Chris Stapleton Makes Undead Cameo in Epic ‘Game of Thrones’ Episode
He plays a Wildling-turned-White-Walker in the Battle of Winterfell.
At this point fans are used to seeing rootsy country superstar Chris Stapleton on TV – but usually it’s to stun an Awards-show crowd with his whiskey-soaked vocal styling. On Sunday (April 28th), though, he showed up in a piece of pop culture history, playing a White Walker in Game of Thrones’ epic Battle of Winterfell.
Making a bit-part appearance in Episode Three of the show’s much-anticipated final season, Stapleton is among the hordes of Wildlings and other dead soldiers who reanimate to prevent one of the show’s main characters, Jon Snow, from going toe-to-toe with the evil Night King himself. Stapleton is only on screen for about a split second – just long enough to open his eyes – but his wife and singing partner Morgane captured the moment for posterity, posting it to her Instagram account with the caption “Episode 3….My wildling is a white walker.”
Speaking with Rolling Stone, Stapleton explains that he’s a huge fan of the show, and had his management reach out to see if he could be included in some way. The show has previously featured musicians like Ed Sheeran in small roles, and they said yes to Stapleton, too, inviting him to film in Northern Ireland along with his bass player J.T. Cure and tour manager.
“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 says. “They were gracious enough to let me come participate that way.”
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Episode 3….My wildling is a white walker #got
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Stapleton admits he’s no actor, and also describes some of the direction he and his buddies were given while shooting the scene. Then he goes on to say he has absolutely idea what’s coming next for the show – just like everyone else.
“Once again, they do a bang-up job of keeping you guessing as to what will happen,” he says. “That’s why it’s the greatest television show certainly of modern times and possibly ever.”
Stapleton will kick off his All-American Road Show Tour in June with Brothers Osborne, Margo Price, Brent Cobb and the Marcus King Band joining on select dates.
