Being one of the biggest shows on the planet, it’s no wonder that celebrity superfans are elbowing each other out of the way to get a Westeros cameo. Many of them have succeeded. Of course, some cameos have been a little more prominent than others …
Ed Sheeran
Season 7, Episode 1: “Dragonstone”
As an avid, longtime fan of the series, Sheeran jumped at the chance when he was offered the role of “Singing Lannister Soldier.” Some fans were less than thrilled at Sheeran’s cameo, but they’d have to take their complaints to Maisie Williams. She’s a big fan and the reason why Sheeran got the part. Show runner David Benioff said, “We knew that Maisie was a big fan of Ed Sheeran and for years we’ve been trying to get him on the show so we can surprise Maisie.
David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, Game of Thrones Show Runners
Season 5, Episode 6: “Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken”
This cameo is wrapped up in one of those “blink and you’ll miss it” scenes. As a matter of fact, you wouldn’t even know you were seeing a cameo unless you were such a hardcore Game of Thrones fan, you knew what the show runners look like. According to the show’s prosthetics supervisor Barrie Gower, those faces were molded from Game of Thrones Show Runners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss.
Mastodon
Season 5, Episode 8: “Hardhome”
Brann Dailor, Bill Kelliher, and Brent Hinds of the American metal band Mastodon all got to play undead Wildlings. The band from Atlanta was personally invited to participate in the show by Executive Producer Dan Weiss, who’s a big fan of the band. While Mastodon didn’t record a song for the show like past musicians who’ve made cameos, they did contribute a song, “White Walker,” to the Catch the Throne: Volume II mixtape released in 2015.
Sigur Rós
Season 4, Episode 2: “The Lion and the Rose”
The Icelandic indie-rock trio Sigur Rós appeared at Joffrey’s wedding to play a glum version of The Nationals’ “The Rains of Castamere.” AlthoughKing Joffrey hated the band, Georg Holm of Sigur Rós told Rolling Stone (April 4, 2014), “The meanest person in television history, King Joffrey, is played by the sweetest guy Jack Gleeson. It felt like a natural thing to make our version of ‘Rains of Castamere.’ We probably managed to create the gloomiest version so far. It is maybe not the happiest wedding song, but we think that it fit the scene very well.”
