Showrunners David Benioff and Dan Weiss confirmed at the SXSW that singer Ed Sheeran will be making a cameo appearance in "Game of Thrones" Season 7. No further details were revealed about the character Sheeran is playing, but some clues suggest potential storylines that may fit the ginger crooner.
According to Entertainment Weekly, Benioff revealed that "Game of Thrones" star Maisie Williams is a big fan of Sheeran and that they had tried for years to bring the singer on the show to surprise the actress. They finally made it happen just in time for the seventh season.
Sheeran isn't the first musician to make a surprise appearance on the Emmy-winning saga. In past seasons, Coldplay's Will Champion, Snow Patrol's Gary Lightbody, Of Monsters and Men, Sigur Rós and Mastadon played a variety of roles. While the members of Sigur Rós and Of Monsters and Men performed as musicians on the show, the boys of Mastadon were unrecognizable as terrifying Wildings.
It is possible Sheeran could either perform on the show or do a daring, more unexpected role. As a matter of fact, there's precedence to this.
The Telegraph reports Sheeran's past acting experience could suggest a possible role for him to play in "Game of Thrones" Season 7. In FX's 2015 series "The Bastard Executioner," the "Shape of You" crooner played a much darker character. He was Sir Cormac, who was described as "an ambitious and deadly protégé of a high-ranking church elder."
He didn't play nice in the medieval series. In one memorable scene, he even demanded a torture to gouge the eyeballs of a prisoner. It's a character far from the romantic, good-guy image Sheeran is known for, but it certainly presents his versatility as an actor.
Given that Sheeran's cameo appearance is a gift for Willliams, it also possible that his character will have scenes with Arya Stark. He could play someone Arya meets on her journey home to Westeros.
"Game of Thrones" Season 7 premieres on HBO this July.