Game of Thrones staff writer Bryan Cogman recently sat down with Vanity Fair to recap the journey that led him to work on a show that forever changed his life. His involvement in Thrones has been instrumental in the show’s success, so much so that George R.R. Martin himself paid Cogman the best compliment ever.
"Dave and Dan—even though there were two of them, there really needed to be three. Bryan was the third head of the dragon."
And to think, Cogman was just David Benioff and D.B. Weiss’ assistant when all this started. In the end, he would write 11 episodes of the series, surpassing Martin.
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We’ve all been looking forward to HBO’s upcoming Game of Thrones prequel series, especially with its predecessor coming to an end this Sunday. As it turns out, Martin personally asked Cogman to pitch ideas to HBO. Ultimately, Cogman didn’t win the bid but he’s got plenty to look forward to, which involves a deal with Amazon Studios.
Cogman’s path to Game of Thrones was a long and interesting one. Proving that it really is about who you know, Cogman’s wife was the nanny to Benioff’s children. Through that connection, Benioff got Cogman a job as an executive’s assistant at NBC, which in turn led him to landing a job as a writer’s assistant. And then he became Benioff and Weiss’ assistant. Damn, what a journey!
Bryan Cogman’s extensive knowledge of the book series intrigued Benioff and Weiss to the point that Cogman was involved in every meeting from the get-go.
"We’d never written a season of television before, and we’d underestimated how long it would take. Then we looked across the room and there was Bryan. Smart, tireless, passionate Bryan. Sure, he wasn’t experienced, but hell, neither were we."
During his time on Game of Thrones, Cogman was beloved by the cast. He understood each character so well that it helped the cast embrace their roles. “He has been a champion of my character Brienne and actually of me as an actor,” said star Gwendoline Christie. “He had a real understanding of the trials the character had to overcome in order to achieve a sense of self-worth and how far we sometimes have to travel to move the narrative society has prescribed to us.”
Cogman may not be working on any Game of Thrones prequel series, but his hard work and dedication on the original show will always be a huge part of its legacy. After all, he gave us some of the most iconic moments from the series, and for that we say thank you.
"I was number two to the captain, and now I’ve gotta see if I can sit in that captain’s chair. I’m looking forward to finding my people the way Dan and David found theirs."
Awww, what a sweet guy. We hope you find your people too!
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