Sean Bean remembers when the Game of Thrones crew kicked around Ned Stark’s severed head
By Dan Selcke
For actor Sean Bean, the day he filmed Ned Stark’s death scene on Game of Thrones began like any other. “[It was] just a normal day, bacon and eggs, stuff like that, cup of tea and that were it,” he recently recalled on The Jonathan Ross Show. He remembered that he “didn’t have a lot of time to prepare” for the scene. In that, he was similar to a lot of fans, who were about to have their world’s rocked as the lead character from HBO’s epic fantasy series was shockingly killed off early in the run.
For Game of Thrones fans, Ned Stark’s death is such an ironic moment that it’s hard to imagine it as just another day at work. But for the professionals involved, it was standard stuff. “I was kneeling there, they don’t damage you in any way – they threw my dummy head on the floor,” Bean remembered.
"I think I started messing about with it a bit. And then [the crew] took it a bit further, started throwing it, then started booting it."
Okay, so take yourself back to watching Ned Stark’s death scene for the first time, with Ilyn Payne bringing down Ice and changing the lives of the Stark family members forever. Remember the tears, remember the screams.
And then think about Ned Stark rising from his position, picking up his own severed head, tossing it to the crew members below, and watching as they an impromptu gang of human soccer with it. The camera guy shoots Ned’s head into that open doorway. He scores!
It’s a strange business, this business.
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For better or worse, don’t look for Bean to feature in many more death scenes going forward. After becoming famous for dying onscreen, the actor is purposefully trying to avoid that kind of thing now. I think he’s had enough to last us the rest of our lives.
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h/t Digital Spy