Yes, the actor who played Withnail is in Game of Thrones, but did you know that the actor who *inspired* Withnail is in it too?

"Withnail is Coming" squealed the viral Photoshop collages, when it was announced that Richard E. Grant was going to feature in Game of Thrones.

It has been previously noted on this blog (here) that the GoT show runners David Benioff and D. B. Weiss must be Withnail fans: giving Diana Rigg a line which included the words "perfumed ponce" is proof if proof be need be.

So it was only a matter of time before REG (as he is known to his fans) appeared in the show. He duly made it to the screen in last week's episode, playing - what else - an actor. It was a cough and a spit of a role, so one hopes he'll be featured again...

Also in the episode, reprising his recurring role as Aeron Greyjoy, was this chap:

That's noted English stage and screen actor Michael Feast. Many years ago, he shared a flat with a few other aspiring young actors. He's the long-haired one sitting in in the middle of this photo...

... and yes, standing on the left is Bruce Robinson. While it's been well-documented that the character of Withnail was based largely on another of the flatmates, Vivian MacKerrell (who's standing at the back in the middle), Feast had a large part to play in the genesis of Robinson's script, not least because it was he and Robinson who actually went on holiday by mistake.

As Feast told journalist Jeff Dawson:

“That whole Lake District fiasco, all of that stuff happened. Getting into the field with the bull; the search for fuel; tying plastic bags round our feet; the chicken thing. The cottage was a tip. The farmer — who did have a plaster on his leg — was just looking to make a bit of extra cash from idiot southerners. It was freezing. We were burning bits of furniture. We slept with our coats on. Even ‘We want the finest wines available to humanity’ was coined up there. The first night we blew all our money on a slap-up meal in one of those very upmarket hotels.”

Is it a coincidence that the show runners cast Feast on Game of Thrones? Surely not. Sadly, given that REG is in Braavos and Feast is in the Iron Islands, it's unlikely they'll share a scene, but we can hope...

Was that a Withnail reference in Game of Thrones?

Just a quick one (while a longer post on another topic is being prepared), but I think it's worth recording that TV phenomenon du jour Game of Thrones included what has to be a sly shout-out to Withnail and I last week (season 5, episode 7: 'The Gift').

In a delicious scene between Jonathan Pryce, as the 'High Sparrow' and Diana Rigg, having a whale of a time as Olenna 'Queen of Thorns' Tyrell, Dame Diana comes out with the line:

"You live among murderers, thieves and rapists, and yet you punish Loras for shagging some perfumed ponce?"

Perfumed ponce, eh? I think we can safely put down David Benioff and D. B. Weiss, show runners of Game of Thrones and writers of this particular episode, as Withnail fans...