Ellie Kendrick talks on-set secrecy and Meera Reed’s role in Season 7

While attending one of HBO’s interactive Game of Thrones fan events, Ellie Kendrick (Meera Reed) dished on all things GoT. Let’s get into it.

Meera has served as protector to Bran Stark (Isaac Hempstead Wright) since Season 3. As she told MTV, that’s a role that Kendrick relishes:

"I love the story line he has because he’s this kid who’s been forgotten, but he has these incredible powers to unleash. It makes me think of Stranger Things a bit. He looks small and weak, and yet he’s got this immense strength and capability of mind. That’s going to be one of the most exciting things in the coming episodes because he can reveal all of the past and the future."

Reveal everything about the past and future, huh? That sounds like a wishing well we might not all be prepared to jump down.

But in the meantime, Bran’s still a paraplegic, and will need plenty of help. That’s where Meera comes in.

"Meera’s main job is the protector. She’s not going to storm in there and tell everyone what to do. She’s the bodyguard. She’s the one who’s got Bran’s back, and she’s making sure that he gets to the places he needs to get to. She sees this as her duty to carry out this mission for him. It’s in her blood; the Reeds are fiercely loyal to the Starks, and she’ll give everything that it takes to protect Bran."

Indeed, one Reed already gave his life for Bran. (RIP Jojen.)

Kendrick also talked about how both Bran and Wright have changed over the seasons. “Bran can be pretty difficult at times,” she said. “He gets more and more distant and removed, and as the seasons go on, he gets taller and taller — and heavier to carry.”

"I do actually drag him on that sled, and Isaac [Hempstead Wright] is at least a foot taller than me. I’m only 5-foot-1 and he’s, like, 6-foot-2 or something now."

I wonder if the real Wright is easier or harder to work with than the silicone mold version, which the show occasionally uses on very wide shots. “It looks just like Isaac,” Kendrick said. “It has eyelashes and eyeballs, and if you prod it, it gives.” Creepy.

Speaking to Business Insider, Kendrick also talked about the extreme secrecy on set, and how hard it is for cast members to get scripts.

"It’s super-duper difficult, even as an actor, to get a hold of a script. You have to go through all of these security processes before they’ll let you have them. As an actor, you don’t even see the stuff that you’re not in some of the time. They’re very careful about getting the scripts out there."

Yikes. However, we can’t say we’re surprised that a production willing to use live eagles to take down aerial drones has stringent security procedures. Still, Kendrick was so in the dark that she didn’t even know for sure that Jon Snow was coming back until the rest of the fans found out, although she did have an inkling. “I’d seen Kit [Harington] in town, so I knew he was kind of back,” she said. “We all had to keep our mouths shut, but that’s part of the fun of being a part of this series.

Once the actors do receive their scripts, Kendrick says that most on them quickly flip through and ask, “Do I die? Do I die?” And producers aren’t above slipping a fake death scene in there to freak them out.

"It happened to Alfie Allen [Theon Greyjoy]. They gave him a fake scene that they’d written where he died. He was like, “Huh [gasps], I die?” They played a big trick on him, which was hilarious."

Oh, to be a fly on the wall when poor Allen was given the news.

And now for the question everyone’s waiting for: Do fans ever call Kendrick out for her role in the infamous “Hold the Door” scene from Game of Thrones Season 6? “I did get a couple of people yell ‘hold the door’ sometimes when I’m running for the train,” she said. “It’s happened once or twice. I think fair enough, pretty good one.”

"It was really gratifying and pleasing to see just how well people were responding to that scene. The Hodor character is such a brilliant one and Kristian Nairn did it with such love. It was great to see him get a real moment there and a sad one. It was brilliant to see the reaction everyone had. When you’re filming something over a period of a few days, there’s a lot of CGI with bits of the scene missing, and maybe you shoot it in 15-second chunks, it gets all sewn together later, and all the special effects get added on top. So it’s ace when you finally see the realized thing. In this case, it was so much better than it was in my head."

Season 7 is currently filming for a Summer 2017 release, and like us, Kendrick still has no idea what will happen to everyone’s favorite bodyguard.

"I’m genuinely not lying when I tell you I don’t know. So it’s as much as a surprise to me as it is for the people who are watching it. I’m yet to find out what’s going to happen to Meera. Fingers crossed, something good."

h/t Business Insider