A Kerry actor says he is delighted to have sung with Ed Sheeran in Game of Thrones.
Sean McGillicuddy from Listowel featured as a Lannister soldier in the first episode of series seven.
He spoke to Chris Donoghue on Newstalk Drive about appearing on perhaps the most popular TV show of a generation.
He explained: "You never think this is going to happen. I've been following the seasons for years, watching it all. Then all of a sudden you're in the middle of it... in the middle of the set you recognise so well, the actors that you've become so familiar with. It was just surreal."
Sean auditioned up in Belfast, and heard he had secured the role a few days later.
On the scene itself, he recalled: "I just assumed it was a couple of soldiers - a marching song really. I really thought it was kind of like an interlude you have in Shakespearean plays... kind of the comic relief ones. That's the way it kind of read to me at the time."
He was only told there was going to be somebody famous in the scene when they were on the way to set, and they didn't even find out who it was until they arrived.
Sean McGillicuddy via Twitter
Sean was guessing it could've been an entirely different music star: "I thought maybe Chris Martin or Coldplay. I know one of them had a part in Game of Thrones at some point [...] Then you land [on set], and there's Ed."
For Game of Thrones fans, meeting Maisie Williams - the young British actress who plays Ayra Stark - is likely more of a surreal opportunity than working with one of the world's most successful musicians.
Sean observed: "As you're watching the seasons, you're seeing [Arya] grow up. She's very young when she started off, and here she is in front of you. You think you kind of know her, the character."
As for working with Ed? Sean told Chris: "He had lines, he sang that song at the start [...] which we joined in, and we were absolutely delighted."
Sean, who is a qualified secondary school teacher, has now been pursuing professional acting for four or five years.
"I quit my job, and moved to Dublin. I started to get nice enough roles - from television adverts to short stories, and then feature films."
Sean will be seen in a number of upcoming Irish films, such as Limbo from acclaimed director Gerard Barrett, and horror film Beyond the Woods.
He said: "My focus is on the films, and the acting. It is difficult to break into things - but any job is difficult. You have to love it, and I absolutely love it."
