Game of Thrones Extra Andrew McClay talks about the show’s legacy in Northern Ireland

Game of Thrones ended nearly two years ago. The fantasy series set the bar for quality TV shows really high. Game of Thrones springboarded the television industry. High-grade scenery, CGI and battle scenes were comparable and exceeding to that of movies. One of the show’s extras, Andrew McClay, talked about the show’s legacy in Northern Ireland.

McClay has started his own production company to pay things forward. According to him, one of the best legacies of Game of Thrones is how it paved the way for a whole new generation of people to get into the TV and movie business. Especially from Northern Ireland, where much of the series was filmed.

Andrew told the Irish Mirror, “I remember standing on the set of King’s Landing in Season 8 for that pillaging scene,” McClay recalled. “I’m standing next to this friend of mine and he’s always wanted to be a cameraman. He turns around to me and he goes, ‘fuck it, I’m going to ask [cinematographer] Fabian Wagner for a job.’ I was like, ‘go for it big balls.’”

He walks up and goes, ‘Hey Fabian, what’s happening?! I’ve done this kind of thing before. I was wondering if you have any room for anybody on your crew?’ That was a Thursday but then on Monday, I landed on the set and start to get ready for a take before I see my mate holding the clapperboard.! He’d later go off to work with the photographers and stuff like that. He’s still working as a cameraman on different productions now.”

How do you feel about Game of Thrones’ legacy? Talk to us in the comments below!

Very often we hear motivational speakers talk about being different, and how that is an asset. However, most of the time people who are different don’t feel good about themselves. They stand out amongst their peers, very often ridiculed or looked down upon. It takes a lot of motivation and guts to turn such quirks into one’s advantage. The gentle giant of Game of Thrones, Hodor, became one of the most lovable characters of the show. It would not have been possible if actor Kristian Nairn hadn’t done an incredible job as he did for the acclaimed TV series.

Inquirer.net spoke to Kristian recently to commemorate the Iron Anniversary of the popular HBO series’ pilot episode (on April 17, 2011). They asked him if he thought his height was an asset or a liability.

“I only see it as an asset,” Kristian pointed out. “The only thing that occasionally bothers me are doors … and doorframes (laughs), Those—and airplane seats!”

“I did spend a lot of time not liking being tall as a teenager. And then, I realized that it’s actually my greatest asset. So, now I really love my height—I embrace it! I wouldn’t change it for the world.”

Nairn was last seen promoting World of Warcraft alongside co-star Isaac Hempstead. Were you a fan of Kristian Nairn’s Hodor? Talk to us in the comments below!

The COVID pandemic has taken a lot of lives. Many of us have lost our near and dear ones. It is an inexplicable pain that persists in one’s heart throughout their lives. Game of Thrones community suffered a lot of losses too. Beloved actress Diana Rigg lost her fight to cancer last year. Coping with such a loss is not an easy task. Game of Thrones’ ‘Khaleesi‘ Emilia Clarke also lost her father to the disease back in 2016. She revealed what helped her in a recent podcast episode of BBC’s The Cultural Frontline.

She shared that the collection of essays ‘Why Didn’t You Just Do What You Were Told?‘ by Jenny Diski has helped her cope with the loss of her father. Clarke, 34, spoke with British poet Ian Patterson, Diski’s widow, about Diski’s work and their shared passion for cultural escapism. The podcast originally came about after Patterson saw Clarke’s post on social media praising Diski’s collection of essays.

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“It was very wonderful to see the picture of you holding the book,” Patterson told Clarke. “I suddenly switched back to when Jenny was still alive, and we were watching Game of Thrones.”

“Especially subjects like death, she treats with such tenderness but also such comedy,” Clarke said in the podcast. “The way that she writes about it, it makes you feel okay.”

“I lost my dad four years ago, and it still feels like it was yesterday,” Clarke said. “And since his death, I think about death a lot, and I consider his a lot. And so to read her take on it was just really tonic for the soul.”

Talk to us and share your thoughts on the matter in the comments below!

George R. R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire is one of the most popular books amongst fantasy lovers. When Game of Thrones was adapted from the novel, it created a huge hype among the fans. However, one fan, in particular, had the time of his life, when he was selected as an extra for the show. Even as an extra, he was an important part of the Game of Thrones family. Andrew McClay got his own close-up scenes on various occasions including the famous Battle of The Bastards. Talking to the Irish Mirror, he revealed he felt like a 13-year-old again.

He said, “It brought me back to being 13 again. I just remember every cell in my body being on fire and thinking to myself, there’s no way that I’m going to balls this up because I’m in the zone here. We shot that scene over two days and I had to be there every time for continuity but I loved doing it.”

“Miguel (director) said to me: ‘I need extras. Who’s loud here?’ and I shot my hand up straight away. I looked around and nobody had their hands up. I’m saying to myself, ‘you mad bastards, I’ll do it, Miguel. I’m loud.’”

“Kristof (Tormund) is right beside me at the time and he turns around and goes, ‘oh yes, he is loud Miguel He’s loud this guy!’ Kristof then just winked at me and I thought, ‘oh shit.’

“I was on fire all day and I still have my payment voucher which said unscripted line written on it. I have that framed. It will forever be one of my most beloved prized possessions.”

“All those scenes I’m in have different stories to them but with the Battle of the Bastards close-up, I had no idea the camera was on me. The guy just came down with one of the assistant directors and goes, ‘this is it, across the battlefield lies House Bolton’ and he then gives us this speech about the horrors they’ve done to House Stark. I’m just getting angrier and angrier.

“Then they shout action and Miguel picked my face because he genuinely thought I was about to kill a load of dudes.”

Do you remember the close-up scene featuring Andrew McClay? Tell us in the comments below!

 

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