Sean Bean says he "kind of dipped in and out" of watching Game of Thrones following his character Ned Stark's death

Fans were shocked when Sean Bean admitted in an interview that he wasn't familiar with every episode of Game of Thrones! The actor who played Ned Stark (the main character of the first few seasons of the show) admitted that he only watched parts of the series after his character passed away.

Bean described his occasional viewing habits on Josh Horowitz's Happy Sad Confused podcast. He said in his relaxed accent:

"I kind of dipped in and out."

He attributed this to being abroad during much of the show's run:

"I think I was out of the country the whole time. Years."

Horowitz jokingly offered Bean a DVD box set, insisting he'd enjoy it. Bean laughed off the suggestion. His admission only shows us how actors sometimes disconnect from their own iconic projects.

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Ned Stark's death on Game of Thrones

Bean's indifference to later seasons makes total sense. Before Season 1 concluded, his character, Lord Eddard "Ned" Stark, was slain. Viewers were taken aback by that moment, which forever changed TV storytelling. Ned ruled the North with a stiff upper lip and quiet honor before that sword came down. He had seen too much dishonesty to express his emotions.

Ned was the second son of Rickard Stark in the books. Jon Arryn raised him in the Vale, got close to Robert Baratheon, took part in Robert's Rebellion, and later married Catelyn Tully so as to consolidate his political position. But underneath all that northern ice? A man who refused to play the Game of Thrones.

Bean himself put it plainly: Ned's death wasn't the end.

"He left a family (…) and they carried on his legacy," the actor noted.

Years after Ned's head rolled, his kids drove the story, be it with Arya's revenge missions or Jon Snow's heroics. The Stark stamp stayed put!

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"We had no expectations of [Game of Thrones] continuing," Bean said

Before Game of Thrones became HBO's biggest hit, Sean Bean remembered its shaky start. The OG pilot, directed by Tom McCarthy, got scrapped after disappointing executives.

Imagine finishing what seemed like another medieval job, unaware you'd just filmed TV's most famous beheading! Yet Bean's down-to-earth approach might explain why fans still love his Ned Stark. He played him as a man committed to doing right, even in a nest of schemers.

Bean's admission that he never watched the later seasons fits his character. Ned wouldn't have stuck around for dragons or throne games either. He'd have headed back to Winterfell, ale in hand, muttering, "Seen enough."

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Ned Stark's shadow on Game of Thrones

Even as Sean Bean skipped watching later episodes, his character, Ned Stark, remained central to Game of Thrones. Fans saw Ned as the moral compass, grounding the fantasy world in human values. Years after the controversial finale, viewers consider him the heart of the story.

Ironically, Bean had the chance to avoid seeing the misery of his character's kids, the Night King's loss, and the online protests over Daenerys' fate. Because he stopped early, he only saw the beginning before the tragedy.

Bean did not have to complete Game of Thrones, as his character had already shown fans that honor rarely survives the game in Westeros.

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