Steven Knight thought ‘Game of Thrones’ was a children’s show
Writer Steven Knight has revealed he thought ‘Game of Thrones’ was a children’s show until he cast one of the actors in his own series.
Knight, who is perhaps best known for creating Cillian Murphy starrer ‘Peaky Blinders’, was speaking at the Royal Television Society conference in London, speaking to BBC journalist Katie Razzall as he made the admission.
He recalled how his young son was obsessed with ‘Game of Thrones’ and asked for a DVD box set for Christmas, which Knight happily offered after seeing that it featured dragons. It wasn’t until he came to cast ‘Game of Thrones’ alum Aidan Gillen in ‘Peaky Blinders’ that he realized the George RR Martin-created series had more adult themes.
When someone suggested Gillen for “Peaky,” they told Knight he plays the brothel owner in “Game of Thrones.” Knight responded in shock: “What are you talking about? It’s a children’s show!”
Gillen played Lord Petyr Baelish in the HBO fantasy series before starring as Aberama Gold in ‘Peaky’. He also appeared in ‘The Dark Knight Rises’, ‘Mayor of Kingstown’ and the ‘Maze Runner’ franchise.
Knight shared some ‘Peaky’ memories at the conference, including that he first came up with the idea for the show in Birmingham in the 1980s and pitched it to a British broadcaster, although it didn’t work out. “I started writing it as a novel and then presented a treatment to Channel 4,” he said. “I’m glad it didn’t happen [then]. The technology was not suitable to actually properly portray such a period drama.”
Years later, he said, someone asked if he had any ideas for TV and he pulled the treatment for “Peaky Blinders” out of a drawer where it had been long forgotten.
Knight is currently working on a film adaptation of the series for Netflix, starring Barry Keoghan, Rebecca Ferguson and Muphy. He didn’t want to reveal any spoilers, but said: “It’s set in World War II, it should be really good.”
The writer has had a storied and varied career, working on the long-running quiz show ‘Who Wants to be a Millionaire’ to the upcoming (and as yet untitled) ‘Star Wars’ film to be directed by ‘Ms. Marvel ” -helmer Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy.
He also regularly collaborates with Pablo Larraín, for whom he wrote the Princess Diana biopic “Spencer,” starring Kristen Stewart, and the upcoming “Maria,” starring Angelina Jolie, which recently bowed in Venice.
The multi-hyphenate writer, director and producer has a great passion for the British film industry and has set up a film and TV studio complex in his home city of Birmingham, the city where he also shot ‘Peaky Blinders’.
“The way people see our country is very much through our industry,” he said, highlighting the importance of investing in Britain’s arts and film industries. “We need to make sure that people in this country know that this is a career you can have. ”
Other speakers at this year’s Royal Television Society conference, hosted by Netflix, include streaming boss Ted Sarandos, footballer David Beckham and culture secretary Lisa Nandy.
