The cast of Game of Thrones will be sharing plenty of uncensored stories from the set while making the hit HBO series, and you can read them in the upcoming book Fire Cannot Kill a Dragon. One subject of the book has just become more timely and important: the influence of late actress Diana Rigg, who played Lady Olenna Tyrell, aka “The Queen of Thorns.” Rigg died at age 82 earlier in September, and Fire Cannot Kill a Dragon offers multiple accounts of how the late dame brought power and grace to the show – and also the time she stormed off the Game of Thrones set!
Marvel’s Iron Fist star Jessica Henwick got her breakout role by playing the fearsome Nymeria Sand, one of the elite female warriors known as “The Sand Snakes” who are bastard daughters of Pedro Pascal’s Oberyn Martell. In Game of Thrones season 6, Rigg’s Lady Olenna plots with the Sand Snakes’ leader, Ellaria Sand (Indira Varma), and that meeting hits a bump when the younger Sand Snakes just can’t seem to keep the chatter down, and the Queen of Thorns has to tell them to ‘Shut up’ and ‘Let the grown women speak.’ According to Jessica Henwick (via EW), Diana Rigg brought real-life attitude to that scene, by storming out of it and off the Game of Thrones set!
Videos by ComicBook.com
“She walked onto the set, and she went, ‘I’m ready now!’” recalls Jessica Henwick. “A cameraman came over and went, ‘Well, okay, but we haven’t finished setting up.’ She interrupted him and said, ‘Roll the cameras!’ And she just started doing her lines. She did two takes, and then the guy came over and was like, ‘Great, now we’re going to do a close-up.’ And she just stood up and she went, ‘I’m done!’”
Of course, like a true woman of dame stature, Rigg didn’t need to make a hasty retreat – no, she apparently made her exit like a true boss!
“Now, she can’t walk fast. She has to be helped,” Henwick continued. “So basically we just sat there and watched as Diana Rigg effectively did her own version of storming off the set, but it was at 0.1 miles per hour. She cracked me up. I loved her.”
You won’t find anyone in the Game of Thrones cast willing to criticize Rigg’s diva personality – least of all the shows’ creators David Benioff and D.B. Weiss. The pair openly praise what Rigg for the show, stealing every scene and creating memorable moments – right up until her epic, take-no-prisoners death scene in season 7.
Fire Cannot Kill a Dragon – the uncensored look at making Game of Thrones will be released on October 6th. You can pre-order it HERE.
