Instruct: Given a question, retrieve relevant passages that can help answer the question.
Query: Who plays Tyrion Lannister in the Game of Thrones TV adaptation?
Since 2011, Dinklage has portrayed Tyrion Lannister in HBO's fantasy drama "Game of Thrones", an adaptation of author George R. R. Martin's "A Song of Ice and Fire" novels. "Game of Thrones" takes place on the fictional continents of Westeros and Essos and chronicles the power struggles among noble families as they fight for control of the Iron Throne of the Seven Kingdoms. Tyrion is a member of House Lannister, one of the wealthiest and most powerful families in Westeros, and uses his status as a Lannister to mitigate the impact of the marginalization and derision he has received all of his life. In May 2009, he was the first actor to be cast, as showrunners David Benioff and D. B. Weiss noted that Dinklage, whom he described as funny, smart and witty, was their first choice for the role, as the actor's "core of humanity, covered by a shell of sardonic dry wit, is pretty well in keeping with the character." Unfamiliar with the source material, Dinklage was cautious in his first meeting with the producers; as a dwarf, "he wouldn't play elves or leprechauns" and was choosy about genre roles. Benioff and Weiss told Dinklage that the character was "a different kind of fantasy little person," or in the actor's words, "No beard, no pointy shoes, a romantic, real human being." Dinklage signed on to play Tyrion before the meeting was half over, in part because, he said, "They told me how popular he was." Martin said of Dinklage's casting, "If he hadn't accepted the part, oh, boy, I don't know what we would have done." The series proved to be a commercial success; it has been renewed for multiple seasons and will conclude with its eighth season in 2019.
Daenerys Targaryen is a fictional character in George R. R. Martin's "A Song of Ice and Fire" series of novels, as well as the television adaptation, "Game of Thrones", where she is portrayed by English actress Emilia Clarke. In the novels, she is a prominent point of view character. She is one of the most popular characters in the series, and "The New York Times" cites her as one of the author's finest creations.
Merchant played Daenerys Targaryen in the unaired pilot of the HBO series "Game of Thrones", based on George R. R. Martin's "A Song of Ice and Fire" series of fantasy novels. The pilot was poorly received, and as a result the first episode was completely remade. Merchant was replaced in her role as Daenerys by Emilia Clarke.
The first season of the fantasy drama television series "Game of Thrones" premiered on HBO on April 17, 2011 in the U.S., and concluded on June 19, 2011. It consists of ten episodes, each of approximately 55 minutes. The series is based on "A Game of Thrones", the first novel in the "A Song of Ice and Fire" series by George R. R. Martin, adapted for television by David Benioff and D. B. Weiss. HBO had ordered a television pilot in November 2008; filming began the following year. However, it was deemed unsatisfactory and later reshot with some roles being recast. In March 2010, HBO ordered the first season, which began filming in July 2010, primarily in Belfast, Northern Ireland, with additional filming in Malta.
In "A Game of Thrones" (1996), Tyrion visits the Stark stronghold of Winterfell with King Robert Baratheon's entourage. While there, Tyrion tries to befriend Ned Stark's bastard son Jon Snow, and provides Ned's recently crippled son Bran with a saddle design to help him ride a horse. On the road home, Tyrion is taken prisoner by Ned's wife Catelyn, who believes he ordered the attempted murder of Bran. Taken to Catelyn's sister Lysa Arryn at the Eyrie, Tyrion demands a trial by combat and is championed by the mercenary Bronn, who wins his freedom. Using his wit and the promise of a reward, Tyrion wins over the hill tribes of the Vale while on his way to the Lannister army camp. Finally impressed with Tyrion's political instincts, his father Tywin appoints Tyrion acting Hand of the King in an attempt to control Joffrey. While at the camp, Tyrion beds a prostitute named Shae and takes her with him to the capital.
HBO Productions purchased the television rights for the "A Song of Ice and Fire" series in 2007 and began airing the fantasy series on their US premium cable channel on April 17, 2011. Titled "Game of Thrones", it ran weekly for ten episodes, each approximately an hour long. Although busy completing "A Dance With Dragons" and other projects, George R. R. Martin was heavily involved in the production of the television series adaptation of his books. Martin's involvement included the selection of a production team and participation in scriptwriting; the opening credits list him as a co-executive producer of the series. The series was renewed shortly after the first episode aired.
In the novel, recounting events from various points of view, Martin introduces the plot-lines of the noble houses of Westeros, the Wall, and the Targaryens. The novel has inspired several spin-off works, including several games. It is also the namesake and basis for the first season of "Game of Thrones", an HBO television series that premiered in April 2011. A March 2013 paperback TV tie-in re-edition was also titled "Game of Thrones", excluding the indefinite article "A".
Each ten-episode season of "Game of Thrones" has four to six directors, who usually direct back-to-back episodes. Alan Taylor has directed seven episodes, the most episodes of the series. Alex Graves, David Nutter, Mark Mylod, and Jeremy Podeswa have directed six each. Daniel Minahan directed five episodes, and Michelle MacLaren, Alik Sakharov, and Miguel Sapochnik directed four each. Brian Kirk directed three episodes during the first season, and Tim Van Patten directed the series' first two episodes. Neil Marshall directed two episodes, both with large battle scenes: "Blackwater" and "The Watchers on the Wall". Other directors have been Jack Bender, David Petrarca, Daniel Sackheim, Michael Slovis and Matt Shakman. David Benioff and D. B. Weiss have directed two episodes together but only credited one each episode, which was determined after a coin toss.
Clarke began her acting career with a small role in a 2009 BBC One series, Doctors. Since 2011, Clarke has gained international recognition, playing the character Daenerys Targaryen in the HBO series Game of Thrones, for which she has been nominated for an Emmy three times. In 2017, Clarke became one of the highest paid actors on television and earned £2 million per episode of "Game of Thrones".
Introduced in 1996's "A Game of Thrones", Viserys (along with his younger sister, Daenerys) is one of the last confirmed members of House Targaryen who, until fifteen years before the events of the first novel, ruled on the Iron Throne for nearly three hundred years.
"Beyond the Wall" is the sixth and penultimate episode of the seventh season of HBO's fantasy television series "Game of Thrones", and the 66th overall. It was written by series co-creators David Benioff and D. B. Weiss, and directed by Alan Taylor. At 70 minutes, it was the series' longest episode until the airing of the season's finale.
In "A Game of Thrones", Jon Snow is introduced as the 14-year-old illegitimate son of Eddard "Ned" Stark, Lord of Winterfell, and half-brother to Robb, Sansa, Arya, Bran and Rickon. Jon is described as having strong Stark features with a lean build, long face, dark brown hair and grey eyes. Jon has the surname "Snow" (customarily used for illegitimate children in the North) and is resented by Ned's wife Catelyn, who views him as a constant reminder of Ned's infidelity. Jon is the same age as Robb and enjoys a warm relationship with his siblings, particularly the tomboy Arya (who resembles Jon and like him does not feel like she fits in). Ned treats Jon as much like his other children as propriety and his honor will allow. Still, as somewhat of an outsider, Jon has learned to be independent and to fend for himself when necessary. Jon idolizes his father, but is wounded by Ned's refusal to tell him about his mother. At the beginning of the story, Jon adopts the albino direwolf that he names Ghost. He later finds that at times he can "inhabit" the wolf and share its experiences.
Past cast members including Jason Biggs, Seann William Scott, Eugene Levy, Alyson Hannigan, Chris Klein, Mena Suvari, Thomas Ian Nicholas, Tara Reid, Natasha Lyonne, Eddie Kaye Thomas, Shannon Elizabeth, Chris Owen, Jennifer Coolidge, and John Cho all appear in the film as their respective characters.
On April 21, 2016, HBO officially ordered the seventh season of "Game of Thrones", just three days prior to the premiere of the show's sixth season. In a June 2016 interview with "Variety", co-creators David Benioff and D. B. Weiss revealed the seventh season would likely consist of fewer episodes, stating at the time of the interview that they were "down to our final 13 episodes after this season. We're heading into the final lap." Director Jack Bender, who worked on the show's sixth season, said that the seventh season would consist of seven episodes. Benioff and Weiss stated that they were unable to produce 10 episodes in the show's usual 12 to 14 month time frame, as Weiss said "It's crossing out of a television schedule into more of a mid-range movie schedule." HBO confirmed on July 18, 2016, that the seventh season would consist of seven episodes, and would premiere later than usual in mid-2017 because of the later filming schedule. Later it was confirmed that the season would debut on July 16. The seventh season of the series includes its longest episode, with the finale running for 81 minutes. The penultimate episode also runs for 71 minutes – around 16 minutes longer than an average "Game of Thrones" episode. The first five episodes mostly run longer than average (55 minutes), at 59, 59, 63, 50, and 59 minutes respectively. The previous longest episode in the series was the sixth-season finale, "The Winds of Winter", which ran for 69 minutes.
Lord Eddard "Ned" Stark (Sean Bean) is the head of House Stark, whose members are involved in plot lines throughout most of the series. He and his wife, Catelyn Tully (Michelle Fairley), have five children: Robb (Richard Madden), the eldest, followed by Sansa (Sophie Turner), Arya (Maisie Williams), Bran (Isaac Hempstead-Wright) and Rickon (Art Parkinson), the youngest. Ned's illegitimate son Jon Snow (Kit Harington) and his friend, Samwell Tarly (John Bradley), serve in the Night's Watch under Lord Commander Jeor Mormont (James Cosmo). The Wildlings living north of the Wall include young Gilly (Hannah Murray), and warriors Tormund Giantsbane (Kristofer Hivju) and Ygritte (Rose Leslie).
Well received by critics and fans alike, Clarke received Primetime Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for her performance as Daenerys in the HBO series in 2013, 2015, and 2016. She has also earned many other nominations and accolades for her portrayal.
Daenerys Targaryen is the daughter of King Aerys II Targaryen (also referred to as "The Mad King") and his sister-wife Queen Rhaella, and is one of the last survivors of House Targaryen. She serves as the third-person narrator of thirty-one chapters throughout "A Game of Thrones", "A Clash of Kings", "A Storm of Swords", and "A Dance with Dragons". She is the only monarch or claimant to a throne given point of view chapters in the novels. Thirteen years before the events of the series (sixteen in the television series), after her father and eldest brother Rhaegar were killed during Robert's Rebellion, Daenerys was born in the midst of a great storm, earning her the nickname "Stormborn". Rhaella died in childbirth and Daenerys was whisked away to Braavos with her older brother Viserys by the Master of Arms of the Red Keep, Ser Willem Darry. Darry died when Daenerys was five and she and Viserys spent the following years wandering the Free Cities. By the beginning of "A Game of Thrones", Daenerys has been a guest of Illyrio Mopatis in Pentos for half a year. "Game of Thrones" creators D. B. Weiss and David Benioff described Daenerys as a combination of Joan of Arc, Lawrence of Arabia, and Napoleon.
In February 2015, a low-budget TV adaptation titled "Winter Dragon", based on the prologue to "The Eye of the World", was aired on FXX. It starred Max Ryan as Lews Therin Thelamon and Billy Zane as Ishamael. It aired with no announcements or publicity. Harriet McDougal initially stated she was unaware of the show ahead of time, and that the film rights to "The Wheel of Time" were set to revert to the Bandersnatch Group, her company, a few days later on February 11, 2015. Her comments triggered a lawsuit with Red Eagle, which was ultimately dismissed during settlement talks that July. In an interview with io9 Rick Selvage, CEO of Red Eagle Entertainment stated "it was more of an [issue of] getting it on the air." A spokesman for FXX stated that the channel was paid to air the show, but Selvage hinted that it was indeed produced with a future series in mind. "We think there's huge demand for the television series internationally, and we're looking forward to producing it and getting it out in the marketplace."
The Game of Thrones Tapestry is a hand-woven tapestry which currently stands at 66 m (217 ft) long, which was opened to the public on 21 July 2017 at the Ulster Museum in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Once finished, it will be longer than its inspiration, the Bayeux Tapestry, at 77 m (253 ft). The tapestry tells the entire story of the television show, "Game of Thrones". It consists of six 11 metre long panels of hand-woven fabric, and one 10.5 metre panel. The seven panels depict scenes from each episode of the aired seasons. After season 8 is aired in 2019, the tapestry is planned to grow to reflect that season's six episodes.
Shepard's book series "Pretty Little Liars" and "The Lying Game" have both been turned into television series by ABC Family (now under the name of Freeform). The "Pretty Little Liars" series of novels is "loosely based on her experiences growing up in Chester County. The adaptation television series "Pretty Little Liars" lasted for 7 seasons. It also had a short-lived spin-off starring cast member Tyler Blackburn as Caleb Rivers, entitled "Ravenswood". Actresses Troian Bellisario, Ashley Benson, Shay Mitchell, and Lucy Hale star as the main characters Spencer Hastings, Hanna Marin, Emily Fields and Aria Montgomery. Shepard had a cameo on two episodes of the show: "The Homecoming Hangover" and "I'm a Good Girl, I Am".
The U.S.-based Sci Fi Channel broadcast a three-hour loose adaptation for television of "A Wizard of Earthsea" and "The Tombs of Atuan" in December 2004, and it was broadcast on Channel 4 in the UK in Easter 2005 in two parts. Titled "Legend of Earthsea", it angered fans of the Earthsea novels (and Le Guin herself) with the announcement that Ged and the vast majority of the other characters would be played by Caucasians and with the Dramatis personæ posted on the official website (see below), which featured several original characters such as "The Archmagus", "King Tygath", "Diana", "Penelope", "Marion", and several references to "Kargide" (not Kargad, Karg, or Kargish) characters. The religious practices of Atuan were portrayed differently and the celibacy of Earthsea wizards overlooked as Ged and Tenar become sexually involved.
Jon Snow is first introduced in "A Game of Thrones" (1996), as he and his five siblings adopt six orphaned direwolf cubs. Known by all as Ned Stark's illegitimate son and with Ned's wife Catelyn despising him, Jon has always felt removed from the rest of the Stark family. He resolves to join the Night's Watch, as his status as a bastard prevents him from holding lands or marrying into a good family. At The Wall, the other recruits resent Jon's aura of superiority, but he makes amends by helping them master swordplay. He also befriends Samwell Tarly, a cowardly lordling who, despite being helpless with weapons, displays an aptitude for book learning. Jon's independence and his compassion for the recruits invite the ire of the harsh master-at-arms Alliser Thorne, who sees Jon as a threat to his authority. Jon gains the notice of the Lord Commander, Jeor Mormont, who names Jon his personal squire and grooms Jon for command. After learning of his father's execution, Jon resolves to desert the Night's Watch and join his half brother Robb, but the other recruits convince Jon to remain loyal to his Night's Watch vows. The next night, Jon saves Mormont's life by killing an undead wight. Mormont then orders a Great Ranging beyond the Wall to learn more of this new threat.
Introduced in "A Game of Thrones" (1996) and subsequently appeared in "A Clash of Kings" (1998) and "A Storm of Swords" (2000), Tywin Lannister is the fearsome patriarch of the House Lannister of Casterly Rock, and father to Cersei, Jaime and Tyrion Lannister. He is the Warden of the West and the lord paramount of Westerlands, the wealthiest region of the Seven Kingdoms, and was twice the Hand of the King, making him one of the most powerful political figures in Westerosi history. Tywin is a prominent antagonist to Tyrion, whom he despises since the latter's childhood for being a dwarf and causing the death of his wife Joanna during labor, and is a primary influencing factor behind Tyrion's story arc.
As "A Game of Thrones" begins, Tyrion is a witty, hedonistic curiosity, protected by his family status but still the object of subtle derision. He is perhaps the most intelligent member of his family but is consistently underestimated and marginalized. Tyrion embraces the advantages of being a Lannister but at the same time is all too aware of its negative aspects and his own place as the embarrassment of the family. Initially he is the one Lannister remotely sympathetic to the Starks but he is soon caught in the middle of the conflict between the two Houses. Taken prisoner and put on trial for his life, "all of his skills at conniving must be brought to bear simply to stay alive". With the Starks and Lannisters fully at war, Tywin tasks Tyrion to manage affairs at King's Landing, recognizing that his son is intelligent and has inherited his skills with statecraft. In "A Clash of Kings", Tyrion relishes his new power but finds that his sincere efforts to stabilize his nephew Joffrey's rule are being undermined and thwarted by the misguided and self-serving machinations of everyone around him. He plots to nullify the counterproductive whims of Joffrey and Cersei but the "much-maligned dwarf" finds himself "teetering between order and disaster as he tries to keep the Lannisters from losing absolutely everything". Thomas M. Wagner calls it a "defining moment" when Tyrion comments that he is all that keeps chaos from overwhelming the family and population who both despise him. Roberta Johnson of "Booklist" likens Tyrion to the calculating title character of Robert Graves' "I, Claudius".
In "A Game of Thrones" (1996), Tyrion is introduced as the third and youngest child of wealthy and powerful Tywin Lannister, the former Hand of the King, and Joanna Lannister, who dies giving birth to him. Tyrion's elder sister Cersei is the Queen of Westeros by virtue of her marriage to King Robert Baratheon, and Cersei's male twin Jaime is one of the Kingsguard, the royal bodyguard. Described as an ugly ("for all the world like a gargoyle"), malformed dwarf with different colored eyes, green and black, Tyrion possesses the golden blond hair of a Lannister but has a complicated relationship with the rest of them. While he is afforded the privilege and luxuries of his family, he is treated as a "second class noble" because of his stature. Tyrion's mother Joanna died giving birth to him and Tywin and Cersei loathe him because they blame him for her death. While Tywin bears no affection for Tyrion, he nevertheless feels a sense of duty to his son, raising him in the Lannister fold and extending Tyrion a share of the family wealth. In contrast to Tywin and Cersei, Jaime has great affection for Tyrion and treats him with kindness, respect, friendship and love. Lev Grossman of "Time" wrote in 2011:
Tyrion is intelligent, witty, well-read, and shares his father's skill for business and political maneuvering. Grossman describes the character as "a bitter, cynical, high-born dwarf", calling him "Martin's Falstaff". David Orr of "The New York Times" notes Tyrion to be "a cynic, a drinker, an outcast and conspicuously the novels' most intelligent presence". As an outcast, he displays sympathy for other outcasts and the otherwise mistreated; the TV series version of the character commiserates with the illegitimate son of Ned Stark by saying "All dwarfs are bastards in their father's eyes." Still, he is usually seen for his deformities and vices, rather than his virtues and good deeds. Tom Shippey of the "Wall Street Journal" points out that other characters underestimate Tyrion: "His dwarf-status acts as a kind of protection, because—though he is probably the most intelligent character in the whole cast list—no one takes him seriously." Acknowledging that Tyrion's wit, humor and cunning are his survival mechanism, actor Dinklage told "The New York Times" that "He knows he has no skills with the sword and this is a world that is really deeply violent. Military rules. He would not be able to survive in that world, given his own strength. So he beats people to the punchline—he's entertaining."
Tyrion Lannister, also referred to as "the Imp" or "the Halfman" and, while in exile, by the alias Hugor Hill, is a fictional character in the "A Song of Ice and Fire" series of epic fantasy novels by American author George R. R. Martin and its television adaptation "Game of Thrones". He is a prominent point of view character in the novels. Based on an idea that came to Martin while writing the 1981 novel "Windhaven", Tyrion has been called one of the author's finest creations and most popular characters by "The New York Times". Martin has named the character as his favorite in the series.