“Game of Thrones” stars past and present filled Radio City Music Hall earlier this month for the world premiere of the first episode of the fantasy saga’s eighth and final season, which debuts Sunday on HBO. But in their speech before the screening, the creators David Benioff and D.B. Weiss gave some of their deepest thanks to someone who most of the crowd probably wouldn’t recognize.

“We only made it this far because of Bernadette Caulfield, the greatest producer alive,” Benioff said.

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Caulfield, an executive producer for the show, isn’t as familiar to fans as Benioff or Weiss or actors like Emilia Clarke (who plays the dragon queen Daenerys Targaryen), Sophie Turner (Sansa Stark) and Lena Headey (Cersei Lannister). But for those people, she is the real star of “Game of Thrones.”

“She’s the beating heart of our show,” Clarke said.

“The woman that I want to grow up to be like,” Turner said.