HBO has been forced to defend the safety standards on the set of its Game of Thrones franchise after a new video was obtained that shows a stunt gone wrong on set back in November 2014, during work on Game of Thrones season 5 — years before a more recent, similar injury.
In the footage — obtained by Deadline but not released by the outlet, who instead opted to share a screenshot depicting the incident to preserve the identity of the on-set source — stunt performer Andy Pilgrim can be seen fracturing his ankle during a serious stunt on the season 5 episode “Hardhome.”
In legal documents filed in 2019 obtained by Deadline, the performer claims his ankle was fractured while performing a stunt where he was riding a 16-foot wooden wall that fell to the ground. The stunt, which was originally rehearsed with a crane that would lower the wall to the ground safely, was changed after rehearsal but before the shoot, thus leaving Pilgrim vulnerable to injury. Deadline alleges that the video they received is in alignment with Pilgrim’s story.
Rowley Irlam was the stunt coordinator responsible for designing and executing the stunt — and he has stood by his work, as he continues to be employed by HBO as a stunt coordinator on the Game of Thrones spinoff series House of the Dragon.
“As an experienced stunt coordinator of over 20 years, I have successfully and safely managed hundreds of complex stunt sequences across film and television,” Irlam said in a statement released by HBO. “We put great care into designing stunt sequences with safety as the top priority. In the rare instances when an injury does occur, it is deeply upsetting for everyone involved.”
He continued, “The unfortunate incident involving Mr Pilgrim took place 11 years ago. The matter was resolved between Mr Pilgrim and the production company and there were no rulings or findings of fault against me personally. Mr Pilgrim continued to work within my team for two additional seasons following the incident, serving as stunt performer and stunt safety professional only. The accusations you put forward are simply untrue and unfounded.”
As for the network, they have stood by his work as well. “We take these matters very seriously. Mr. Irlam is a celebrated and respected stunt coordinator and has an extensive history with HBO productions,” an HBO spokesperson explained. “As an expert in such a physically demanding field, we remain confident in his abilities and know he has always done everything possible to maintain the high safety standards that are required on our productions.”
Four years after Pilgrim’s incident, Pilgrim settled out of court with Fire & Blood productions, who produce GOT, for £500,000 or $686,000. That same year in 2018, another stunt performer, Casey Michaels, suffered a career-ending ankle injury on season 8 of the show after being dropped from a 12-foot ledge into a pit of cardboard boxes.
Irlam oversaw the stunt that ended Michaels’ career as well, and she alleges he also changed the stunt from rehearsal to execution, which she feels was the reason for her injury. In 2023, Michaels settled her own lawsuit over the incident and received £7 million, or $9.3 million, from the network — a significant jump in monetary value from the £4 million, or $5.3 million, she sued for.
Lex Briscuso is a film and television critic and a freelance entertainment writer for IGN. You can follow her on Twitter at @nikonamerica.
