Here’s what it’s Like Being an Extra on Game of Thrones

For six years, actor Denis Halligan has been an extra on Game of Thrones. According to The Independent, Halligan first auditioned for Game of Thrones in Northern Ireland, before Season 1, when the show was still an unknown project. His first role was as a newly-made brother of the Night’s Watch named Niko, who gets assigned to the Rangers by Lord Commander Jeor Mormont. In Season 3, Halligan portrayed an unnamed member of the Brotherhood Without Banners, one who helps Thoros of Myr kidnap Arya Stark and Gendry.

Halligan discussed what the life of an extra on Game of Thrones is like. There’s a lot of secrecy involved with filming scenes each season, and most of the extras have to sign extensive non-disclosure agreements.

"This will sound weird, but during filming I didn’t know where I was most of the time! A car would come to pick us up at 5:30am and drive us to the set. So a lot of the time, I just didn’t know where I was for filming."

That sounds about right. Even though HBO may have extras sign an iron-clad NDA each season, that hasn’t stopped some of them from leaking details about their particular scenes. For instance, a Redditor claiming to have been an extra in the Battle of the Bastards leaked key details about Episode 609, including that Rickon would be shot by Ramsay and that Wun Wun would die, before the episode aired. In fact, this Redditor, Truede, seemed to know a lot about the entirety of Season 6.

Halligan talks about what an average day of filming is like for an extra. Each costume is made to fit the actor wearing it, and his filming schedule was often filled with brutal 12-hour days that started at 5:30 in the morning. Halligan recalls filming an important scene from Season 3, from “Kissed by Fire”:

"One of the most intense days was filming the fight in series 3 between The Hound and Beric Dondarrion which was essentially a huge sword fight. In the final cut, it lasts just a few minutes in the episode but for filming we had to shoot every single day for a week. They have to get it just right."

The actor also discussed how, in the early days of Game of Thrones, professional actors were the ones filling the roles of extras. Apparently, if an actor didn’t land the larger role they were auditioning for, they would take a a job as an extra. As for what fans of the show can do to land a spot as an extra, Halligan says keep to keep your hair long, and to pay attention to casting calls on Facebook, as well as local advertisements.

With roughly 13 episodes remaining until Game of Thrones calls it quits for good, now is the time to try and scratch “Game of Thrones extra” off your bucket list.