Meet the Game of Thrones body doubles who REALLY do the hard work on set
You may do a double take at these on-set doppelgangers
SORRY to burst your bubble, but it wasn’t Lena Hedley doing Cersei’s Walk of Shame or Emilia Clarke doing all of Daenerys’ scenes in the fighting pits of Meereen.
Game of Thrones geeks may need to do a double take at these body doubles who step in for some of the more demanding shots of the popular TV series; here are some of the best.
Rosie Mac as Daenerys
Many know and love Emilia Clarke as Khaleesi, the stunning blonde Mother of Dragons from Game of Thrones.
While she kicks ass on screen, like many big-time stars, has a body double to help shoot some of her scenes.
Stunning Rosie Mac was drafted in to help with filming a few years ago, and fans went wild due to her uncanny resemblance.
She went through the same hair and makeup process as Emilia to transform into the powerful female, and was a dead ringer for the star on set.
She even likes to hang out with Peter Dinklage's body double too.
Ignacio Jimenez Blanco as Daario
Many have swooned over Michiel Huisman’s portrayal of Daario, one of the right hand men of Daenerys.
But the hunky actor has a doppelganger in the form of Ignacio Jimenez Blanco who helped out with some of his scenes.
Speaking to he said: “It’s a lot of fun, but kind of stressful sometimes. You get up around 5 a.m. Then a van picks you up and takes you to the set where people are waiting to put your makeup and dress on.
“Seems easy but only this takes like an hour or more! Then it’s time to get ready to get to work…Everything is so well done (the set, the costumes…) that you actually believe you are there. It’s just amazing.”
Rebecca Van Cleave as Cersei
Eagle-eyed GoT fans were quick to spot that actress Lena Headey had used a body double in her shame scene.
In the scene, her character, Cersei Lannister, had to walk naked through a sea of people throwing filth and garbage.
The body of “nude Cersei” actually belonged to British-American actress, Rebecca Van Cleave, who became a celebrity overnight when her identity was revealed. She now has her own fan club.
She said: “It was one of the scariest, most wonderful, most gratifying experiences I could have imagined.”
Mark Slaughter as Brienne
When The Hound and Brienne had their infamous fight in season four of the show, filming was a long and draining process.
Stepping in for the fearsome pair were two actors who spent nine days in Iceland rolling down hills and battling together.
Mark Slaughter played warrior Brienne, and has also starred as a stunt double in The Legend Of Tarzan, Outlander, Jack The Giant Slayer and In The Heart Of The Sea.
Missandei and Hizdahr zo Loraq
Many of the other characters have body doubles too, such as the characters of Missandei, played by Nathalie Emmanuel, and Hizdahr zo Loraq, played by Joel Fry.
Images show the two characters dressed and styled like their on-screen counterparts, and ready to prepare test shots for the crew.
The best thing about it? They all like to hang out together between takes, making for some epic backstage shots.
They aren't the only ones to use stunt doubles during filming.
Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling used body doubles for their complex dance routines in La La Land.