The Disturbing Thing Game Of Thrones' Sean Bean Did With Ned Stark's Decapitated Head
Whether it was how good the show actually was or the inaugural season's final shocking moments, it's tough to pinpoint what fans of "Game of Thrones" found most surprising about the first 10 episodes. Of course, the most shocking moment of Season 1 was when fan-favorite Ned Stark (Sean Bean) was brutally beheaded by the ruthless, newly-crowned King Joffrey Baratheon.
In Wired's "Web's Most Searched Questions," actor Sean Bean talks about what he believed brought on the untimely death of the King of the North. "He was a good man and he was getting in the way of things," Bean explained. "He wasn't corruptible, he wouldn't join in with these nest of vipers." When featured on a Reddit AMA conversation, Bean expanded his thoughts on Ned Stark's demise and how he, himself, was as emotionally jolted by the beheading — just like many fans were. U/shiven21 asked Bean how he felt about the death and the repose was, "I mean, I knew it was coming, you know? But when I read it, you know, it just comes out of the blue and was a nasty shock."
With Ned Stark being decapitated in the ninth episode, the Season 1 finale (Episode 10) still featured a part of him. The newly-crowned authority King Joffrey presents Ned Stark's severed head on a spike. Thanks to an award-winning design and effects team, this prosthetic noggin was creepily similar to the real-life actor's own cranium. But what might be as disturbing as Stark's death is what the actor did with the head afterward.
The head's post-decapitation sporty use
Just like Sansa Stark (Sophie Turner) after seeing her father's severed head on a spike, many fans likely still think about that horrific image today. However, in his Reddit AMA discussion, Sean Bean reveals that when the prosthetic, decapitated head had finished its job in front of the camera, the lifelike object became the source of some good ol' fashioned sporting fun.
In the AMA, u/Parmizan asked Bean, "Is it a weird feeling to see just your head onscreen? I mean, surely it must be kind of strange in a way?" Bean responded with a little more of a reveal than expected. He answered, "It was a bit strange, yeah, a bit creepy. We just kicked it around like a football!" Of course, this bit of inside information causes quite the image. Just thinking about Ned Stark's bearded face rolling around back-and-forth between kicks, falls somewhere between shocking and hilarious.
Naturally, fans involved in the discussion gave their opinions on Dean's ball story. U/Zaxtas bluntly offered up a dark opinion with, "Well that's grim." Others found the humor Bean seemed to be leaning towards, like with u/Parmizan, who replied, "That sounds fun actually, I'm just imagining Joffrey's actor lapping it up!" Well, "fun" is surely one word often used to describe this series. And although the beheading of Ned Stark was traumatic for many "Game of Thrones" fans, just knowing that his head went to good use afterward will hopefully bring a bit of comfort.