One 'Game of Thrones' actress almost got fired for leaking her role
The secrecy surrounding Game of Thrones is formidable, even to viewers who just want to avoid spoilers. Gemma Whelan, who plays Yara Greyjoy, didn't know that her initial casting was meant to stay close to the chest, so she went ahead and updated her resume, much to the chagrin of HBO.
“The first lesson I learnt was when I first got the job. No one told me to keep quiet about it,” she told the U.K. Times. “I just thought it was normal to pop it in my Spotlight entry, so I wrote on my CV, ‘This summer, Gemma will be playing Yara Greyjoy in Game of Thrones.’"
Savvy fans online caught wind of the casting, and the internet had a field day.
"The internet went nuts," Whelan recalled. "One of the lovely, lovely producers on Thrones called me into his office and said, ‘This is very serious. We almost can’t employ you because of this.'”
Almost is right, and Whelan ended up playing Yara for the next six seasons (at least). In the meantime, the producers tightened their nondisclosure agreements, and Season 7 -- premiering July 16 -- is more secretive than ever.
Topics Game Of Thrones HBO
Proma Khosla is a Senior Entertainment Reporter writing about all things TV, from ranking Bridgerton crushes to composer interviews and leading Mashable's stateside coverage of Bollywood and South Asian representation. You might also catch her hosting video explainers or on Mashable's TikTok and Reels, or tweeting silly thoughts from @promawhatup.
