Instruct: Given a question, retrieve documents that can help answer the question.
Query: Who plays Daenerys Targaryen in the Game of Thrones TV series?
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Dinklage's performance was praised; "The Boston Globe" called his Tyrion one of the show's "highlights", adding that Dinklage "gives a winning performance that is charming, morally ambiguous, and self-aware." Matt Roush of "TV Guide" told viewers to "rejoice in the scene-stealing bravado of Peter Dinklage as the wry 'imp' Tyrion Lannister." The "Los Angeles Times" wrote "In many ways, "Game of Thrones" belongs to Dinklage" even before, in Season 2, the "scene-stealing actor's" character became the series' most central figure. "The New York Times" noted that as beloved as the character of Tyrion is to the novels' fans, "Dinklage's sly performance has made Tyrion all the more popular." "The Huffington Post" called Tyrion the "most quotable" character on the HBO series, as well as one of the most beloved.
In Pentos, a city-state of Essos, a continent to the east of Westeros, Viserys Targaryen, son of the king overthrown by Robert Baratheon, betroths his sister Daenerys to Khal Drogo, a warlord of the nomadic Dothraki, in exchange for the use of Drogo's army to reclaim the throne of Westeros. Illyrio, a wealthy merchant who has been supporting the penniless Targaryens and brokered the marriage, gives Daenerys three petrified dragon eggs as a wedding gift. Jorah Mormont (son of Jeor Mormont), a knight exiled from Westeros, joins Viserys as an adviser. Daenerys is a 13 year old, dominated by her older brother, and is surprised when Jorah describes Viserys as a future tyrant. Jorah further tells Daenerys that the "common folk" do not long for a Targaryen restoration as believed by Viserys and are indifferent to the "game of thrones" played by the elite, just wanting to live in peace.
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".
Tyrion Lannister (season 1–present) portrayed by Peter Dinklage. Nicknamed "The Imp" or "Halfman", Tyrion Lannister of House Lannister is the younger brother of Cersei and Jaime Lannister. He is a dwarf; and his mother died during his birth, for which his father, Tywin Lannister, blames him. While not physically powerful, Tyrion has a cunning mind and often uses to his advantage the fact that others constantly underestimate him.
Introduced in "A Game of Thrones" (1996) and subsequently in "A Clash of Kings" (1998) and "A Storm of Swords" (2000), Tyrion was one of a few prominent characters that were not included in "A Feast for Crows" (2005) but returned in the next novel "A Dance with Dragons" (2011). The character will also appear in the forthcoming volume "The Winds of Winter". The popularity of the character led Martin and Bantam Books to publish "The Wit & Wisdom of Tyrion Lannister", an illustrated collection of Tyrion quotes from the novels, in 2013.
"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" (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.
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).
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.
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.
Karolina Dean is portrayed by Virginia Gardner in the Hulu television series "Runaways" which is set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. This version of the character is half human and half alien.
Thronecast is a British television series on Sky Atlantic which is presented by Sue Perkins and Jamie East. It is an aftershow to "Game of Thrones", which also airs on the channel. Each episode is an hour in length and features interviews with members of the cast and crew, interaction with the audience and social media alongside analysis of the previous episode and a preview of the next episode of "Game of Thrones". It was the only official aftershow for the American series until HBO aired "After the Thrones" in 2016 – a show which was cancelled after only one series.
The ten episodes of the first season of "Game of Thrones" were released as a DVD and Blu-ray box set on March 6, 2012. The box set includes extra background and behind-the-scenes material but no deleted scenes, since nearly all the footage shot for the first season was used. The box set sold over 350,000 copies in the first week after release, the largest first-week DVD sales ever for an HBO series, and the series set an HBO-series record for digital-download sales. A collector's-edition box set was released in November 2012, combining the DVD and Blu-ray versions of the first season with the first episode of season two. A paperweight in the shape of a dragon egg is included in the set.
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.
"Game of Thrones" rapidly became a critical and commercial success after it started airing in April 2011. A few days after ratings for the second season's premiere, "The North Remembers", hit a series high of 8.3 million viewers, HBO announced the show's renewal for a third season. Prior to that announcement, there had been rumors and reports that showrunners David Benioff and D. B. Weiss planned to shoot seasons three and four simultaneously. Benioff said that this would be very efficient, but impossible to write.
Game of Thrones: Season 1 is the soundtrack album for the first season of HBO series "Game of Thrones". Composed by Ramin Djawadi, it was released on June 14, 2011 for digital download and on CD. Djawadi accepted the task 10 weeks before the show premiered, after Stephen Warbeck left the project. The soundtrack has received neutral to favorable reviews and peaked at #17 on the U.S. Soundtrack Albums chart. It was nominated for International Film Music Critics Association for "Best Original Score for a Television Series".
Daenerys is one of the most popular characters of the book series. "The New York Times" called Daenerys, together with Tyrion Lannister and Jon Snow, one of Martin's "finest creations". "Rolling Stone" ranked Daenerys Targaryen at No. 1 on a list of "Top 40 "Game of Thrones" Characters", calling her story a "non-stop confrontation with complex ideas about sex, war, gender, race, politics and morality". Matthew Gilbert of "The Boston Globe" called her scenes "mesmerizing". "Salon"'s Andrew Leonard, in his review of "A Dance with Dragons", called Daenerys one of the series' three strongest characters, and bemoaned her lack of inclusion in "A Feast for Crows". The website Mashable recognized her as one of the five most popular characters on the series, while "The Daily Beast" referred to her as the "closest thing the series has to a protagonist".
Viserys Targaryen is the second born son of Aerys II Targaryen. Thirteen years before the events of the series, he and his sister Daenerys fled Westeros to escape death at the hands of rebel Robert Baratheon. Viserys is an arrogant, cruel and ambitious man given to violent mood swings. In "A Game of Thrones", he sells his sister as a wife to the Dothraki Khal Drogo, as a means to secure the allegiance of Drogo's army toward his goal of reclaiming the throne. Frustrated with Drogo, Viserys demands a crown and threatens Daenerys and her unborn child; Drogo kills him by pouring a pot of molten gold over his head.
Viserys Targaryen (season 1) portrayed by Harry Lloyd. Viserys Targaryen is the exiled prince and heir of the Targaryen dynasty. Known as "The Beggar King" for his search for an army to recapture his throne. A narcissist, he is arrogant and self-centered, caring only about himself and looking down on others especially to his sister Daenerys. In exchange for an army to help regain the Iron Throne, Viserys marries off his sister to the powerful Dothraki warlord Khal Drogo and follows his horde's journey to the Dothraki capital to ensure Drogo will keep his end of the bargain. But as they journey, it becomes evident that Viserys does not have leadership skills to reclaim the throne as his arrogance and disrespect for the Dothraki does not win him any hearts. Furthermore, Daenerys, who he has always threatened throughout his life, starts to stand up to him. Realizing that Daenerys is loved by the Dothraki and her and Drogo's unborn son is prophesized to unite the world, Viserys realizes that it is not he but Daenerys who will reclaim the Iron Throne. In a fit of drunken rage, he threatens Drogo to give him his army now or he will kill his unborn son. Having enough of his behavior, Drogo kills Viserys by giving him a "Golden Crown"; molten gold poured over his head. Daenerys later names one of her dragons Viserion, as a tribute to Viserys.
Introduced in 1996's "A Game of Thrones", Daenerys is one of the last two surviving members (along with her older brother, Viserys) of House Targaryen, who, until fourteen years before the events of the first novel, had ruled Westeros from the Iron Throne for nearly three hundred years. She subsequently appeared in "A Clash of Kings" (1998) and "A Storm of Swords" (2000). Daenerys was one of a few prominent characters not included in 2005's "A Feast for Crows", but returned in the next novel "A Dance with Dragons" (2011).