With the internet buzzing about Ed Sheeran’s appearance in the Game of Thrones premiere, I’d like to shift the spotlight to a particular scene that’s very different from the usual violence that fans expect. Instead of the usual blood on blood on blood, we were treated to a rather shitty view (literally) in the Season 7 opener.
John Bradley’s character, Samwell Tarly, performed his duties at the Citadel by cleaning an endless number of chamber pots and then serving soup (that strongly resembled another familiar sight) at meal times. In case you haven’t witnessed the painful scene, check out this 10-minute loop. If you’re grossed out, just imagine what Bradley went through shooting the scene.
“It was shot over a period of about five full days. We’re talking about 50 or 60 hours of shooting all of that. It was quite an experience, really,” John told The Hollywood Reporter.
You’re also probably wondering what the hell was being used as the poop. Surely, it couldn’t have been anything pleasant. Something that color and consistency couldn’t be appetizing. “We used wet fruit cake, for all of the—I don’t know you say it politely,” Bradley said. “It smelled fine, but shooting under lights for 13 hours or so, it can get a little nasty.”
While Bradley filmed nearly 60 hours of the cyclical scene, the remainder of the Game of Thrones cast deserted him for the 2016 Emmys. “Everybody said, ‘The cast has to go to The Emmys for a week. Which is the story that can take care of itself?’ So I was left completely alone scrubbing toilets for a week while they were on the red carpet,” John said. Good friends.
Well, at least fruit cake is good for something.