20 Facts About 'Game of Thrones' to Prep for 'House of the Dragon' (or Not, Whatever You Prefer)
![20 Facts About 'Game of Thrones' to Prep for 'House of the Dragon' (or Not, Whatever You Prefer)](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/2/3/2/864232_320x180.jpg)
Just when you thought it was safe to break up with your significant other that’s letting you borrow their HBO Max login, a new prequel series from the world of Game of Thrones is coming out titled House of the Dragon. While the original series asks the question, “In the end, who sits on the Iron Throne?,” this series asks the question, “In the end, which Targaryen sits on the Iron Throne?” Completely unique stakes.
All snark aside, Game of Thrones had a lot more good than bad, even if the final season of the show left a bad taste in most of our mouths. While we are still waiting for the true ending of A Song of Ice and Fire (if it ever comes), we can still think about the good stuff. And that good stuff wasn’t easy to make behind the scenes.
Here are some facts about Game of Thrones that’ll remind you about how much work went into the show and to help prepare you for the (hopefully good) prequel series.
Spoilers!
![CRACKED.COM GAME OF THRONES KIT HARINGTON SPOILED JON SNOW'S FATE TO AVOID A SPEEDING TICKET. A police officer agreed to forget about writing Harington a ticket if he told him whether or not Jon Snow would be alive in Season 6. Harington spilled and the officer said, On your way, Lord Commander.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/2/5/3/864253.jpg)
Tyrion Lannister
![CRACKED.COM GAME OF THRONES PETER DINKLAGE NEARLY TURNED DOWN PLAYING TYRION. Dinklage was concerned as Game of Thrones was a fantasy show and he didn't want to wear pointy shoes and a pointy beard. After the showrunners guaranteed sophistication, he took the part.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/2/5/1/864251.jpg)
Robb Stark
![GAME OF THRONES RICHARD MADDEN LEARNED ROBB'S FATE ON THE INTERNET. Madden wanted to keep himself in the dark for the sake of his performance, so he only read the books season by season. Unfortunately, show fans spoiled Robb's fate before he got to the third book. CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/2/5/2/864252.jpg)
Lefty Arya
![CRACKED.COM GAME OF THRONES MAISIE WILLIAMS INSISTED ON PLAYING ARYA AS A LEFTY. 12-year-old Williams was very concerned about annoying book fans who get really upset about the most trivial things, so she put in the extra effort of training with her left hand to make Arya faithful to the books, even though she is right-handed.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/2/4/4/864244.jpg)
Sansa and Lady
![GAME OF THRONES SOPHIE TURNER ADOPTED HER DIREWOLF. Turner fell in love with the dog that played Sansa's pet. When the direwolf was killed off the show, Turner and her mother adopted the dog for real. CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/2/4/5/864245.jpg)
Stark Children
![CRACKED.COM GAME OF THRONES THE STARK KIDS ARE MUCH YOUNGER IN THE BOOKS. In A Song of Ice and Fire the Stark children are literally children. If the show was book-accurate, Jon Snow would've been played by a 14-year-old.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/2/4/2/864242.jpg)
Horse Heart
![CRACKED.COM GAME OF THRONES EMILIA CLARKE ATE 28 HORSE HEARTS. The heart was a gummy candy-like prop with pasta for arteries. Eating so much caused Clarke to vomit between takes and get stuck on the toilet due to the props' sticky goo dripping all over her body.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/2/4/0/864240.jpg)
Iwan Rheon
![GAME OF THRONES IWAN RHEON WAS ALMOST JON SNOW. Rheon was the runner-up, but ended up playing Ramsay Bolton instead. Не loved playing the sadistic villain, and thinks they made the right choice. CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/2/5/0/864250.jpg)
Ian Whyte
![GAME OF THRONES IAN WHYTE PLAYED FIVE DIFFERENT CHARACTERS. The 7'1 Welsh actor is credited as a White Walker, Gregor Clegane (before the character was recast), Dongo the Giant, Wun Wun, and a Giant Wight. CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/2/5/4/864254.jpg)
Pilot
![GAME OF THRONES THERE IS AN UNAIRED PILOT. According to co-creator David Benioff, the first pilot got everything wrong on a very basic level with the writing of it. It didn't even establish that Jaime and Cersei were brother and sister! CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/2/4/8/864248.jpg)
Monty Python
![GAME OF THRONES THE PILOT WAS SHOT IN A CASTLE USED IN MONTY PYTHON AND THE HOLY GRAIL. Doune Castle in Scotland stood in for Winterfell in the pilot episode. (It has also appeared on Outlander.) CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/2/4/3/864243.jpg)
Kit Harington
![CRACKED.COM GAME OF THRONES KIT HARINGTON CRIED WHEN НЕ HAD TO KILL DAENERYS. In order to be surprised and use that fresh emotion for his performance, Harington never read the script until gathered with the other actors. Emilia Clarke said that during the tsble read of the finale, he genuinely cried at Jon Snow stabbing Daenerys.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/2/4/7/864247.jpg)
Jon Snow's Parentage
![GAME OF THRONES SEAN BEAN NEVER KNEW JON SNOW'S TRUE PARENTAGE. You would think they'd clue him in, as his character did know, but no. Bean preferred it that way, so he could revel in the magic and the reveal himself. CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/2/3/9/864239.jpg)
Ned Stark's Head
![GAME OF THRONES SEAN BEAN HAD A GOOD TIME WITH HIS SEVERED HEAD. After Ned Stark's beheading was shot, Bean and his coworkers had a fun time kicking a model of his head around like a football. CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/2/3/5/864235.jpg)
Gillian Anderson
![CRACKED.COM GAME OF THRONES GILLIAN ANDERSON TURNED DOWN A ROLE. While it's not specified which role it was, Anderson did say she declined the offer because of her young children. I can't justify spending that kind of time away from home, unless I'm working with Scorsese.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/2/4/1/864241.jpg)
Dragon Sounds
![GAME OF THRONES THE DRAGON SOUNDS COME FROM TIBETAN CHANTS, BISON SOUNDS, AND JACKHAMMERS Sound designer Paula Fairfield experimented with a lot of different sound mixes to get the dragons' roars. Zombie Viserion's roar was a mix of jackhammers, rattling bones, and even screaming show fans. CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/2/3/6/864236.jpg)
Dothraki
![CRACKED.COM GAME OF THRONES DOTHRAKI IS A FULL LANGUAGE YOU CAN SPEAK. Linguist David J. Peterson developed the language for Game of Thrones and created others for various films and TV shows.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/2/3/8/864238.jpg)
Arya Stark
![CRACKED.COM GAME OF THRONES OVER 300 GIRLS AUDITIONED FOR ARYA. According to show co-creator David Benioff, casting Arya Stark was incredibly difficult, but as soon as he saw a thumbnail of Maisie Williams' audition video, he knew he finally found the right person.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/2/3/7/864237.jpg)
Pirated
![GAME OF THRONES IT'S THE MOST PIRATED SHOW OF ALL TIME. According to TorrentFreak, Game of Thrones was the most pirated show from 2012 to 2016. The premiere of the final season was pirated 55 million times in just 24 hours. CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/2/4/9/864249.jpg)
Khaleesi
![CRACKED.COM GAME OF THRONES REAL PEOPLE GAVE THEIR KIDS SHOW-RELATED NAMES. For example, Khaleesi was the 755th most popular baby name for girls in 2014. Let that be a lesson, people.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/2/4/6/864246.jpg)