‘Game of Thrones’ Director Defends Ed Sheeran Cameo, Says He’s ‘Organic’ to the Show

“The truth is, everybody on the show is famous now… So it doesn’t mean anything to me,” Jeremy Podeswa says

Ed Sheeran Maisie Williams Game of Thrones
HBO

It seems at this point that the North will always remember that Ed Sheeran cameo in the “Game of Thrones” Season 7 premiere, which has been controversial, to say the least.

Jeremy Podeswa, the director of the episode, told The Daily Beast that he’s been mostly confused by the reaction. “I’m a bit surprised that people have made that much fuss about it,” he said. “To me, he does seem quite organic, in his own way, to the show.”

Some people found the decision to cast the musician as an unnamed Lannister soldier distracting. They said it took them out of the world of the show to see a big-name real world celebrity on screen. The response has been overwhelming. Less than 24 hours after the episode aired, Sheeran — who had been backing away from Twitter for a while — deleted his account on the social media platform.

However, that didn’t bother Podeswa for a good reason.

“The truth is, everybody on the show is famous now,” he continued. “So it doesn’t mean anything to me. It’s about, are they appropriate for the role? Are they doing a good job? And it was yes, yes, yes to all those questions with him.”

Sheeran’s cameo was announced at SXSW this year. The motivations behind the casting weren’t just to get a big name on the show in a small role, but to surprise actress Maisie Williams, who plays Arya Stark, and is a Sheeran superfan.

“I think she was really happy to have him there, and they do have a lovely rapport,” he said.

And as for working with Sheeran, it couldn’t have gone better.

“He is a lovely person; he’s really down-to-earth. If you didn’t know that he was a pop star or an entertainer of any kind, you would think he’s just one of the guys,” he said.

You can check out TheWrap’s own interview with Podeswa here.

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