HBO swept up an impressive number of Emmy nominations for its fantasy epic Game of Thrones this week, with Kit Harington up for lead actor, and Emilia Clarke for lead actress among others. In total, Thrones picked up 32 nomination, but as the Hollywood Reporterrevealed, HBO itself was surprised when some of the names nominated popped up.
When awards season rears its head, TV studios traditionally submit actors and actresses for nomination, paying the $225 entry fee for them. However, GoT has such an extensive cast that HBO can't submit everyone involved. Three actors, Alfie Allen (Theon Greyjoy), Gwendoline Christie (Brienne of Tarth), and Carice Van Houten (Melisandre), picked up nominations for Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series, Best Supporting Actress, and Best Guest Actress respectively—and they all submitted themselves.
That means all three paid the fee themselves, which HBO confirmed. It is reported that there's no hard feelings between the performers and HBO, as it has generally been understood that the network had already submitted a large selection of its talent for consideration. In fact, HBO scored 137 of the total nominations at the 2019 Emmys.
A number of other high-profile Game of Thrones actors garnered nods for their roles. Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (Jaime Lannister) and Peter Dinklage (Tyrion Lannister) are both up for Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series, while Lena Headey (Cersei Lannister), Sophie Turner (Sansa Stark), and Maisie Williams (Arya Stark) are all up for Best Supporting Actress.
