Sean Bean has tepid response to hearing what happened in Game of Thrones finale: ‘Oh, good for them’

Actor stopped watching after the first season

Annabel Nugent
Saturday 29 May 2021 15:04 BST
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Sean Bean has no clue what happened in Game of Thrones – despite his leading role in the first season.

The actor portrayed the noble Eddard “Ned” Stark in HBO’s hit adaptation of George RR Martin’s fantasy novels.

Fans of the series will remember Stark’s memorable death at the end of the first season when he is beheaded at the behest of King Joffrey (Jack Gleeson). The show goes on to chronicle the lives of his children.

But for Bean, Ned’s execution is where the series ended.

The Lord of the Rings star revealed that he has not seen anything further than his character’s death.

Asked whether he had watched the controversial final episode of the series’ eighth season, Bean asked the Times: “No, what happened?”

Batting away the writers’ concerns that they will spoil it for Bean should he want to watch the show in the future, the actor replied: “I’ll have forgotten by then, go on.”

On hearing the show’s ending, which sees Bran Stark become King of Westeros and Sansa Stark as Queen of the North, Bean asked: “So did Winterfell stay separate? Oh, good for them.”

(HBO)

The hugely popular fantasy series came to an abrupt end in 2018, and many fans complained about its hasty final season. Millions of viewers signed a petition demanding that season eight be reshot.

Game of Thrones star Charles Dance, who famously portrayed Tywin Lannister, joined the chorus, stating that he was also “disappointed” by the closing chapter.

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Elsewhere in the interview, the 62-year-old compared the show’s fictional location King’s Landing to Hollywood, describing LA as “a very shallow and quite depressing place”.

“My mentality didn’t quite fit with theirs,” he said.

Following the success of Game of Thrones, a spin-off series titled House of the Dragon, starring Olivia Cooke and Matt Smith, is underway at HBO.

It is one of six separate Game of Thrones–related projects in development at the studio.

An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated that Jon Snow becomes King of Westeros when it is actually Bran Stark who does.

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