Anyone familiar with Game of Thrones knows of the massively-popular HBO series’ infamous habit of killing off major characters, often with little notice. But now it looks like the actors whose characters have been lucky enough to stay alive have a major payday coming their way.
Several of the stars of the fantasy cable show are reportedly set to earn a 67% raise on their current salaries for the seventh season of Game of Thrones, as well as the eighth season, should the series be picked up for another year (which is expected). Media outlets such as Deadline and The Hollywood Reporter cited anonymous sources on Tuesday saying that at least five of the show’s biggest stars are in line to make roughly $500,000 per episode for what would be the final two seasons of the series, which airs its season-six finale this Sunday.
Peter Dinklage (Tyrion Lannister), Kit Harington (Jon Snow), Lena Headey (Cersei Lannister), Emilia Clarke (Daenerys Targaryen), and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (Jaime Lannister) are reportedly making $300,000 per episode for the current season. Time Warner-owned HBO officially renewed Game of Thrones for a seventh season in April, and the show is widely expected to wrap up its acclaimed TV run the following year.
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In addition to winning critical awards, Game of Thrones has been a ratings darling for HBO over its first six seasons, including a personal record of 10.7 million viewers who watched the current season’s premiere episode, in April. The show is also a key component in HBO’s digital strategy: The premium network packaged the launch of its standalone subscription streaming service, HBO Now, around Game of Thrones‘ fifth season premiere last year, and the current season’s debut even provided a boost to the HBO Now app’s download numbers earlier this year.
