Game of Thrones: The Sopranos With Dragons
HBO's latest series gives fantasy a dose of reality. Creators David Benioff and Dan Weiss on power, incest and the network note asking for more nudity, plus who's who in Westeros.
HBO and fantasy are not natural bedfellows. HBO is The Sopranos, The Wire, Deadwood. Fantasy is people with sweeping cloaks and fans with a careless attitude to personal grooming. “I think that’s maybe why it took the studio four years to greenlight our pilot,” jokes David Benioff, who, along with Dan Weiss, created the channel’s latest project, Game Of Thrones. But, says Weiss, Game Of Thrones is very much of the HBO mould. “It’s genre, but so is Sopranos. It’s about the treatment of that genre.” So while it might have the odd monster and silly made-up language its creators argue that this has more in common with The Godfather than The Lord Of The Rings. Based on a series of novels by George R R Martin, it takes place in a land called Westeros where a swarm of lords, knights and other nobles fight for rule like pigeons over a hot chip. “The show’s about power,” says Benioff. “Those who want it, those who have it, those who get caught in the middle of it… These aren’t fantasy archetypes. Unlike, say, The Hobbit, these people get horny, they have vices, they make horrible decisions.”
Yes, this being HBO, of course they get horny. The book contains, in the first few chapters, a smattering of incest and the attempted murder of an unlucky child. “All that goes in there,” says Benioff. “We kept putting stuff in and thinking, maybe this will be the thing they make us take out. Never happened.” “Actually,” adds Weiss. “I do remember one note we got: ‘We’re not sure this episode contains enough nudity’!” This isn’t fantasy, it’s HBO.
Who's who
Sean Bean is Eddard Stark: If there’s a lead, ’tis he. He’s the king’s right-hand man and good friend. Once things go completely bonzo and everyone starts competing for the throne, it’s he who tries to keep things in order.
Mark Addy is King Robert Baratheon: The king of the Seven Kingdoms in the story. He holds power over the realm but there are many – so many – who would very much like to relieve him of this duty.
Lena Headey is Cersei Lannister: As is the traditional role of queens in any drama involving period costumes, she is a right old bitch and hides all manner of secrets – including several you definitely won’t guess.
Nikolaj Coster-Waldau is Jaime Lannister: Cersei’s twin brother is the most revered knight in Westeros, respected for his valour and swooned over for his good looks. Which obviously means that beneath it all he’s something of a douchebag.
Peter Dinklage is Tyrion Lannister: The younger brother of Cersei and a bit of a trickster. Nobody trusts him because he’s a dwarf. People were callous bastards back in made-up times.
From the May 2011 issue of FHM India.
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