20 takeaways from Fire Cannot Kill A Dragon, behind the scenes of Game of Thrones
By Daniel Roman
Image: Game of Thrones/HBO
8. Dame Diana Rigg and Johnathan Price ruled the set
We’ve all heard stories about actors being divas on set. For the most part, Game of Thrones was an exception. As Joe Dempsie (Gendry) told Hibberd, “Nobody is bigger than the show. So there was very little ego.” That atmosphere went a long way on a show with as many big-name actors as this.
But there were a few funny exceptions. Perhaps my favorite is Ian McShane — who played the Brother Ray in season 6 — kicking his lunch across the set and hitting Rory McCann, who played the Hound. But a close second were the many stories about how nervous the cast and crew were working with Dame Diana Rigg (Olenna Tyrell) and Johnathan Pryce (the High Sparrow), both of whom had long, illustrious careers before joining the show.
Writer Dave Hill recalled Johnathan Pryce’s first rehearsal, and how he upended expectations. “During rehearsal, Johnathan asked to change some words. Usually on Thrones our response to actors who ask do that is, ‘No.’ We’ve thought about those words. No changing, no improvising, no adding to them. And Johnathan was making changes. I turned to Bryan [Cogman]: ‘That’s not what the line is…’ And Bryan glared at me. It was the closest he ever came to murdering me. Bryan went, ‘If you think I’m going to tell Johnathan Pryce he can’t cut words on his first day on our set, you’re crazy.'”
Of course, did his first scene so well that director Mark Mylod didn’t have a single note for him, which was more or less unheard of. So while Pryce might have shuffled things around a little, he was more than worth whatever anxiety it caused.
Far funnier were the tales of Diana Rigg. Jessica Henwick (Nymeria Sand) had perhaps the best story about Rigg’s charmingly imperious nature on set:
"Have you been hearing Diana Rigg stories? We had a scene. She walked onto the set, and she went, “I’m ready now!” A cameraman came over and went, “Well, okay, but we haven’t finished setting up.” She interrupted him and said, “Roll the cameras!” And she just started doing her lines. She did two takes, and then the guy came over and was like, “Great, now we’re going to do a close-up.” And she just stood up and she went, “I’m done!” Now, she can’t walk fast. She has to be helped. So basically we just sat there and watched as Diana Rigg effectively did her own version of storming off the set, but it was at 0.1 miles per hour. She cracked me up. I loved her."
Natalie Dormer, who played Olenna’s granddaughter Margaery, was also part of the Diana Rigg fanclub. “When you have someone who has that many accolades, you just shut up and watch,” she said. “She had a very dry sense of humor and was aware of the parody of herself. Sometimes I think she was mischievous to see what she could get away with.”
Even Miguel Sapochnik, who directed intense episodes like “Battle of the Bastards” and “The Long Night,” was helpless before them. “When Miguel Sapochnik was directing Pryce and Rigg, they were kind of just f***ing with him,” said Hill. “I went to Miguel with a little performance note and he goes, ‘I’ve got Johnathan Pryce and an English dame on my hands right now, sit down, I have to deal with this.’ They were batting him back and forth like a ball of yarn between two cats.”
Oh, and speaking of cats…
