Blink and you might just miss them. Welcome to WatchMojo UK and today we’ll be counting
down our picks for the top 10 Game of Thrones Cameos!
For this list, we’re casting our eagle eyes over Westeros and counting down celebrity
cameos in the hit HBO TV show, “Game of Thrones”. From the unexpected to the easily
missed, these roles have impressed, irritated and surprised fans throughout the series.
However, we won’t be counting significant recurring roles a la Wilko Johnson, nor are
we including any prosthetic models or waxworks, therefore ruling out George W. Bush’s head
on a spike.
When you’re a director, writer and producer for one of the most successful TV programmes
in history, you’re allowed to set your own rules from time to time. The opening episode
of “Game of Thrones” season four sees Daenerys march on Meereen, Prince Oberyn arrive
at King’s Landing and Jamie inherit a sparkly new sword. And while all that’s going on,
David Benioff sneaks his parents on set to play a couple of peasants. It’s Tyrion who
spies them while gazing thoughtfully ahead, and both do a sterling job. While neither
are celebs exactly, David’s father was once a leading banker and a member of the George
Bush administration.
While taking the director’s chair for this crucial episode toward the end of series four,
Neil Marshall couldn’t resist a quick turn on the other side of the camera. The Battle
of Castle Black proves a defining moment for Jon Snow, as Kit Harrington’s character
steps forward as a leader and commander of the Night’s Watch. For the briefest of moments,
Marshall plays one of those under Snow’s orders. An archery enthusiast away from his
day job, the director stands in as an archer with arrows at the ready. He’s on screen
for a matter of milliseconds, but no doubt he gave a crucial contribution toward the
wall’s defence.
You’d be forgiven for thinking that the bear in the bear-pit of season three’s seventh
episode was some sort of CGI creation. But, Brienne of Tarth’s ferocious opponent is
the real thing, and a regular around Hollywood. Bart the Bear II, named as such because he’s
his handler’s second bear actor, has also been in big screen movies such as “Into
the Wild”, “Evan Almighty” and “We Bought a Zoo”. His resume aside, it’s
clear that Brienne is woefully ill-equipped for this encounter, and had Jamie not arrived
when he did then the Thrones fans’ favourite would’ve died there
and then.
Musical cameos are a reasonably regular occurrence across the Seven Kingdoms, and today’s first
sees an Icelandic indie band perform for the crowds in Braavos. Arya, on the orders of
Jaquen, is tasked with finding and killing an actress, so she hides in the audience for
one of her shows. The play features a harsh portrayal of Arya’s father Ned Stark, leaving
her suitably unimpressed, but at least the musical interludes are pleasant enough. Of
Monsters and Men can be spotted above the stage in two sixth season episodes, serenading
the throng in between scenes. Not that Arya is really paying attention.
Another band, but an altogether different setting. Mastodon are best known as one of
the world’s leading metal groups, but they swapped guitars for swords during season five
of GOT, when three of the foursome cameoed as wildlings at Hardhome. Playing their part
in one of the show’s most epic battles, they’re brutally killed off by the White
Walkers before being resurrected as part of the Army of the Dead, sparking instant rumours
of a potential series return for the band. Speaking afterwards, drummer Brann Dailor
highlighted the weirdness of watching his friends die in the name of entertainment before
being stabbed in the stomach himself, adding that the whole experience made him ‘love
being in Mastodon even more.’
You don’t need to be a die-hard “Game of Thrones” enthusiast to have heard at
least a bit about the ‘Red Wedding’, it’s one of the most famous scenes in the show
and one of the bloodiest massacres on film, but did you know that Coldplay were there?
Or at least one of them was. Drummer Will Champion, a Thrones super-fan, can be seen
doing what he does best just before the first kills are made. Look at him, he looks so happy
and care-free. In just a few moments he’ll have witnessed murder, betrayal and the best
part of the Starks entirely wiped out. No wonder some of Coldplay’s songs sound a
little sad. While some cameos sneak by largely unnoticed,
this one really didn’t. Not only is Ed Sheeran an instantly recognisable international superstar,
but he’s also afforded a lot of screen time. The singer breaks into song for a scene in
the opening episode of season seven, during a chance meeting in the woods with Arya. And
while writers kept his dialogue to a minimum, he’s seen on plenty of occasions laughing,
smiling and passing the booze. His appearance sparked a massive divide amongst fans, who
took to social media to vent their rage or back their boy – with Ed quitting Twitter
for apparently different reasons soon afterwards. The big question though, is where’d he stash
his loop pedal?
Suffice to say, it is possible to sing on Thrones and not face a Twitter tirade because
of it. The Snow Patrol frontman Gary Lightbody managed exactly that when he led a rousing
chorus of “The Bear and the Maiden Fair”, midway through season three. Lightbody, whose
name does have a certain Seven Kingdoms ring to it, appears as a Bolton soldier riding
horseback through the trees, performing lyrics taken straight from George R. R. Martin’s
saga itself. A high camera angle means the singer is heard
more than he’s seen, but he’s kitted out and ready for war anyway. And the song’s
quite catchy too.
YouTube comedian Steve Love is well known for his spot-on impressions of “Game of
Thrones” characters, including a near-perfect Jon Snow, but did you spot Steve rocking his
own role in Westeros in season six? Shortly after being featured on Jimmy Kimmel, the
comic got the call from GOT producers, one thing led to another and he wound up in the
show himself. Not only that, but he gets to drop the F-bomb and he’s subject to a classic
kill. Starring as one of the Brotherhood Without Banners, he comes up against the Hound and
lasts all of two seconds. An axe to the neck and he’s breathed his last, but what a way
to go.
We’re at King’s Landing for today’s winner, and a defining moment for the series.
But before Joffery drinks from the goblet and everything changes forever, there’s
the small matter of his wedding to Margaery Tyrell. Despite the King’s deplorable state
of mind, there’s a feast, as well as dancing and singing. Cue Sigur Rós stationed around
a unique ensemble of instruments, performing a haunting, or perhaps foreboding, rendition
of “The Rains of Castamere”. Joffery doesn’t seem to like it much though, and the band
are quickly heckled off, somewhat harshly. Apparently Icelandic art rock just isn’t
to his taste. But it’s a killer cameo, all the same.