Director Jeremy Podeswa defends Ed Sheeran's cameo in Game of Thrones Season 7 premiere

Game of Thrones Season 7 premiered after a long wait, on Sunday, and there were a lot of things that happened. However, one event stuck out, gathering a lot of attention, a celebrity cameo we had been eagerly waiting for : Ed Sheeran. Ed played a Lannister soldier, and shared the screen with Maisie Williams, who plays Arya Stark. The scene was a subtle one, showing how even the Lannister soldiers are not nearly as cruel as the people they fight for, and put the whole thing in perspective.

The cameo, however, got mixed reactions from the fans, with many a fans even thrashing it. Coincidentally enough, Ed Sheeran deleted his Twitter account soon after the episode aired, making some of us believe that he might have taken some of those comments too seriously. Now, Jeremy Podeswa, the director of the Season 7 premiere episode, Dragonstone, has defended the cameo appearance. Read on!

Jeremy Podeswa spoke toNewsweekover the phone. He said that he thought that the cameo was perfect :

“I think Ed did a lovely job—he’s a lovely actor and a lovely person.”

He continued :

“He was appropriate for the part because he needed to sing. If people didn’t know who Ed was, they wouldn’t have thought about it twice. The hoo-ha seems to be from things that are outside of the world of the show. In the world of the show he did a lovely job, and he looks like he belongs in that world.”

He believes that his performance was received the way it was because fans couldn’t see past his stardom :

“I think people interrogated it too much, they’re bringing so much of his [superstar] presence into the thing which is far beyond what anybody was thinking going into it. He is known to the producers of the show and some of the cast, and he’s a gigantic fan of the show. As everybody knows, the show really eschews stunt casting—it’s never, ever done that.”

Podeswa says that he was surprised that the fans didn’t like the cameo. He also said that it would upset him if the reactions did hurt Ed. He said :

“The only thing I don’t feel great about is that Ed is such a lovely guy and really genuine and down to earth. He came into this with only lovely intentions to come and do a good job and sing well. So I think that’s the only drag.”

What did you think about the cameo? Loved it, hated it? Tell us in the comments, down below!