Trivia: One of the severed heads on a spike is that of former president George W. Bush. Before shooting the scene, George RR Martin asked writers and producers David Benioff and D.B.Weis to have a cast of their 3 heads to be put on the spikes, but for budget reasons they opted to get a box from HBO's warehouse with used severed heads. They noted that one was Bush's, but they put a wig on it and got away with nobody noticing. In the Blu-Ray commentary the producers revealed the story, and got a lot of criticism from the right.
Trivia: The horse heart that Daenerys eats was actually made of gelatin, and genuinely tasted dreadful - her physical revulsion at eating it is real. It had dyed pasta to simulate veins, and was injected with fake sugary blood, which attracted flies. The blood was so sticky and ended up covering Emilia Clarke to such an extent that after filming it glued her to the toilet seat.
Trivia: Cersei remarks to Tyrion that she had heard his nose was cut off during the Battle of Blackwater Bay. This is a reference to the books, in which part of Tyrion's nose was indeed cut off.
The Mountain and the Viper - S4-E8
Trivia: Pedro Pascal used to let fans playfully gouge his eyes, in reference to Oberyn Martell's brutal death scene at the end of this episode, which led to him getting an eye infection.
Winterfell - S8-E1
Trivia: The first Greyjoy soldier killed during Yara's rescue is played by an uncredited Rob Mac (formerly known as Rob McElhenny), best known for playing Mac on It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. (00:27:47)
The Mountain and the Viper - S4-E8
Trivia: Towards the end of this episode, Tyrion and Jaime have a discussion about their brain-damaged cousin Orson. This is supposedly a swipe at Ender's Game author Orson Scott Card, who is a harsh critic of the show.
Trivia: Of the 43 actors credited as being part of the main cast, Peter Dinklage is the only American.
Trivia: Although he plays the eldest Baratheon brother Robert, in real life, Mark Addy is nearly 8 years younger than Stephen Dillane, who plays the middle brother, Stannis. Additionally, the real-life age gap between Dillane and Gethin Anthony, who plays the youngest brother, Renly, is more than 26 years.
Trivia: Although they are the show's two top-billed actors, the shot just before Ned Stark and Jon Snow part ways as the former heads to King's Landing and the latter heads to Castle Black is the only shot of the entire series where Sean Bean and Peter Dinklage are on screen together. (00:21:25)
Chosen answer: Considering the show was in production for nearly a decade, it is hardly surprising that many characters were recast. Actors constantly move on to other jobs, creating scheduling conflicts. Some may not want to be tied to one project for so long a period, particularly for relatively minor roles that paid little money. As some characters became more prominent, the producers did recast a few roles with better-known actors. For example, Max Von Sydow replaced the actor who originally played the Three-eyed Raven. Some actors voluntarily left for personal reasons. Jennifer Ehle was originally cast to play Catelyn Stark but dropped out because she'd recently given birth. Other actors claimed they were replaced for "political" reasons. Here is a website with a rundown of which actors were replaced and why: https://screenrant.com/game-thrones-characters-recast-new-actors-every-why/.
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