Not much of an Ed Sheeran fan? Hodor from 'Game of Thrones' reveals he hated that season 7 cameo too
Remember the episode 'Dragonstone' - season 7 episode 1 - from 'Game of Thrones', where out of the blue, an Ed Sheeran dressed in Westerosi grab makes an appearance, bonding with the Lannister soldiers and serenading Arya Stark? If you happen to be amongst the fans who thought that the pop star's cameo was a little too much, you are not alone.
In the premiere episode, to the surprise or rather shock of many viewers, the ginger-haired singer made a blink-and-miss appearance and even sang a song. As a result, the Internet exploded, and thousands of memes and puns were floated around. And rightfully so, after all, the cameo sort of takes one away from the plot, or like the actor who brought to life the fan-favorite Hodor would say, "takes out right out of the world".
“I’m not a fan of the cameos in ‘Game of Thrones.’ I don’t like them. I think it’s stupid. I don’t mind going on the record on that. I just think it takes you right out of the world,” opening up about the now-infamous cameo, GOT star Kristian Nairn recently told Huffington Post. “Especially Ed Sheeran. 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’?”
In Nairn's opinion, the celebrity appearances - something that has become quite common on the series - are sort of a snap back into reality. And this makes sense as well, given that Sheeran is a pop culture icon and his star status makes him stick out of the rather bleak and pre-medieval atmosphere of the HBO series like a sore thumb.
“I’m not saying I’m not a fan of Ed Sheeran. I’m being tactful here, but just not a fan of the cameo. I think most people would agree with me there. It was a big snap to reality. It’s like, ‘What? What?’” said the actor, whose role was cut short in 'Game of Thrones' season 6, after the fateful turns of events in episode 5, 'Hold the door'. “It’s a fantasy show. We’re all caught in this amazing world and spend so much time and money and talent to create, and all of a sudden there’s a pop star? What?”
While Sheeran's cameo wasn't the first celebrity appearance on GOT, he definitely received a lot of unforeseen flak over the scene. Days after the episode aired, the singer's name was floated around on social media with trolls using every opportunity to take a jab over the cameo.
Perhaps, Sheeran's immense popularity was one of the reasons why his cameo was not appreciated, unlike other stars who have a brief 'Game of Thrones' credit like Sigur Rós and Coldplay's Will Champion.