From a daring first season set in a vast fantasy setting rife with political intrigue, HBO’s Game of Thrones went from strength to strength. It became the biggest and most talked-about show in the world by what would prove to be its midway point.
We know now that the soaring, gargantuan TV would not just fail to stick the landing, but skid out of control on the runway and crash into the airport. Even so, its earlier seasons are still revered by millions and years after that calamitous conclusion, people are still intrigued by the show, watch it, and follow its star cast.
Clearly, the actors were fully committed throughout, which meant that those marked for some of the epic set-piece action scenes needed to get in shape and keep fit. For some, this wasn’t a tricky switch, with their experience in combat sports ready to back them up.
Preparing for its Biggest Moments
As with many hit shows within a fantastic setting, many members of the Game of Thrones cast not only had to be fit, but trained in combat. Naturally, having some combat sports experience would help to ease anyone into the demands of this kind of show, and those who did ended up making a big impact on-screen.
Even now, those efforts resonate across entertainment. HBO continues to run spin-offs and has licensed the brand into other corners of entertainment. Still, the classic Game of Thrones slots remain among the top games at bingo sites online, and the newer House of the Dragon slot has certainly landed well.
The characters in those shows and sigils that represent their struggles play key roles in the slot series, helping to embed the biggest show in the world in the popular form of online entertainment. So, behind the scenes, which of the stars propelled to even greater levels of stardom have a bit of martial arts backing?
From Kung Fu to Boxing
While she wasn’t required to perform much by way of stunts and action scenes in Game of Thrones, Diana Rigg certainly made an impact as Olenna Tyrell. In her 70s when she took on the role, it’d be easy to forget that Rigg once co-starred in the 1960s hit The Avengers, for which she became proficient in a martial art.
The show is widely reported as being the first to showcase someone performing Kung Fu on Western television, with the credit going to Rigg herself. The story goes that she was meant to be taught judo, but the stunt coordinator instead got Rigg into Kung Fu for all of her combat scenes in the suave, high-paced 1965 hit.
Perhaps the next most prominent adopter of combat sports, both in terms of application and sheer size, is Hafþór Björnsson. The legendary strongman was cast as the third iteration of The Mountain, and certainly fit the bill. After his run on the show, he’d eventually meet a fellow strongman in the boxing ring, Eddie Hall, winning by UD.
Other notable additions to this cast of Westeros actors in combat sports are Jason Momoa, who learned martial arts for his part in Stargate Atlantis, and Daniel Portman. The actor of Podrick is a well-known mixed martial arts fan and practitioner, not that you’d know it from the show. You can also add in two kickboxers, Spencer Wilding and Darius Dar Khan. Neither played a major role, but can be spotted in an episode each.
As it goes, a good handful of the cast of Game of Thrones knew their way around a martial art or two, with the fundamentals of learning a combat sport always offering the benefits of self-control, confidence, and strength.