While stories from the setting continue to be told with a couple of TV spin-offs, what’s impressive is the continued fandom behind Game of Thrones. Millions cross the world to go to its filming locations and studio, and even after its final seasons failed to please many fans, there’s still a tremendous amount of adoration for what came before.
So, it generated a huge profile for its sprawling cast, many of whom were fairly new faces to mainstream audiences. While the show was at its height and in the years since, those actors banked on this, jumping into an array of different films. To this day, those actors are perpetuating a trend of dipping into the horror genre.
From High Fantasy to Boosting Horrors
Horror is in a very healthy place right now, but while Game of Thrones was running, it was seen as a bit of a schlock-y genre that produced far more duds than hits. Bringing in an actor from the prestigious HBO show would help to naturally promote a new horror release while also allowing the actor to explore quite a different genre.
Many members of the core cast dipped into horror either during its run or shortly after, with one of the best films to emerge from this trend being The First Omen. Charles Dance (Tywin Lannister) and Ralph Ineson (Dagmer Cleftjaw), who team up as a couple of English priests, bring an incredible level of presence and prowess to each scene, enhancing it greatly.
Around The First Omen, we also got Voice from the Stone with Emilia Clarke (Daenerys Targaryen), Honeymoon with Rose Leslie (Ygritte), Kit Harington (Jon Snow) and Sophie Turner (Sansa Stark) in The Dreadful, and Harington once again in The Beast Within. There are many more to add to this list, but those are among the most prominent.
Still Huge Appeal in Coming to Horror
Game of Thrones somehow survived its storytelling downfall to remain an icon of pop culture and hugely popular, as are its stars. It’s why we still turn up to see them in their new projects, and why detached studios can create new experiences within the setting to continue to appease the fandom.
A good case in point is the franchise’s new slot game, Game of Thrones Jackpot King, which can be played at an online instant win casino. The game features the soundtrack, the Iron Throne in the King’s Landing throne room, and several of the characters in the show. The aesthetic appeal and being an official GoT game is then further bolstered by the features playing into the battles between the houses depicted in the show.
In circles more mainstream and familiar to the original show, of course, there are two big-budget spin-offs that have earned very high viewership figures. It’s from one of these that we’ll get another entry to the GoT-horror trend. Olivia Cooke (Alicent Hightower), who cut her teeth in horror, will soon return to the surging genre in Visitation, alongside Alfie Allen (Theon Greyjoy).
A member of the original show has also lined up a dive into horror, too. Aidan Gillen (Petyr Baelish) has signed on to star in Black Noise, which is set in Livingstone and being put out by NoW films and Blunt Pictures. It’ll also star Kate Phillips of Peaky Blinders fame.
So, as it turns out, many of the cast of Game of Thrones have been able to escape the backstabbing, dragons, and zombie threats of Westeros by dipping into the horror genre.