Sheeran’s cameo caused considerable discord amongst Game of Thrones fans, leaving director Jeremy Podeswa utterly puzzled. “One thing that Game of Thrones never did was stunt casting,” Podeswa said. “Everybody in the world wanted to be on Game of Thrones, and [showrunners] Dan [Weiss] and David [Benioff] never rose to that bait. With Ed Sheeran, it didn’t feel like a weird thing to anybody on the show because Maisie [Williams, who plays Arya Stark] knew him, he’s in the UK, we needed somebody who could sing, it was a small part, and he had acted before.”
According to Podeswa, Sheeran was also a delight on set: “Then when he got there he was the loveliest, most grounded guy you could ever meet. It was really cold, and we were out in the wilderness all day long. He didn’t run back to his trailer. He sat down with all the extras playing the Lannister army and was happy to be there. And he did a lovely job. If he wasn’t Ed Sheeran, pop star, nobody would have ever batted an eye at the person playing that role.”
Producers never explicitly confirmed what happened to Sheeran’s character, who was a Lannister soldier, but fans have some ideas after the show later references a “ginger” Lannister named “Eddie” who returns from a battle against Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke) with his face “burnt right off.” Though the character’s fate remains unconfirmed, Hibberd indicates showrunners threw fans a bone about Sheeran’s grisly ending with this line.
