter them up to make sure their characters don’t die. At the end of the day, though, “you kill you have to kill.”
And here’s their tease of Season 6: “No one gets hurt, and nothing bad happens to anybody. It’s kind of the happy season.”
HBO has also put up a video featuring Sophie Turner on the red carpet. She’s asked to describe Sansa in three words in Season 6. Her answer: “Boss ass bitch.”
Turner also described working with Alfie Allen, and said that she was moved close to tears by watching Allen play a “broken” character. Also, she said that what Ramsay did to him is kind of “irreversible,” which suggests that Reek isn’t really gone yet. She says his morals are starting to come back, though.
Also, she said that Sansa will spend this season trying to get people to listen to her and “come with her on these journeys.” She downplayed the existence of “Dark Sansa,” but said that Sansa knows how to manipulate people and gets what she wants. She feels like she’s been waiting for this season since Season 1, since Sansa is starting to live up to her potential.
Also, Turner said she would love to work with Maisie Williams again, which implies that Sansa and Arya don’t reunite this season. That’s to be expected, but those of you holding out for a Stark sister reunion will probably be disappointed.
Speaking of Williams, she described Arya’s story in three words: “I can’t see.” Apparently that’s also her dialogue. You heard it here first. She also reiterated that this season will take Arya to a very dark place. She’ll be fighting with another character—probably the Waif.
And Hodor rockets to the top of the best dressed list. He was fun in his interview, too, and heaped praise on Season 6. And when told that Hodor and Tommen are the only nice guys in Westeros. “Tommen’s horrible. Hodor’s much better than Tommen.”
Peter Dinklage said that Tyrion has been “rebuilding himself” ever since the beginning of Season 5, and that he “has the capability to do that.”
Dinklage praised the way the Tyrion-Daenerys scenes were “downplayed” last season, which was also something I really enjoyed. He’s coy about whether we’ll see new ones this year. Also, here’s Dinklage on Cersei: “I think it’s predetermined that they’ll meet each other again at some point down the road.” Oh, really?
Dean-Charles Chapman (Tommen Baratheon) is all smiles. Chapman said that he enjoyed working with Jonathan Pryce (the High Sparrow) this season. He also characterized Tommen as a wimp, and said that he needs to grow up and be a man. We’ll see how that plays out.
Liam Cunningham (Davos Seaworth), looking very sharp. Cunningham reiterated that Davos and Melisandre are at something of a loose end, now that their reason for living no longer exists.
Aidan Gillen (Littlefinger) doesn’t consider Littlefinger a villain. He admits that Littlefinger is a villain, but Gillen thinks he’s driven mostly by rejection, and tries to make him likable in some ways. Also, he thinks Littlefinger is bright enough to want to be close to the top but not at the actual top, since that comes with increased visibility.
It’s a little odd to see Iwan Rheon with a date. I’m sure he’s a perfectly pleasant person in real life, but I just wanna tell her to run.
Rheon admitted that he’s a little concerned about getting typecast as a bad guy because of Thrones, so he’ll try and play a couple of nice guys after the show is over. He reiterated that losing Sansa is bad for the Boltons, and that Roose is not pleased.
Like Aidan Gillen, Eugene Michael Simon (Lancel) was asked if his character was a villain, and he said that he considered Lancel “lost.” However, he says that he’s “found his true self” this season, which probably portends poorly for everyone.
Simon talks about Lancel’s complicated relationship with his family—he thinks there’s some bitterness between him and Kevan Lannister, his father, but I don’t think we’re going to see much of it. For now, he’s happy to follow the High Sparrow.
Queen Cersei, still with her short haircut, is on the scene. According to Headey, Cersei will need to redefine her place in the world in Season 6, since she “lost it all” in Season 5. She also teases that Cersei is very desperate to hang onto Tommen, which I think a lot of us could have predicted. I fear for them both, then.
Huisman makes like Daario Naharis and bucks tradition by not wearing a suit. Huisman talked about how he enjoyed learning new skills to film scenes in the new season. Apparently, Daario is more dextrous than he is.
He also teased Daario and Jorah’s wacky Season 6 road trip. “They’re probably the worst traveling companions ever. They don’t mix very well.” However, “when push comes to shove, they turn out to be pretty complementary.” They don’t trust each other, though, especially around Daenerys.
Isaac Hempstead Wright, legs fully functional, on the red carpet. I mean, the carpet is more blue-white, in this case, but whatever. Wright reiterated that Bran was training during Season 5, and while he hasn’t mastered his new abilities by the beginning of Season 6, he can some cool stuff. He also hints that there are some looks into the past that made him go “Oh, wow.”
Gilly is in attendance. Murray was very excited for Gilly to go south, since it probably meant she would get to go somewhere warn, “and we did.”
Clarke (Daenerys) probably relished the chance to wear black, since she was in white so often last year. Dany was in a dire situation last year, but Clarke is certain that Daenerys will “land on her feet.” Here’s Belmont on the interview: “Yas queen! She’s the best.”
Theon Greyjoy’s looking pleased for a man with his particular handicap. To start, Alfie Allen hinted that Theon will spend more time outside this season. On the subject of Reek vs Theon, he said that, if we do see Theon move back towards his old persona, it’ll be “a humbled Theon…cause what happens to Reek is gonna humble anyone.”
Grey Worm wears a grey suit. Anderson said that it was a blow to lose Ian McElhinney (Barristan Selmy) last season.
Nathalie Emmanuel (Missandei) on the red carpet.
Naufahu will play Khal Jhogo, a Dothraki khal with whom Daenerys will interact this year. Good luck with that, Dany.
Also of interest: that attendee list above lists Naufahu’s character as Khal Moro, so it seems there’s been a switch.
It’s our very own Samwell Tarly!
Faye Marsay, for those who may not know, plays the Waif, Arya’s nemesis. Or she’s Jaqen H’ghar. Or she’s no one. It’s hard to keep identities straight when it comes to the Faceless Men.
And here’s Gethin Anthony (Renly Baratheon).
He may be dead, there’s always action figures to play with. For more cast members fooling around with dolls, head here.
There’s no mistaking that hair. Hey, Tormund Giantsbane!
The High Sparrow makes his debut.
Keisha Castle-Hughes (Obara Sand) shows up. Like it or now, here come the Sand Snakes!
And here’s Faye Dunaway…Faye Dunaway? Game of Thrones has some classy fans.