Game of Thrones: the Hungarian Connections

Anybody who has an interest in the fantasy genre, or is up on the best series of the past decade, has seen or read Game of Thrones. And if you are new to the books, and have a passing knowledge of Hungarian, you will note a few Hungarian names in the opening chapters, most notably ‘Sándor,’ which is the Hungarian version of Alexander. While there is no evidence author George R.R. Martin had a past with Hungary that he wanted to memorialize, it wouldn’t be the first time a fantasy writer appropriated the mystical atmosphere attributed to Hungary. No other than JK Rowling named a breed of dragon the ‘Hungarian Horntail.’

Though the series wasn’t shot here, because the local film industry has over the years been so successful in attracting foreign productions, many of the stars from Game of Thrones have spent time in Budapest filming other projects. Most prominently Jason Momoa, who played Khal Drogo, a character with ruthless Attila the Hun-like qualities, was in Budapest more than once in recent years.

Momoa was brought to Budapest for the filming of the remake of Dune, which is scheduled for release in September of this year. The actor was here even during the pandemic, as late as August 2020. While in Budapest, Momoa took advantage of all the city had to offer, and posted many snaps of him and his family in front of touristed sites like the Basilica and Parliament. But Momoa took away a piece of Budapest that few visiting stars can also claim: he got tattooed here.

Momoa and family in front of Parliament via Instagram

Momoa plays a heavy in the series, but it turns out, a group of Hungarian actors working as stand-ins took many of the hits in battle scenes, winning a SAG award for their work. Hungary Today reports: “Stand-ins playing in HBO’s fantasy drama series Game of Thrones have won the US Screen Actors Guild’s prize for their oustanding stunt performance for the fourth time in a row since 2012. Hungarian Domonkos Párdányi and his team are among this year’s winners, and for many of them, this is already the second SAG Award during their career. Mr. Párdányi, who stood in for Brad Pitt in the film Troy, was doubling Christian Bale in Exodus during the shooting of the fourth season, meaning that he is not among those awarded.”

So, while Game of Thrones was not indeed filmed in Hungary, like with many pop culture franchises today, Hungary left its mark.

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