Entertainment Weekly reveals “Secrets from the Dragonpit”

All season long, Entertainment Weekly brought fans behind-the-scenes scoops from the set of Game of Thrones season 7, gifted as they are with special access to the cast and crew. And they’re keeping it coming in the September 15 issue. The latest issue includes writer James Hibberd’s recollections of when he visited the Ruins of Italica outside the village of Santiponce, Spain to watch the crew film the Dragonpit summit meeting in “The Dragon and the Wolf.”

“This is like what, as a fan, I’ve been waiting seven seasons for,” said Pilou Asbæk (Euron Greyjoy), one of the newer cast members. If the actors were impressed to be part of such a momentous scene — this was the biggest gathering of major characters since Joffrey’s wedding in season 4, or even the pilot — they didn’t let it spoil the fun between takes, of which there was reportedly a lot, according to Hibberd. Some highlights:

• Lena Headey offering Kit Harington Cersei’s crown to try on.
• Conleth Hill humping a poll for laughs.
• One unnamed cast member who’s trying to quit smoking lighting up, and Emilia Clarke leading the cast in a chorus of “Shame, shame, shame.”

And naturally, teen girls were girls were gathered outside the set shouting Kit Harington’s name. It’s an occupational hazard at this point.

Hibberd didn’t just observe — he found out what the cast and members thought about the scene between takes. “Getting everybody together under extreme pressure is very interesting to us,” said showrunner Dan Weiss. “We found this coliseum — which is so stunning even without special effects — and wanted you to feel it was stripped down with a scene that was about nothing but the people who are gathered here.”

As for director Jeremy Podeswa, he made the cast members stay on the platform even when they weren’t needed for particular shots (usually they’ll return to their trailers until called upon) so they could all watch each other perform. His idea was that this would make all the performances more authentic. “In the past when characters are brought together for the first time, it creates an electrical charge,” he said. “[T]his is that times 10.”

Hibberd also chatted up a few cast members:

• What does Brienne think when she sees Daenerys ride in on a dragon? “She’s thinking, ‘Nice ride!'” said star Gwendoline Christie. “You have to remind yourself that you may have watching Daenerys for years as a fan, but this is the first time your character has seen her and she’s never seen anything like that in her life before.”
• Lena Headey on what Cersei thinks of Daenerys’ entrance: “I think she’s immediately envious because Daenerys is more beautiful and younger than she is and the prophecy says somebody younger and more beautiful will take her place, so I’m sure that’s at the forefront of her mind. And Tyrion is her Hand, so it couldn’t be any worse.”

And of course, Hibberd was eager to hear what people thought was coming in season 8. But we’re still largely in the dark about that now — back during filming on season 7, the outlook was even dimmer. “Every year I’ve correctly predicted what will happen,” said Kit Harington. “But for next year, none of us have any idea.”

For more details, pick up the latest issue of Entertainment Weekly, on shelves now!

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