Ready for some Game of Thrones season seven spoilers? No? Too bad! Bend the knee and keep
watching, because Game of Thrones' Season 7 premiere was memorable for many things,
like Arya Stark's vengeful assault on the Frey family, Daenerys Targaryen finally reaching
Dragonstone, Euron Greyjoy declaring himself for Queen Cersei, and Sansa giving Jon Snow
some serious sass. But despite all that, season 7 already sucks. You know why? Because Joffrey
is not in it. I miss you Joffrey, so much.
But that was all a bit overshadowed by the cameo of Ed Sheeran, whose musical moment
on the show was unintentionally hilarious.
"It's a pretty song. I've never heard it before." "It's a new one."
Sheeran's stint as a Lannister soldier might've earned a roaring social media response, but
it was just one in a series of celebrity cameos that have come and go on the show. Here are
some other famous faces who've popped up in the Realm over the years.
Gary Lightbody
Sheeran was hardly the first musician to appear on Game of Thrones. In Season 3, Snow Patrol
frontman Gary Lightbody leads a battalion of House Bolton soldiers in a rendition of
"The Bear and the Maiden Fair."
In the world of Westeros, this is a folk song everybody seems to know. But in the real world,
it was necessary to make audiences aware that the song exists, so that a later episode could
take that title and run with a very literal interpretation of it.
Roy Dotrice
If you're a longtime fan of fantasy on television, you probably remember Roy Dotrice as Ron Perlman's
wise father figure on Beauty and the Beast. But if you're a fan of George R. R. Martin's
A Song of Ice and Fire, you probably know him as the celebrated reader of the audiobooks.
He was personally chosen by Martin after the two had worked together on Beauty and the
Beast and was originally announced as Grand Maester Pycelle for the HBO series.
Due to health reasons, he was replaced by Julian Glover. But fortunately, he was able
to appear in Season 2 as the pyromancer Hallyne. While he isn't onscreen much, Hallyne plays
a key role in Tyrion's master plan for the Battle of the Blackwater, so it's a fitting
use of an actor who will forever be linked to the books.
David Benioff and D.B. Weiss
The House of Black and White, where Arya Stark receives her training as a mystical assassin,
features an endless hall filled with columns lined with the faces of the dead — not statues,
but the actual faces that have been removed and serve as masks for the Faceless Men. Naturally,
the production design staff who made the faces ended up including people they knew, most
notably show creators Benioff and Weiss, whose faces occupy adjacent compartments that receive
a bit of camera time.
Mastodon
The American heavy metal band Mastodon didn't perform music on Game of Thrones, but they
did contribute a song called "White Walker" to the Catch the Throne Vol. 2 mixtape HBO
released to tie into the show in 2015. So it wasn't surprising when members of the band
showed up in the episode "Hardhome," in which they're killed and then resurrected by the
White Walkers. The band can thank Game of Thrones executive producer D. B. Weiss for
those collaborative opportunities because he's apparently a big fan of the group.
George W. Bush
In Game of Thrones' first season, Sansa is made to look upon her father's severed head
by the cruel new King Joffrey. And while your eyes may be scarred by the image of poor Lord
Stark, there are tons of other spiked heads on display alongside him, including one resembling
former U.S. President George W. Bush, which rests next to Sansa's septa.
Benioff and Weiss revealed that they used the already-existing head prop for the scene
because of their need for heads, not for any kind of political statement. But once the
word got out, some people found such a violent depiction of a former president to be disrespectful.
This led to official apologies from HBO as well as Benioff and Weiss.
Sigur Rós
Another memorable musical cameo comes at Joffrey and Margaery's wedding in Season 4. The Icelandic
post-rock band Sigur Rós shows up with a strange set of musical instruments to perform
a droning take on the House Lannister song "The Rains of Castamere." It did not please
the king.
"Very good, very good, off you go."
Will Champion
In one of the most chilling episodes of the entire series, Coldplay drummer Will Champion
joined the cast to bang the drums in the hall of the Twins before all hell broke loose.
He's shown merrily thumping away as Edmure Tully and his new bride are sent to their
wedding bed, blissfully unaware of the Red Wedding massacre that's about to go down.
"That is a very strange custom."
Noah Syndergaard
Ed Sheeran wasn't the only familiar face to make his debut in Season 7. New York Mets
pitcher Noah Syndergaard also made a buzzy cameo in the new season as one of House Lannister's
foot soldiers who has incredible aim with spear-throwing.
We don't know if his character survived the ensuing dragon attack, but in light of how
the rest of the army fared, he probably didn't last long in the skirmish. And considering
the Mets' 2017 season...he's probably used to it.
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