Ben Crompton is filming on the final season of Game Of Thrones, and has revealed how the atmosphere is ‘slightly different’ as the show makes its final bow.
The Manchester-born actor, who plays Night’s Watch member Eddison Tollet, is set to appear in eighth season, and has stated how the impending conclusion has changed the mood behind-the-scenes.
Speaking to Metro.co.uk, Ben said: ‘There is a slightly different atmosphere on set. In previous seasons, whether you survived that series or not, you knew the show was continuing. Now whether you survive or not, it’s coming to an end.
‘It’s something I’m very proud of. To be honest, there’s so much work to be done, you can’t really have time to sit down and get nostalgic yet.
‘There was some tears the other week during a well-deserved standing ovation to [showrunners] David Benioff and Dan Weiss, and that was quite special being there for that final read-through.’
Game Of Thrones is also notorious for its cast keeping tight-lipped on upcoming events, signing contractual agreements with scripts only being made available to actors while on-set.
Paranoia over spoilers being released into the world has never been higher for the final season, with Crompton describing how they feared a drone was even hovering over the set.
Regarding spoilers, Ben said: ‘We’re quite protective as a cast. Apart from being contractually obliged not to say anything, we’ve got a real affection for the show.
‘We were filming the other week and there seemed to be something flying above. Everyone was suddenly going, “Is that a drone? Is that a drone?”
‘It turned out it was from the SFX department on the other side of the set trying something out. But there was just this moment there thinking, “Don’t let there be any spoilers or anything, just let it happen.”’
Crompton meanwhile is jugging an entirely different project, providing narration to balletLORENT’s version of Rumpelstiltskin, directed by his wife Liv Lorent and retold by poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy.
With a score by Doctor Who composer Murray Gold and costumes from Game Of Thrones designer Michele Clapton – Crompton is keen to emphasise how the production isn’t what you’d expect from ballet.
‘I’ve got no interest in traditional ballet, as much as Liv [Lorent] tries to get me involved with it,’ Crompton says.
‘The main thing about this piece is it’s absolutely for everybody. You don’t need any prior knowledge of dance or ballet to be able to understand it, and if people do feel alienated by it then we would have failed.
‘That’s one of the reasons why we’ve chosen to have narration in there so nobody gets lost. It’s not like a traditional ballet, there’s narration to keep you up to speed throughout the whole piece and subsequently there’s many visual and music layers in there. If you’re an adult, there’s something there for you as well.’
He’s found the collaboration with his wife an enjoyable process, even if it’s one he can’t exactly remove himself from.
‘There’s no escape at the end of the day,’ Ben jokes. ‘The boss is my missus.
‘It is an enjoyable experience, because of those previous 10 years experience you develop a sort of shorthand. This is also the third production where we’ve had pretty much the same set of collaborators.
‘Liz and Carol Ann Duffy have a great working relationship and understanding of what they want – and what fairytales should be.’
BalletLORENT’s film of Rumpelstiltskin is available for all to watch on YouTube until 7th January. Check out more information on their official website.
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