Game of Thrones director reveals scene creators David Benioff and DB Weiss hated

Showrunners didn't approve of directors adding specific flair to episodes

One of Game of Thrones‘s most revered directors has revealed he shot a scene that its creators hated so much it “p***** them off”.

Miguel Sapochnik, the man behind battle episodes “Hardhome” and “Battle of the Bastards”, made his debut on the HBO series with season five episode “The Gift”.

Speaking to IndieWire, Sapochnik explained how he shot an artful scene of Cersei and Tomment through bars in an attempt to symbolise their imprisonment. Later, in Maester Aemon’s death scene, he matched the shot of the character in his bed with a cut to his funeral pyre, all while keeping the character’s pillow under his head.

David Benioff and DB Weiss did not approve.

“[Benioff and Weiss] said [it was] ‘so self-conscious and we hate it', basically,” Sapochnik said, revealing the duo didn’t want the director to add his own specific flair to their show.

“I was visually policed for the first three months of my shoot and it made the creation of ‘Hardhome’ really difficult because I p***** them off,” he admitted.

Due to not rufflng any feathers on ”Hardhome” – a big-budget effects-heavy episode considered one of Game of Thrones‘s best – Sapochnik said that Benioff and Weiss gave him more freedom when he came back to direct “The Battle of the Bastards”.

”Dan and David don’t want to be told you can’t do something,” said Sapochnik. “You need to offer a solution as well.”

Earlier this week, Richard Madden - who played Robb Stark - revealed he was glad to be one of the earlier stars to leave the show.

You can find a ranking of every single Game of Thrones character – form worst to best – here.