Game of Thrones cinematographer recalls funny story from the set of “Blackwater”

“Blackwater” will always be remembered as one of the finest episodes of Game of Thrones. Stannis Baratheon’s attack on King’s Landing was the show’s first major battle sequence, and although it happened fairly early in the series, lots of people still have vivid memories of it.

That includes Sam McCurdy, who served as the cinematographer on the episode. Speaking to Nerds and Beyond, McCurdy recalled a funny moment in the midst of the intense battle. “Game of Thrones is one of those jobs that lives on adrenaline and the choreography of the schedule brings it to life,” he said. “I’ll always remember fondly the one day that it didn’t rain so we brought in our own. It was the day Peter Dinklage (Tyrion Lannister) gave his speech to the troops when they were readying for battle, and everyone on set was just soaked and couldn’t believe how much rain we actually ended up pouring on them on the one day it was totally dry!”

If McCurdy looks back at this fondly, I’d love to hear how Dinklage remembers it, given that he was the one getting water poured on his head! It might be quite different.

But it wasn’t all hilarious memories of actors getting soaked. McCurdy also remembered some of the difficult aspects of working on a production this big and complicated:

"It was such an incredible experience working on “Blackwater.” Probably one of the toughest, both physically and mentally, jobs I’ve ever done. Shooting in Northern Ireland in the winter was at times quite extreme and was one of the toughest weathers I’ve ever shot in. The wind and rain never stopped and everything about “Blackwater” was huge. The number of horses, extras, and stunts that we used every day were vast, and the whole scheduling of it was a mammoth task for the producers and ADs."

And remember: compared to stuff like “Battle of the Bastards,” “Blackwater” was relatively modest in scale. They pulled off some miracles on this show.

Anyway, McCurdy did learn useful skills from working on the episode. “Game of Thrones taught me how to remain calm and stay on top of everything, especially when you have an army of crew all waiting on your every word for what to do next.”

Since his work on Game of Thrones — which we’re all thankful for — McCurdy has gone on to do some great work on Netflix’s sci-fi drama Lost in Space.

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