Its not exactly uncommon for HBOsGame of Thronesto break a record of some kind.
Such as: The most Emmys ever awarded to a scripted series.
Our stunt coordinator really wanted to get in the Guinness Book of World Records for this.
Credit: Courtesy of HBO
One sequence has 73 fire burns and that itself is a record, Irlam said.
No film or TV show has ever done that in a whole show, let alone in one sequence.
We also set 20 people on fire at one time, which is also a record.
I think inSaving Private Ryanthey had 13 on a beach, and onBraveheartthey had 18 partial burns.
Because of the nature of our attacking animals, we had the liberty to expand on that.
Those attacking animals are, of course, dragons.
Setting even one stuntman on fire, even with modern protective gear, is highly dangerous.
The stuntman is covered with fire-resistant clothes, a cooling gel and a mask.
The whole process takes roughly 30 seconds.
Its totally different from going underwater in your bathtub and counting the seconds in your head, Irlam says.
If somebody bumps you and you breathe in by accident you will breathe in flame.
And the most dangerous part is actually after youre extinguished.
But its always possible the fire could unexpectedly spark back up.
The most dangerous thing is re-ignition, Irlam says.
Theres a good minute of everybody staying down afterward as youre still very flammable at this point.
So filming 20 stuntmen on fire together in a single shot compounded the complexity and danger.
Thankfully, across three weeks of stunt shooting, the production only suffered one stuntman burning his hand.
Overall, Irlam strove to ensure each stuntman set ablaze gave a unique performance which humanized every casualty.
We try very hard to make it really feel like a casualty of war.
Game of Thronesreturns July 16.
