WHAT WAS ED SHEERAN DOING ON GAME OF THRONES?

There was a conspicuous addition to the cast during the Season 7 premiere of Game of Thrones. As Arya Stark made her way on horseback through the Riverlands after murdering the entire Frey clan, she was captivated by the sound of harmonic cheesiness floating on the breeze. She had stumbled upon a musically inclined group of soldiers, including one played by pop star Ed Sheeran, who was leading a folksong.

It was a little jarring to see the ginger megastar — a Taylor Swift bestie with copious tattoos — wearing armour and a red cape passing around blackberry wine and a charred rodent. But, hey, Harry Styles plays a soldier in Christopher Nolan’s new war movie Dunkirk, so who are we to judge? The question is: What was Sheeran doing there? Because the show doesn’t usually resort to stunt casting. It doesn’t need to.

It’s actually a sweet story. Twentyyear-old actress Maisie Williams, who plays Arya, is a huge fan of the singer, so showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss recruited him for an episode as a surprise for her.

Sheeran had warned fans that it wasn’t much of a scene. In an April interview, he broke the cardinal rule of Game of Thrones actor interviews by revealing what would happen during his scene.

“I don’t die in it,” he explained. “I’m only in it for like five minutes.”

He also said he’d rather portray a Game of Thrones character who has sex than one who dies, but he didn’t get to do either. He had only a couple of lines.

This isn’t the first time Game of Thrones has employed musicians to do what they do best. Members of Coldplay, Sigur Ros and Of Monsters and Men have also had cameos, mainly providing background music. But Sheeran’s part is certainly the most high-profile.

At least it isn’t Sheeran’s first acting gig, though it’s probably the first one anyone has actually seen. He had a role on the FX series The Bastard Executioner. The Game of Thrones wannabe was quickly cancelled after one season.