The Game of Thrones extra who went on to swim in the Tokyo Olympics
By Dan Selcke
Daniel Wiffen did Ireland proud at this year’s Olympic Games in Toyko, but before that, he was an extra during the Red Wedding scene on Game of Thrones!
Daniel Wiffen is only 20 years old, but he’s already accomplished quite a bit. For instance, he recently finished swimming in several Olympic events as part of the Irish swim team at the 2020 Olympics in Toyko, including the 800 meter freestyle and the 1,500 meter freestyle. He even set a new Irish record in the Men’s 800m Freestyle heat the other week.
But before that, Daniel and his twin brother Nathan appeared as extras on Game of Thrones. And they didn’t star in just any episode: they were part of the infamous Red Wedding in season 3.
“For the assassination scene, I’d say there were a couple of takes,” Wiffen told the Irish Mirror. “I remember sitting there for a while. But I was loving every minute of it. Jon Snow (Kit Harrington) was there, all the main actors and they were all so nice as well, they were really nice.”
The stint on Game of Thrones led to more acting roles for the twins; they also played the role of Henry Bowyer in an episode of The Frankenstein Chronicles six years ago. “It’s on Netflix, and I was also on a couple of British Children’s TV shows as well because I was a twin,” Daniel said. “Acting’s big for twins when they’re younger.”
But clearly, Daniel’s true passion lay in swimming. Hopefully he’ll be representing
Westeros
Ireland at the 2024 Olympics in Paris!
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