Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Game of Thrones: The HBO show sex scene that was ruined by a ‘visibly excited’ horse

George RR Martin revealed the moment in a new book about the series

Jacob Stolworthy
Thursday 17 September 2020 08:21 BST
Comments
Game of Thrones Season 6 Trailer
Leer en Español

A Game of Thrones sex scene was extremely difficult to film thanks to a nearby "randy" horse.

George RR Martin, the author of the HBO show's source material, was present for the moment that featured in the show's original pilot, which was eventually scrapped.

The scene in question saw Jason Momoa's character Khal Drogo have sex with Daenerys, who was played in the original pilot by Tamzin Merchant. It took place on their wedding night.

In new book Fire Cannot Kill a Dragon,  the author recalls how the animal grew "visibly excited" watching the scene play out.

“So we’re by this little brook," the excerpt reads. "They tied the horses to the trees and there’s a seduction scene by the stream. Jason Momoa and Tamzin are naked and ‘having sex’.

"And suddenly the video guy starts to laugh. The silver filly was not a filly at all. It was a colt. And it was getting visibly excited by watching these two humans."

Martin continues: “There’s this horse in the background with this enormous horse schlong. So that didn’t go well either.”

A version of the same scene appeared in the pilot that eventually aired in 2011.

Emilia Clarke replaced Merchant for the new pilot and series, which eventually ran for eight seasons.

Emilia Clarke replaced Tamzin Merchant as Daenerys in ‘Game of Thrones'

The only other actor who was brought in for the new pilot was Michelle Fairley, who went on to play Lady Catelyn Stark.

Game of Thrones is available to watch on NOW TV.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in