Isaac Hempstead Wright: expect “lots of magic” from Bran in Game of Thrones Season 6

Isaac Hempstead Wright, who portrays Bran Stark on HBO’s Game of Thrones, stopped by Yahoo Singapore to promote the upcoming Season 6 premiere (April 25 in Singapore, April 24 stateside). While he was there, the actor gave us some tasty clues as to what Bran will be up to in Season 6. According to the article, Bran may take on the role of “kingmaker,” which would be a departure from his usual “run and hide” strategy from previous seasons.

When last we saw Bran in Season 4, he had found the Three-Eyed Raven, the mysterious figure who’d been guiding him from afar, in a cave under a giant weirwood tree far north of the Wall. Max von Sydow has been brought on to play the Three-Eyed Raven, and according to Wright, he’s been training Bran since their first meeting. “When we meet Bran in season 6, he’s still got a lot of learning to do, but expect lots of magic,” he said.

Wright also gave readers an idea of what that magic might entail:

"Particularly this season, he’s almost read the script. He knows what’s going on all around the world. So this year, I kind of approached it as if Bran had just watched the show the whole time."

This lines up with what book-readers already know: that Bran will use his newfound powers to peer into the past, present, and future of Westeros. If Wright is any guide, his powers may extend beyond that. With his “extraordinary enabling capabilities,” Bran might even cause an “earthquake” in Westeros. A literal earthquake? Metaphorical? We’ll just let that lie there.

On a lighter note, Wright were asked who the biggest prankster on set were. I would have guessed Maisie Williams, but the actor quickly pointed to showrunners David Benioff and Dan Weiss.

"They sent Alfie Allen, who plays Theon Greyjoy, a script where I jumped out and stabbed him in the back over and over again. And I got this text from Alfie: “Oh my god, just read the new script, you stab me to death, that’s amazing!"

What if they sent Kit Harington a script that said he was dead, and not coming back, but secretly it was a prank…okay, I’ll stop. I know the first step to realizing you have a Jon Snow problem is admitting you have a Jon Snow problem.

One final caveat to Hempstead Wright’s interview: He was asked if the cast takes bets on who will make it through the season, here is what he said:

"I think we should start a sweepstakes. The first thing anyone does when they get the script is: Forget the story, am I alive?"

Here’s to hoping Bran lives long enough to collect on the bet. We missed you last season, Isaac, and we’re glad you’re back.