A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, the latest entry in the long-running Game of Thrones franchise, finally arrived on screens on January 19 to widespread fanfare. The premiere episode introduced viewers to numerous characters, including Dunk and Egg. One of the more intriguing characters is Daniel Ings’ Ser Lyonel Baratheon, aka ‘The Laughing Storm.’ In an interview discussing the making of the series, Ings revealed that Baratheon was pitched to him as a unique mix of Jack Sparrow and Ernest Hemingway.
Quick read:
- Daniel Ings’ interest in playing Ser Lyonel Baratheon grew after he read the scripts.
- Ser Lyonel warms up to Dunk despite initially mistaking him for a threat.
- Ira Parker had a specific vision for the dance sequence.
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: Daniel Ings found the pitch for Ser Lyonel Baratheon interesting
Daniel Ings’ Ser Lyonel has a prominent role in the six-part series based on George R.R. Martin’s The Hedge Knight. During his interview for the first episode of A Knight in the Making, Ings opened up about his initial impression of his character. He said, “When I got the scripts, they kind of said there was a character described as a cross between Jack Sparrow and Ernest Hemingway. Something about that collection of names made me feel like, ‘Yeah, I think I probably would be interested.’”
Dunk and Ser Lyonel first meet after the former accepts Raymun Fossoway’s invitation to the Baratheons’ tent. Initially, Lyonel assumes that Dunk is there to threaten him because he did not bring anything to win his favour. Once he hears that Dunk is just there for supper, he takes a liking to him. The duo dance together, and Ser Lyonel even shares stories from his travels.
Ira Parker’s inspiration for the dance scene in the Baratheons’ tent
Dunk and Ser Lyonel Baratheon in A Knight of Seven Kingdoms on HBO (Image: HBO)
When Ser Lyonel asks Dunk if he likes to dance, the knight replies, “Doesn’t everyone?” What follows is an exciting dance sequence. Elsewhere in the interview, Ira Parker revealed that a 1976 film was one of the inspirations for the dance scene. He said, “There’s nothing I love more than when people dance in movies. So many films that have inspired me. A big one coming into this was ‘Fiddler on the Roof.’”
Parker explained that he wanted it to be “weird” and energetic. The production hired Dublin-based choreographer Belinda Murphy for the scene, who completely understood the showrunner’s vision.
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