Character growth is a common theme on Game of Thrones. And yet, even on a show full of constantly evolving characters, Bran Stark’s (Isaac Hempstead Wright) transformation has been unprecedented. After losing the use of his legs (thanks, Jaime), Bran embarked on a journey north of the Wall that eventually resulted in his ascension to the role of the Three-Eyed Raven. Wright spoke to Hello Giggles about the challenges of playing the suddenly emotionless character throughout season 7.
"It was interesting because it was a totally new challenge for me. It was almost like playing an entirely new character. That was interesting the way we kind of decided how we were going to sort of shape Bran, and make our mind up about exactly how he would interact with people."
As well as having to use an “interesting” accent, Hempstead Wright remarked that it “was really fun to get to act people as well,” as Bran returned from north of the Wall. The Three-Eyed Raven’s emotionless outlook manifested itself in Bran’s farewell to longtime companion Meera Reed, something Hempstead Wright was quick to defend.
"Its like he is on such a different level of existence to the human race now, that he just can’t compute certain things like saying, “Oh thanks so much for everything you did for me, Meera,” because in Bran’s head everything is just predetermined that that was necessary so that “I can be here, so I can do this, so I can do whatever in the future.” And so I think that was a good sort of quite hard and sad way of saying Bran is the Three-Eyed Raven now, and it works differently."
Oh, Bran. Hempstead Wright explained that “even though he is watching one thing unfold in front of him, he has got lots of other things happening that he can see at that moment.” So I guess we sort of sympathize with Bran on that one.
We’re also willing to give Bran more of a pass, considering his role in Littlefinger’s downfall. Hempstead Wright reveled in his scenes with the normally slick Petyr Baelish, even if Bran did not.
"Where as Petyr Baelish with other people can sort of play with them and be a bit sly, so getting to really freak Littlefinger out was so much fun. But again, you know, you don’t want to sort of play it too much like, “You know I’m going to get you” because Bran isn’t necessarily trying to show that he is evil or that he can really mess around. It is more that he is just, he has kind of been keeping the fire up under Littlefinger and its just making him aware that all patterns almost."
Of course, that wasn’t the only instance of Bran one-upping Littlefinger in season 7. But despite serving as the main catalyst behind Littlefinger’s death in the season finale “The Dragon and the Wolf,” Hempstead Wright admitted his character took little joy in scoring a win for House Stark.
"I think for Bran he’s not necessarily loyal to his family anymore, he is loyal to mankind. I’m sure there was a bit of him going, “This is nice,” to see a little bit of Bran Stark still in the corner of his head. [He] sits back and thinks “Ah this is good, this is justice.” I think more what Bran as the Three-Eyed Raven was thinking was okay, “This seems necessary in the timeline and he is a dangerous character and it is good that he is not here before the Great War comes.”"
Helen Sloan – HBO
If his character refuses to take any joy in his actions, Hempstead Wright feels quite the opposite, confessing that it was “pretty cool” to be one of the most powerful people in Westeros. That’s quite the change from a character he says “never necessarily felt like one of the big players in the game of thrones.”
Unlike his on-screen counterpart, Hempstead Wright cannot see the future, which led to the latter’s belief that his character was set to die during season 6.
"There was that moment in Season 6 after they’d escaped from the cave and Hodor died and it was just Meera and Bran in the woods. As I was reading that I was thinking, “Oh, man, oh this is it, isn’t it. This is it.” But, I have to be honest, I think there was a little part of me going, “They’re not going to kill Bran, Bran isn’t going to die like this, he can’t die like this” — which is a very dangerous way to start thinking in Game of Thrones, because nobody is safe but that’s how I was proved right."
It is indeed. Just ask any of the characters who died at weddings, on the toilet, and so on. And finally, Hempstead Wright, ever a fan of Game of Thrones theories, revealed one of his own, “I thought, what would happen is that Bran would sort of sacrifice himself beyond the Wall and sort of get all the White Walkers to be sort of boxing match at the Wall and then sort of you know, blow them up something or something, in a big sort of you know save the day.”
Too late for that, but we like where your head is at Mr. Raven. See you in season 8.
Next: Sophie Turner: The whole cast “burst into tears” after the season 8 table read
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