Game Of Thrones: 10 Shocking Revelations From Benioff & Weiss's Q&A

7. They Cast People Based On Fan Ideas

Despite the near-constant rumours about what impact fans and internet speculation had on the show (plenty more on that later), it appears as if in the early days web-chatter played a big role in shaping the show. When asked about this, Benioff openly admitted that Kahl Drogo's casting had been directly inspired by what readers of the book had been pitching.

"David is also saying that he went to fan casting pages and that is how they found Jason Mamoa"

Sadly he wasn't pressed on who (if anybody) was also cast in a similar way. However given Sean Bean's profile before the show, and what a natural fit for the character he was, it's likely that his name will have been mentioned as well. Lena Heady has always looked born to play Cersei, but the vast majority of the principal cast were plucked from relative obscurity.