NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Entertainment

These are the best pranks pulled on the set of Game of Thrones

NZ Herald
3 Jun, 2016 06:00 AM4 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Joe Naufahu's character on Game of Thrones suffered a fiery demise this week - but off camera things got just as sticky for him. The Kiwi actor is seen being pranked by his co-star Emilia Clarke in new footage posted on Vulture.

While the rest of us sit around theorising over what will happen next on Game of Thrones, the show's creators are having fun with the unknown.

Because they (and George RR Martin, of course) are the only ones who know what's coming next at any given time, show runners David Benioff and Dan Weiss have used the opportunity to prank the cast over the years.

They revealed a few of the best pranks they've ever pulled to Entertainment Weekly, and they hit everyone from Ygritte to Sam to Jon Snow himself.

Jon Snow's beautiful, beautiful hair

Jon Snow and his luscious locks. Photo / HBO
Jon Snow and his luscious locks. Photo / HBO
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

There was a scene in which Snow sets a white walker on fire while defending Lord Commander Mormont, but Kit Harington was sent a different script.

It read: "Jon plunges his hand into the fire, seizes the burning drapes, and flings them at the dead man, engulfing them both in flames".

"When the fire is finally out, we see by torchlight that all of Jon's hair has burnt down to the scalp. The skin on the top half of his face has been melted in the extreme heat, blistered and pustulant. Despite what must be the extreme agony of permanent disfigurement, Jon stands stoically by his master's side."

Then Mormont says to Jon: "Gods, boy. I was wrong about you. You're a ranger, through and through."

It ends: "Jon smiles, his teeth shining brightly in his destroyed face. Mormont, sickened, has to look away."

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

When Harington arrived on set, they explained that HBO had concerns the Jon Snow storyline was "too Harry Potter" and wanted to make it darker.

"We kept this up until we started laughing. He was a remarkably good sport about the whole thing."

Bran kills Theon

Alfie Allen as Theon Greyjoy. Photo / Supplied
Alfie Allen as Theon Greyjoy. Photo / Supplied

The second season ended with Theon Greyjoy losing control of Winterfell, and Alfie Allen (Theon) didn't know if his character would return for season three.

He got sent a prank script in which Bran Stark said to Theon, "This is my Winterfell, not yours" and proceeded to stab him in the heart.

Discover more

Entertainment

Walking Dead and Game of Thrones creators have beef now

01 Jun 11:00 AM
Entertainment

Twitter reveals how we're talking about Game of Thrones

02 Jun 06:00 AM
Entertainment

Why singer stalks Thrones star on Instagram

03 Jun 12:30 AM
Entertainment

Keisha hits Roadie for punk new role

03 Jun 05:00 PM

The awkward bit was Allen bought it.

"I thought it was cool...I went on a holiday, and David and Dan were all thinking I was going to call up going, 'Hold on a minute whoa-whoa-whoa!' But I just got on with it. Then they had to make it clear to me later on it was all a joke," he said.

John Bradley suits up

Kit Harington (Jon Snow) and Hannah Murray (Gilly) were behind this one.

They asked the showrunners to help them prank John Bradley (Samwell Tarley) with a bogus costume.

He was brought in for a mock fitting with this "ludicrous" costume which was "just believable enough to not know it was a gag".

Bradley said: "I looked so bad and ridiculous, it was unbelievable...There was a huge vulgar codpiece - though flattering, to be sure.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"The reason I bought it is because we'd never seen Sam at home before, and [his parents think] he's an idiot. [Maybe] Sam dressed like an idiot before he came to Castle Black".

Rose Leslie: future pop star?

Rose Leslie as Ygritte. Photo / Supplied
Rose Leslie as Ygritte. Photo / Supplied

The show runners learned Leslie (Ygritte) hated the idea of singing in public. "

"There's a song in the books that Ygritte sings, The Last of the Giants" Benioff said.

"The earnest song by Thrones author George R.R. Martin is 20 lines long and contains lyrics such as 'Oh I am the last of the giants, so learn well the words of my song, or when I am gone the singing will fade, and the silence shall last long and long.'"

They sent her a fake script in which a scene required her to sing the entire song on screen.

Jaime Lannister turns the tables

Nikolaj Coster-Waldau as Jaime Lannister. Photo / Supplied
Nikolaj Coster-Waldau as Jaime Lannister. Photo / Supplied

Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (Jaime Lannister) pranked the show runners after learning his character was to get a hair cut.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

He wrote an "angry actor email" about how upset he was over the change.

"He said he felt the need to own his hair because his hair was part of his character, and he was going to take it upon himself to get his own haircut that he felt best reflected Jaime Lannister as he saw him," Weiss recalls.

He later sent them a photo of himself with all his hair shaved off, which was a problem because they were organising re-shoots and the footage wouldn't match.

"HBO's lawyers were calling his lawyers," said Weiss, but then Coster-Waldau came clean saying the photo was actually five years old.

Well played, Ser Jaime. Well played.

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Entertainment

Entertainment

Sudden exit: Radio host leaves mid-show due to family loss

Entertainment

'Rare gem': NZ film set for US debut after local success

Entertainment

Celebrity journalist opens up about mental health struggles in 'warts and all' book


Sponsored

Sponsored: Why heat pumps make winter cheaper

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Entertainment

Sudden exit: Radio host leaves mid-show due to family loss
Entertainment

Sudden exit: Radio host leaves mid-show due to family loss

Jade Robran left her show mid-air after receiving some tragic family news.

16 Jul 04:18 AM
'Rare gem': NZ film set for US debut after local success
Entertainment

'Rare gem': NZ film set for US debut after local success

16 Jul 01:00 AM
Celebrity journalist opens up about mental health struggles in 'warts and all' book
Entertainment

Celebrity journalist opens up about mental health struggles in 'warts and all' book

15 Jul 11:42 PM


Sponsored: Why heat pumps make winter cheaper
Sponsored

Sponsored: Why heat pumps make winter cheaper

01 Jul 04:58 PM
NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP