7 Things Game Of Thrones Toned Down For TV

4. The Younger Characters Being Aged Up

This point is not strictly a moment but still a significant change. Due to UK laws about the representation of minors in sexual situations in TV and film, HBO was forced to cut sex scenes featuring characters under sixteen or change the ages of characters to comply with the law.

Although (as we all know) HBO is an American company much of the series was filmed in Northern Ireland and many of the actors are British citizens. This led to thirteen year old Daenerys being aged up to sixteen (and played by the much older Emilia Clarke), fourteen year old Jon Snow aged up to nineteen (but portrayed by twenty six year old Kit Harrington), eleven and nine year old Sansa and Arya aged up to thirteen and eleven respectively (and portrayed by Sophie Turner and Maisie Williams, who were fourteen and thirteen respectively at the time of casting).

The adult characters, mostly in their thirties in the book are played by actors closer to their forties or even fifties, allowing the roles to go to mature actors who not only have the necessary weight and gravitas to play kings, queens and liegelords but look more like thirty year olds weathered by living in a harsh fantasy environment without the benefits of indoor plumbing, good dentistry or moisturizer.

George RR Martin himself is in favour of this and says it is in line with what he would have written had he not been planning on writing a five year gap into the books (an idea he has since abandoned). Fans too have largely embraced the changes as it has allowed talented actors in their late teens to mid twenties to take roles that are wholly unsuited for child actors.

The decision to cast attractive twentysomethings has also probably done wonders for introducing new people to the fandom and in fuelling the already existing demand for fanfiction, fan art and cosplay.