How GOT Made The "Battle of the Bastards" So Epic
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How GOT Made The "Battle of the Bastards" So Epic

Henry Adams
Updated December 24, 2024 10 items

The stakes were high in the war for Winterfell in Season 6's epic "Battle of the Bastards and not just any director was going to do. HBO wanted Miguel Sapochnik since he did such an amazing job with “Hardhome” in Season 5. The scene took 25 days, 80 horses and riders, 65 stunt actors, seven principle actors, 600 crew members, four camera crews, 500 extras, and 160 tons of gravel to complete.
 
Although BoB was based on two epic fights between Hannibal and the Romans, the most memorable shot comes from an unscripted set of days of shooting. The making of Jon Snow's re-rebirth moment, as he pushes to the surface of a sea of wildlings, was a pieces of magic. The incredible attention to detail, the long hours of labor, and the farting during Kit Harington’s lines (a horse did that, not Tormund), make this episode a stand-out in the series.
 
Let’s look at some of the behind the scenes Game of Thrones facts that’ll make you appreciate the episode even more.

  • The Horses Farted During Kit Harington's Lines

    The Horses Farted During Kit Harington's Lines
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      • HBO
    Using horses on this scale tends to slow down production. In this case, the director said it made the shoot “about 50% longer.” Also, horses don’t care where they drop a deuce or who’s trying to win an Emmy.
     
    Sapochnik is fully familiar with his equine actors. “Horses also get bored and spooked and some perform better than others. They also need an entire separate field to rest in. Oh, and they sh*t and piss all the time.  
     
    "In fact, one of the hardest scenes to shoot was the parlay between the different factions prior to the actual battle. Getting a bunch of horses to just stand there all day and do nothing is much harder than getting them to run around. They would fart and pee a lot, often in the middle of [star Kit Harington’s] lines.” The nerve.

  • The Piles of Bodies Affected the Cast and Crew

    The Piles of Bodies Affected the Cast and Crew
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      • HBO
    Production Designer Deborah Riley said even though she knew the bodies were fake as she and her crew were responsible for dressing each and every one of them in the proper battle gear, it was still “deeply moving.” Other actors said that the deep piles of bodies, even though they were fake, were upsetting and jarring. 
     
    Showrunner David Benioff explained, “It comes from reading real accounts of these various battles both medieval and even more modern ones. You read accounts of battles in the Civil War where the bodies were piled so high they actually became an obstruction on the battlefield.”

  • The Battle Was Inspired by Famous Battles Between Hannibal and the Romans

    The Battle Was Inspired by Famous Battles Between Hannibal and the Romans
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      • HBO
    “Initially, we based BoB on the battle of Agincourt which took place between the French and English in 1415. But as needs changed, as did budgets, it became more like the battle of Cannae between the Romans and Hannibal in 216 BC,” the episode’s director Miguel Sapochnik said. He also noted that it was “The most logistically complicated thing I’ve ever been involved in.”

  • Weather Helped Created That Pivotal Jon Near-Burial Scene

    Weather Helped Created That Pivotal Jon Near-Burial Scene
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      • HBO
    Three days of rain turned the battlefield into a “bog nine inches deep with mud so think things were slowing down, and morale with it,” the director said. The scene could not be shot as written. But what it did allow Sapochnik to do is create one of the most memorable shots from the scene, Jon being trampled by his own men.  
     
    “Turned out as one of my favorite little moments in the sequence. No VFX, no fighting, just Kit giving a stellar performance and a crazy top shot as he pushes his way back out (we affectionately called it the ‘rebirthing’ shot).”

  • 40 Real Horses, One Real Kit Harington

    40 Real Horses, One Real Kit Harington
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      • HBO
    The actor was standing there with nothing but Longclaw as 40 real horses charged full speed straight for him. Harington wants you to know that he did that for real, not CGI. That’s the kind of thing that would make anyone shake in their Night's Watch issue boots even if they have already killed a White Walker. This was David Benioff’s favorite shot of the season, because it’s real.

  • Jon Snow Beat Ramsay Bolton for 10 Hours

    Jon Snow Beat Ramsay Bolton for 10 Hours
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      • HBO
    Miguel Sapochnik shot the scene from every angle he could think of and racked up 10 hours of the bastard on bastard beat down. Notice the way Ramsay seems to be enjoying getting beaten. Harington’s arms had to have been SORE.