Peter Dinklage Was Once Pranked Into Believing 'Game of Thrones' Was Cancelled

Imagine being called out of the blue and being told that the show you are starring in is all of a sudden cancelled, and you’re out of a job. Okay, now imagine that job is playing the Tyrion Lannister on the hit show Game of Thrones.

This is exactly what happened to Peter Dinklage when two people decided to prank him. Apparently, early on in the show, David Benioff and Tom McCarthy (the director of the show’s original unaired pilot) called Dinklage from a Yankees game and told him the show was cancelled and he was unemployed.

During a Vanity Fair interview in 2014, writer Jim Windolf recalled to Benioff and Dan Weiss, “Peter Dinklage told me you enjoy the pranks, and one of you called him and told him the show was canceled and he was out of a job. He was crushed for six hours.” Benioff then confirmed this did happen.

Benioff and Weiss are apparently notorious prankers and are really huge fans of the Monty Python, as they try to emulate the comedy group at any chance they get.

“And it’s so tempting sometimes, because it was another formative influence for me, and it would be really funny to steer it into Monty Python,” said Weiss in the interview. “To the point where we shot the pilot in the castle where they shot Monty Python and the Holy Grail.”

Battling White Walkers and fighting for the Iron Throne can be serious work, but at least we can always count on Benioff and Weiss to add some comedic relief.