Why Led Zeppelin’s Robert Plant Turned Down a Role in ‘Game of Thrones’
Robert Plant recently recalled that he was once offered a role in Game of Thrones. However, the former Led Zeppelin singer and current solo artist ultimately turned down the part in the popular HBO fantasy drama TV series that ended in 2019. But why?
This week, the rocker joked about his reason for declining.
Watch the video down toward the bottom of this post.
Invoking the imagery drawn in Zeppelin tunes — including the Scandinavian mythology at the basis of the band's "Immigrant Song" (1970) — the vocalist who is now well-known for duetting with bluegrass musician Alison Krauss mused about the icy Game of Thrones aesthetic he likely helped create with Zeppelin. Not to mention the musical acts that followed in the classic rock band's visual footsteps afterward.
"I got offered a part in [Game of Thrones]," Plant tells Canadian media personality George Stroumboulopoulos in a portion of a live video interview the Apple Music 1 host conducted with the Led Zeppelin icon. The interviewer shared the clip online on Tuesday (June 14).
Asked what part he was up for in Game of Thrones, Plant seemingly failed to remember before devilishly acquiescing, "I got to ride a horse and go [lifts head in a regal manner]."
Still, "I don't want to get typecast," the musician quips. "I started that shit — go back to 'Immigrant Song' and Led Zeppelin being part of cultural exchange in Iceland with the Icelandic government. So they didn't know what they'd invited onto their little island."
Plant continues, recalling a tour, "On the way back on the plane, I started thinking about — 'cause I love Western European history from maybe the Bronze Age up through all the old religion … when we were really in touch with our Earth."
He adds, "The Viking thing, the whole idea of playing in Iceland and experiencing this landscape and people. Yeah, I've got a lot to answer for, because I've never seen so many bands with double-bladed axes. They could've all looked like Soft Cell or something."
Soft Cell are an English synth-pop duo who styled themselves in somewhat of a dark, gothic manner in the early '80s. As for Plant, these days he feels more like the guy carrying all the sticks on the Led Zeppelin IV (1971) album art, as he joked in April.