Game of Thrones finale aired seven months ago. Even after so many months, one of the most appreciated aspects of the show remains its battle sequences. Rowley Irlam, the stunt coordinator, recently spoke in detail about the most famous battle sequences of the show.
Speaking with Hollywood Reporter Rowley Irlam began with Daenerys Targaryen’s first dragon-riding flight sequence:
“I remember in the VFX previews, they had the dragon torching one guy, then he turns the other way and he torches two guys, and then another two guys.”
He added:
“They asked me what I thought, and I said, ‘I think you should try and torch four guys, then six, then another six and then two more.’ I looked at everyone around the table thinking they must have thought I was coming on a little strong — but very quickly, we got the nod.”
While the dragon scene was epic in its own right, what really pushed the envelope for Irlam was the Battle of the Bastards. Irlam said:
“You hope that in the middle of your career, you haven’t done your finest work, but the reality of the situation is, if I get through the whole of my career and the best thing I ever did was ‘Battle of the Bastards,’ then I’ll settle for that.”
Talking generally about the Thrones’ battle sequences he added
“We’re trying to make something look as energetic and as dynamic as possible, but we’re also trying to keep everybody safe. Collateral damage is not acceptable to us. We want everyone to go home and come back the next day.”
Irlam also had a challenge of keeping each battle entirely different from the other. Speaking about ‘The Bells’, the penultimate episode of the series, Irlam said:
“We wanted to show the horror of war. We wanted to make it unpleasant. We didn’t want it to feel like entertainment, particularly. We tried to think of the most nasty images we could possibly conjure up and put them onscreen: an amputee with his legs dripping blood, children burning. It wasn’t trying to be gratuitous. We’re trying to show what people can do to other people.”
Well, we feel Rowley Irlam did a terrific job and set the benchmark for others to follow. His work is going to be remembered for years to come. Tell us about your views in the comments below!
