Each season of Game of Thrones has been categorized as the most awaited TV event of the year, as the reach of this TV show is global.
Reportedly, when the all-time hit TV sitcom Friends became a common name in almost every household, the cast got paid one million US dollars per episode. Hence, it would not be crazy to assume that the paychecks being commanded by the cast members of Game of Thrones should likely be around that amount.
A Million for Nikolaj Coster-Waldau
According to a report by Variety, Lena Headey, who plays Cersei Lannister on the show, and Kit Harrington, who plays Jon Snow, got a major raise in 2017 proportional to the expanding nature and importance of their roles. They were reportedly being paid $500,000 per episode for the final season.
However, the actors playing the main leads, like Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, have most likely been paid more than that. In a legal battle between Coster-Waldau, who plays Jaime Lannister, and his ex-manager, it was revealed that he was being paid around $1.07 million per episode for the 6 episodes that he is featured in the 8th season of the show.
First Big Raise
Not every main lead gets paid as much as Nikolaj and, in fact, they get paid far less in comparison. The cast got their first big raise in 2014 when Kit, Lena, Peter Dinklage (who plays Tyrion Lannister), Nikolaj, and Emilia Clarke (who plays Daenerys Targaryen) got paid $300,000 per episode.
However, actors such as Maisie Williams, who plays the iconic character of Arya Stark, and Sophie Turner, who plays Sansa Stark, still do not get paid anywhere near that amount of money.
No Hard Feelings
It appears that despite the considerable difference in their paychecks, there are no hard feelings between the cast members. Sophie, in an interview, stated that she understands why she gets paid way less than her co-actors.
She further elaborated that if Kit gets paid more, its because his storyline is bigger than hers. Turner revealed that Kit had to work for night shoots almost 70 times, which can get pretty crazy. In the end, she joked that she would rather let him have the money.
Who Earns What?
As of now, Kit Harrington, Emilia Clarke, Nikolaj, Lena, and Peter Dinklage are the ones who reportedly get paid around $500,000 per episode. However, the rest of the Stark siblings, including Sophie Turner Maisie Williams, and Isaac Hempstead Wright (who plays Brandon Stark) reportedly get paid $175,000 for an episode.
Why the Difference?
It is quite obvious as to why there is such a huge difference between the paychecks of the Game of Thrones stars. The actors playing the more important characters and who have a longer screen time get paid more, which makes all logical sense.
However, it can be assumed that public demand and liking of a character also plays a role in determining their compensation. Perhaps the more an actor is in demand, the higher is the amount on the paycheck.
