Isaac Hempstead Wright, more popularly known as Barn Stark in HBO's "Game of Thrones," recently revealed how makers of the show inform cast members if their characters are about to die. The actor made the revelation while in Singapore to promote the sixth season of the series as well as the "Game of Thrones Experience: World of Westeros" event happening at the Ion Orchard.
According to Wright, what sets apart "Game of Thrones" from other television programs, aside from its writing and overall storyline, is how it kills off its characters.
In most shows, major characters are often saved from onscreen deaths. "Game of Thrones" however, is quite different when it comes to this matter.
"A lot of series, you can almost see where it's going or imagine other things that is going to happen for the rest of their run," he told members of the media during a roundtable interview according to InterAksyon. "With 'Game of Thrones,' you really can't work out what's going to happen."
"Nobody saw Jon Snow's death coming, nobody saw Ned Stark's death coming," Wright added.
Of course, despite the mystery surrounding the deaths of characters, cast members still get a heads up if their on-screen persona is about to leave the show permanently.
Although they learn about this from their scripts, makers of the show also employ another creative way to lessen the blow of a character's death to the cast.
"The thing is, people tend to know [when] their characters die," he said. "They get sent a bouquet of flowers and a bottle of champagne before they dreaded final call and then that's it."
Fortunately for Wright, it seems he hasn't received the dreaded gift basket yet while working on the set of the television series. According to him, his character Bran will take on a more serious and significant role in season 6.
Fans of the series are well aware that since season 4, he has been spending time with the mystical Three-Eyed Raven. Under his guidance and training, Bran begins to learn about new tricks and abilities. Specifically, Wright noted that when his character returns, he'll be dealing with magic.
"When we meet Bran in season 6, he's still got a lot of learning to do, but expect lots of magic," he said according to Winter Is Coming.
"Particularly this season, he's almost read the script," he added. "He knows what's going on all around the world. So this year, I kind of approached it as if Bran had just watched the show the whole time."
As for the show, the first episode of season 6 is scheduled to premiere on April 24.
