175,000 characters have died in Game of Thrones – but I was the first, five minutes into episode one Actor Rob Ostlere discusses his role as the first casualty in returning series Game of Thrones

*Spoilers for seasons 1-7 of Game of Thrones follow*

According to one Game of Thrones fan’s estimate, 174,373 characters have died in the first seven seasons of the blood-drenched fantasy epic (that’s roughly the population of Oxford for anyone who’s asking).

From Ned Stark’s beheading to the mass slaughter of wildlings at Hardhome, author George R. R. Martin and show runners David Benioff and Daniel Brett Weiss haven’t been afraid to quite literally drop the axe on characters, be they expendable extras or central protagonists.

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The first casualty in this seven-year-long carnival of slaughter was Waymar Royce played by actor Rob Ostlere.

Riding through the Haunted Forest beyond the Wall with Night’s Watch comrades Gared and Will, the cocksure rider was sliced in two – lengthways – by a white walker in the opening breaths of the show’s debut episode.

The significance of the grisly, tone-setting death is not lost on Ostlere.

Speaking to i Ostlere says: “One of the most interesting aspects of the show is how willing they are to kill off characters and catch you by surprise.

“After a while I realised how it was significant that I was the first to die.”

And, seven years on from Royce’s offing, Ostlere’s Twitter bio ironically boasts “First one to die in @GameOfThrones”.

Auditioning for Jon Snow and Theon Greyjoy

Ostlere took on the role of Waymar Royce as a green-behind-the-ears drama school graduate.

However, Ostlere originally had his eyes on a different prize.

“I auditioned for Jon and Theon and all sorts of main parts,” he reveals.

This actor’s free-for-all could be hectic, notes Ostlere.

“They’d ask me if I’d like to audition for, say Theon. They’d say, ‘Oh do you want to have a look at this part?’ and you would come in the next day and have a look and study every reference of the given character in the original books, highlight it, make notes.”

“With Jon I just had to give it my best and sometimes you don’t quite get the essence of them – some of them stick well with you, some of them don’t.

“I always liked auditioning for the characters who were kind of arrogant, a little bit of attitude.”

With Jon Snow assigned to Kit Harington and Theon Greyjoy to Alfie Allen, Ostlere was given the role of Waymar Royce, whose father Yohn of House Arryn still plays an integral role in the series.

Despite limited screen time, his stint under the stewardship of Weiss and Benioff left an impression on the then-27-year-old actor.

Ostlere, to his surprise, found the atmosphere to be “laid-back”, despite the pressures on the production team following the disastrous pilot episode.

“You’d think it would be quite high stakes and stressful, but everything was really relaxed and calm,” he says. “I’d never been in a room with that level of people and they were all absolutely lovely and kind.

“It was nice to know early in our careers that these people aren’t always intimidating.”

“[Benioff and Weiss] were always really caring, sending me an email after filming to say thanks.”

Too violent for the show

Two of the three human characters who feature in the Game of Thrones’ season one opening sequence bloodbath are struck dead, while the third is beheaded a scene later by King in the North, Ned Stark.

The same scene serves as the prologue to the first book of George RR Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire series.

Ostlere highlights the significance of this standalone sequence.

“It felt like a short film because we were slightly separate from the Starks and everything going on in that area. The scene itself has its own beginning, middle and end and it almost comes across as a short horror film.

“Us three, other than Bronson who goes on to get his head chopped off, had our own storyline and it’s really important for the rest of the show ongoing.”

As Ostlere alluded to, the show’s opening salvo does differ in tone from the rest of the show. Though blood and gore have become par for the course, the introduction of the white walkers is chilling.

Waymar Royce’s death scene for instance, features the sudden rise of a blue-eyed and white skinned walker, behind the unknowing Night’s Watchman, followed by the swing of a sword and the sudden cut of a scene.

Ostlere reveals that this opening could have been even more chilling had his death taken place on screen.

“We filmed a couple of things that weren’t used. I get sliced in half for instance, but it was too graphic.”

Ostlere detailed the fascinating making of his off-screen death.

“They get a bit of green tape which they put across your body and then there’s that horror movie type scenario where one half of your body goes one way and one half goes the other.

“You fall right first and then you fall the other way and then they put those two together in the studio. It was very fun filming it.”

Returning as a White Walker

Eight years on from Royce’s violent splitting, Game of Thrones has grown into arguably the most successful TV series of all time.

And Ostlere explains that even in its infancy there was a feeling among the acting community that the show would evolve into something special.

“People always say you never know if a show is going to blow up, but you did with Game of Thrones.

“When we were auditioning, it was apparent it was going to be one of the biggest shows on TV.

“There hadn’t been anything of that genre or that scale on TV at that point and there was such a terrific story. There was this feeling that they weren’t scrimping and they were really taking care of everything.”

Despite his fleeting appearance, the actor still receives fan mail and memorabilia for signing, so hardcore is the show’s dedicated fan base.

And as the saying goes in Game of Thrones, “what is dead may never die” – so could fans expect Ostlere to make a return in the show’s approaching final season?

“I wish,” says Ostlere. “My agent probably said eight or nine years ago, ‘Maybe you can come back as a White Walker’ and obviously when I heard about the prequels I was like, ‘Oh my god maybe they’ll do something immediately before Game of Thrones’but they haven’t opted for that.

“I will just be watching as a fan, which is also really nice.”

The Actor’s Career Bible by Rob Ostlere is available to buy online.