Eva Butterly on her role as a member of a theater troupe in Game of Thrones Season 6

With all the hubbub in the past couple of weeks regarding filming in Girona (hubbub that’s likely to continue for at least a few more days), some of the more minor details have been overlooked. We know that some pretty big-name actors will be playing members of the theatrical troupe that Arya encounters/possibly joins in Season 6, a troupe that performs a play based on the events in King’s Landing during the first few seasons of the show. Among them are Richard E. Grant (probably playing fake Robert Baratheon), Essie Davis (definitely playing Fake Cersei), and Kevin Eldon (likely playing Fake Ned Stark).

However, the troupe is bigger than that. It will also include actress Eva Butterly, who by the looks of it will probably be playing Fake Margaery.

Image: Chara Berk

Butterly talked with VanCityBuzz (she’s based in Vancouver) about her time on the show, and while she was good about not giving anything away, the publication was able to drag a couple details out of her.

First, a note: odd as it may seem, we occasionally hear from people wondering how they can audition for Game of Thrones. While we’re not affiliated with HBO’s casting department in any way, Butterly has been through the process, and she has a few thoughts on it. Let her be your guide.

"For Game of Thrones, they initially selected a few people from all of the agencies (Butterly signed with the PS Actors Agency) in of the region. They whittle it down, and then you send in a video audition. I got the booking in August when I was waiting by my computer, and I was really nervous. It’s kind of like waiting for the boyfriend to call."

And there you have it: fortune combined with video equipment combined with acting ability.

Moving on, Butterly commented on the famously massive scale of the show, describing how she shuffled from one area to another by the crack production team. And of course there’s the paparazzi, one member of which waiting around the filming area for 12 hours, from morning until night. That’s dedication.

The most intriguing part of the interview was when Butterly described the part she and her fellow actors playing actors will have in the overall arc of the season.

"Our part in the series is going to be a really good one. It’s going to be the humour among a pretty dark season. We’re following one particular character’s storyline, and I got to know that actor pretty well…As for the role itself, I’m very used to theatre and being big with everything. The goal was trying to play theatre, but you’re also playing that on film, so there was a fine line between too big and what’s right without going overboard."

Whenever I’ve read about the play the show will film in Girona, it has struck me as well-suited for comedy. Can you imagine the fun the producers can have contrasting our knowledge of what actually happened in King’s Landing with the version presented by the playwright? It’ll be like a game of telephone, only on a stage in front of a teeming crowd.

The bit about the theater troupe providing a humorous spot in a dark season is also worth thinking about. Game of Thrones is a drama at bottom, but it’s shown that it can do funny when it wants to. Usually, the funny bits are spread out among the various plotlines, so you have Stannis correcting someone’s grammar over here, Arya clashing with the waif over there, and Tyrion’s various witticisms dead center. It’ll be interesting to see if the show concentrates the funny in one area next year.

Next: Emilia Clarke says her piece on sex scenes, and Kit Harington says too much