While Margaery’s abrupt end may have surprised fans, Dormer was in on the secret for quite some time, as she was the one who originally requested to be released from her Game of Thrones responsibilities.
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly in the aftermath of the season 6 finale, the actress revealed the story behind her exit. When asked when she got the infamous Thrones phone call of death, Dormer detailed that she had asked showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss to let her go from the series “earlier than usual” so she could pursue another project. That didn’t end up panning out, but Benioff and Weiss did let Dormer know that her time on Game of Thrones would be coming to an end sooner rather than later.
“I preempted the phone call because, in true Natalie Dormer-style, I tried to fit a million projects into a single year. I requested [while making season 5 that showrunners David Benioff and Dan Weiss] release me from working on the show earlier than usual so I could do another project, and they ended up phoning me — and that was The Call. But I got it six months ahead of normal,” she said. “They were like, ‘We weren’t going to tell you this for a few more months, but we’re not going to release you now, so you can’t do that job you really want to do and we’re really sorry about that. But on the bright side, we are going to release you proper in the not-so-distant future.’ It was good news, bad news — no you can’t do this, but don’t worry, you’re going to have lots more opportunities very soon.”
As for how Margaery’s arc wrapped up, Dormer was a fan: “I thought it was really clever. I really did. It’s not an echo of anything you’ve seen in the last six years.” She also called it the “perfect way for Margaery to leave the show, stating, “She’s given a platform to say that she was right, as she always is. But because the power was taken from her, she couldn’t do anything about it.”
