Another Week, Another Big 'Game of Thrones' Cameo You Probably Missed

After missing the cameos from Silicon Valley's Martin Starr and It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia's Rob McElhenney or the passing reference to what befell the character briefly played by Ed Sheeran, you may have vowed to never miss another cameo...

chris stapleton game of thrones
HBO
HBO
This post contains spoilers up through Game of Thrones Season 8, Episode 3 "The Long Night." Visit Beyond the Wall, our official Game of Thrones hub page for recaps, theories, spoilers, explainers, and the best episodes of all time.

After missing the cameos from Silicon Valley's Martin Starr and It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia's Rob McElhenney or the passing reference to what befell the character briefly played by Ed Sheeran, you may have vowed to never miss another Game of Thrones cameo. Unfortunately, you probably missed the one that came during "The Long Night."

That's because basically everyone missed this one. You almost had to know that country star Chris Stapleton was going to make an appearance and exactly when that appearance would occur if you were going to catch it. Even then, you might have missed it. Nonetheless, he was there, playing a Wildling turned White Walker as the Night King's army attempted to sack Winterfell and kill everyone you love on the show

You can catch the fleeting glimpse of the singer-songwriter as Jon Snow charged after the Night King on the battlefield. Stapleton counts himself among the show's many ravenous fans, reports Rolling StoneSo, he had his management reach out to the show about the possibility of a cameo. Stapleton, his bass player J.T. Cure, and his tour manager all got to get undead.

"I was like, you know, I would gladly fly to wherever in the world just to be a small part and get to watch that show going down," Stapleton said. "They were gracious enough to let me come participate that way."

Stapleton's wife posted a video of the cameo that pauses when the singer appears. It's very much a blink and you'll miss it moment. (Not aided at all by this being a particularly dark episode.)

"They knew we weren’t actors," he told the publication. "So the direction was basically, we’re going to place you, and when we tell you to, open your eyes. And they trained us on how White Walkers are supposed to stand up and move when they’re first waking up."

There have been many cameos over the show's run, especially from musicians. Those cameos have included Mastodon, Sigur Ros, Of Monsters and Men, and, of course, Ed Sheeran. Though there are only three episodes remaining, it's hard to imagine we've seen the last cameo it has to offer. 

h/t Rolling Stone

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Dustin Nelson is a Senior Staff Writer on the news team at Thrillist. Follow him @dlukenelson.