Sean Bean Was Never Told About Jon Snow's True Parentage in 'Game of Thrones'

While Sean Bean’s character Ned Stark was killed off in the first season of Game of Thrones, we still consider him a major part of the story. And with his remaining children (Sansa Stark, Arya Stark, Bran Stark, and Jon Snow) entering into the final season, we suspect they will feel the legacy of the man who raised them even more so than ever. Bean might not be back for Season 8, but he has recently weighed in on the impact of his role and GoT overall.

In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Bean reflected on getting cast in the series, explaining:

“I was very thrilled by the whole idea. I didn’t actually know at that time how enormous and massive this series would become. I was just getting my head around the part, as we all were. None of us really could’ve imagined it would be such a big-scale, tantalizing drama. Yeah, that was the beginning of the story for me. And, of course, I knew I wasn’t going to last very long. I accepted that.”

But although Bean knew his character would die early on, he didn’t get many other plot points from showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, not even the fact that Jon wasn’t actually Ned’s bastard. When asked if he knew of Jon’s true parentage, the 59-year-old actor admitted, “No. Like with everything with Game of Thrones, it was kept very dark and secret.” He went on to add, however, “I think that’s the kind of magic and the glory of Game of Thrones — that’s why it’s so stunning and breathtaking when these secrets are revealed.”

All the secrets left will (hopefully) be revealed when the series comes to a close, with the eighth and final season premiering on April 14.