"Once on the chin": When Iwan Rheon talked about a very real fighting scene in Game of Thrones' The Battle of the Bastards

When Game of Thrones debuted "The Battle of the Bastards" in Season 6, it was already hyped as the most suspenseful and seat-of-your-pants battle ever on television.

With the intimate shots and dirty hand-to-hand combat, the episode raised a new bar in physicality for television. What relatively few analysts at the time were yet to understand, however, was just how realistic some of that violence actually turned out to be, specifically for those involved on the ground.

In an interview on Team Coco, Ramsay Bolton star Iwan Rheon admitted that among the battle sequences with Kit Harington, Jon Snow, he took an actual punch. He said,

"Yeah, I mean, he caught me a couple of times. Once on the chin with a shield, which was the worst one. But, like, you know, I just said to him, go for it, mate."

He recalled matter-of-factly, when Harington, attempting to deliver the punch as part of the intense on-set battling, lost his balance. As choreographed as the battle was, so too was the physicality of battle, so that the most rehearsed of moves slipped a little line—and so did this one.

Here's the interview for your reference:

A fiction-meets-reality fight scene in Game of Thrones

The brutal fight scene in Game of Thrones between Jon Snow and Ramsay Bolton was not just a plot turn for the show but also a testament to how hardworking the actors are. The scene required Harington to punch Rheon over and over again to show the pent-up rage of Jon. Even with lots of careful choreography, the intensity of the moment got the better of Harington and caused him to involuntarily punch Rheon.

Rheon didn't even flinch, commenting that these kinds of accidents are just par for the course when filming tough action scenes. He said,

"And if you want it to look as good as possible, you've got to go for it. And if you don't get punched a couple of times, then you're not doing it properly. And I was kind of... So, you know, you've got to do it."

Director Miguel Sapochnik demanded that the raw emotion of the period be attained. Sapochnik shot the beating scene from numerous angles during one day in order to be realistic. Sapochnik described Rheon's commitment by mentioning an occasion when Rheon relaxed his facial muscles during the beating, inducing a startling realism to the scene.

The physical demands of producing "The Battle of the Bastards" in Game of Thrones

Filming the "Battle of the Bastards" in Game of Thrones was a huge project that took 25 days and involved over 500 extras, 600 crew members, and 70 horses. The production tried to achieve medieval warfare brutality and chaos as realistically as possible. The cavalry charge that Jon Snow faced was one of the toughest scenes to film. To others, however, this was not accomplished through computer-generated imagery. Instead, Harington battled 40 horses running towards him, which attests to how realistic the production sought to be.

The scene in Game of Thrones where Jon nearly got buried under a pile of dead bodies was particularly traumatic for Harington. Director Sapochnik has now given credit to the scene as having been inspired by Harington's own phobia of being buried alive. To create the effect of suffocation, the 250 extras stepped on Harington, wearing a prosthetic horse body suit, with a stuntman on top. Precautions were made for safety, but the experience must have been very frightening for the actor.

The use of visual effects in making the most out of realism in Game of Thrones

While the majority of the scene was practiced shot, the visual effects worked to enhance the size and enormity of the battle. Units used digital copying in copying armies, added effects of weather, and featured creatures like Wun Wun, the giant. The effects merge with the practical ones so that they had an excellent, smooth, and engaging experience for the masses.

Character interactions and thematic Depth

The battle between Jon Snow and Ramsay Bolton was ideological, not physical. Rheon described how Ramsay was a character who exercised power over other individuals by intimidation and manipulation, and believed he had total control over everyone. Jon was a representation of honor and determination. Their showdown was the triumph of good over tyranny.

"The Battle of the Bastards" is among the historic Game of Thrones episodes, and the dedication to the show as a method of storytelling, character development, and production. The integration of practical effects, performers' work, and the richness of thematic significance contributed to making it epic.

Trending

The post-facto issues that the cast and crew faced, which the accidental punch demonstrates, attest to how far they went to make an experience to view that lingered.

Also read: 10 times Game of Thrones said “screw your feelings” and we came back for more

×

Was this article helpful?

Thank You for feedback