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Game of Thrones’ Diana Rigg cut scene short and ‘stormed off’ set

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Updated on July 6, 2023

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The late Dame Diana Rigg had a memorable occasion when she “stormed off set at 0.1mph,” as described by Game of Thrones actor Jessica Henwick.

Rigg played the powerful Olenna Tyrell until her departure in the eighth seasons’ most dignified death, making the shocking revelation that she murdered King Joffrey en route.

Highlights from the impending “Fire Cannot Kill a Dragon” making-of “Game of Thrones” book, in which the cast and crew share amazing memories about the renowned actress, were released a week after Rigg’s demise by Entertainment Weekly.

Dame Diana Rigg is said to have stormed off the Game of Thrones set
Credit: PA:Press Association

One of the many anecdotes in the book, which has gained new poignancy in the wake of Rigg’s passing last week, is provided by Henwick, who in season five played Nymeria Sands, one of Oberyn Martell’s eight daughters known as the “sand snakes.”

“She walked onto the set, and she went, ‘I’m ready now!’” said actress Jessica Henwick, who plays Nymeria. “A cameraman came over and went, ‘Well, okay, but we haven’t finished setting up.’ She interrupted him and said, ‘Roll the cameras!’ And she just started doing her lines. She did two takes, and then the guy came over and was like, ‘Great, now we’re going to do a close-up.’ And she just stood up and she went, ‘I’m done!”

Henwick continued, “Now, she can’t walk fast. She has to be helped. So basically we just sat there and watched as Diana Rigg effectively did her own version of storming off the set, but it was at 0.1 miles per hour. She cracked me up. I loved her.”

Rigg’s performance in Game of Thrones earned her four Emmy nominations. Because of Rigg’s abilities, showrunners D.B. Weiss and David Benioff eventually expanded the role of Olenna.

“We had tea with her,” “Thrones” Benioff says of casting Rigg. “Dames don’t audition for you; you audition for them. We loved her, she was funny, she was bawdy, she was everything we wanted for that character.”

Diana Rigg’s confidence and tenacity on set made director Mark Mylod, who oversaw several episodes of “Thrones” during its run, joke in the book that he was “terrified” of her.

“My very first scene with her, I asked her to do a very minor thing,” Mylod said. “Like, ‘Would it make sense if you close the door and walk a few paces before this moment?’ She came back with some rebuttal about why she wanted to do it another way and then said: ‘Thank you! Go away!’ I became a five-year-old boy. I could feel myself blushing and creeping back to my monitor, stripped of any kind of dignity or authority.”

The beloved Game of Thrones enthusiast died away two weeks ago at home in the company of her family after a covert six-month cancer fight.

After learning of the actress’s passing earlier this month, the Game of Thrones cast flooded social media with tributes.

In 51 episodes of The Avengers in the 1960s, Rigg made her mark as secret agent Emma Peel.

She was also the only Bond girl to wed 007; in Her Majesty’s Secret Service, she wed George Lazenby.

But shortly after the wedding, Rigg, who played Contessa Teresa di Vicenzo, passed away.

She later made an appearance on ITV’s Victoria, and most recently, she played Mrs. Pumphrey in Channel 5’s new All Creatures Great and Small adaptation.

Between 2013 and 2017, she played Olenna in Game of Thrones.

Regarding the position, she stated: “There are some actors who don’t like to play bad; they like to be liked. I love to be disliked. Olenna had the best lines.”