Before every Game of Thrones fan was mad about the series finale, every Game of Thrones fan was mad about Ed Sheeran’s cameo. The chart-topping singer appeared in the season seven episode “Dragonstone” as Eddie, a House Lannister soldier who bonds with Arya around a campfire before having his face burned off by Drogon. Eddie wasn’t “brutally murdered,” like Sheeran wanted, but how many other people can say they have no eyelids because of a dragon? (Three. My guess is three.)
Sheeran has joked about the backlash to his cameo, which was meant as a surprise to super-fan Maisie Williams, but he was also hurt by how much people didn’t like it. “It was great,” he said on the Armchair Expert podcast about shooting the scene, adding, “I feel like people’s reaction to it sort of muddied my joy to it.”
“She’s always been awesome,” Sheeran said of his friend, Williams. “I don’t think they had written the ending yet. It was meant to be her last season but it wasn’t. And as a surprise for her, [they got] me on. So, she was meant to turn up on set. and I was by the fire.”
It wasn’t only viewers who had a negative reaction to Sheeran’s appearance. Kristian Nairn (Hodor) called celebrity cameos on Thrones “stupid,” and added “I don’t mind going on the record on that. I just think it takes you right out of the world… I was like, ‘Why is Ed Sheeran here?’ I mean, Ed Sheeran’s great. He’s a great guy, great musician, but why is he in Game of Thrones?” Nairn clarified that he’s not an Ed Sheeran fan, but “I think most people would agree with me there. It was a big snap to reality.”
It was distracting but I don’t hold it against Sheeran. If I had a chance to be on my favorite show, I would do it. What I’m saying is, I would like my face to be melted by a dragon on Succession. I would settle for cracking open a cold one with Greg.
You can listen to the Armchair Expert podcast below.
(Via the Hollywood Reporter)