A ‘Game Of Thrones’ Director Leaps To ‘Nicest Guy In The World’ Ed Sheeran’s Defense

It didn’t take long for the first Game of Thrones controversy of the season.

For no particular reason, other than Maisie Williams is a fan, ginger Muppet Ed Sheeran played a Lannister soldier in Sunday’s premiere, “Dragonstone.” Did he sing? Of course. Was he a distracting celebrity presence on a show that loves stunt-casting musicians, like the guys from Coldplay or Sigur Rós, but usually doesn’t let them speak? Yes. Is he “one of the nicest guys in the world”? According to Jeremy Podeswa, who directed the episode, also yes.

After the “Castle on the Hill” singer quit Twitter over the overwhelmingly negative response to his cameo, Podeswa came to his defense, telling Variety, “It was lovely working with Ed.” He continued, “He is one of the nicest guys in the world… He’s lovely, he’s a team player, he wants to do a good job, he takes direction, he’s very open. He’s a big fan of the show and he was really excited to be a part of it. I think his lovely voice was used to great effect and he just has a really nice presence. He blends into the world of the show in a nice way where if you didn’t have all these associations with him and his musical career, nobody would even blink about his presence on the show.”

To be fair, Sheeran wasn’t the most distracting thing about that scene.

Who knew there was a drinking age in Westeros? I always assumed the average child finishes his or her first keg of ale at the same time as they’re learning to walk. That would explain the stumbling.

(Via Variety)

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