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  ===Casting===
  "The Winds of Winter" saw the departure of several cast members and recurring guest actors from the series. Notables included Dean-Charles Chapman, whose character, King Tommen Baratheon, committed suicide in the episode. Before appearing in the role of Tommen, which was originally portrayed by actor Callum Wharry, Chapman appeared in the third season of the series as Martyn Lannister, a minor character who was also killed off. Chapman stated that he found out about his character's death the night before the initial table read for the season, saying "I was in my hotel, minding my own business, and I got a phone call. I picked up the phone, and instantly, I knew it was coming. It was David Benioff and Dan Weiss, the two creators of the show, and they stated the facts. But they did it really nice. I couldn't have asked for a better way to have that news broken to me. Them telling me beforehand really helped me out, otherwise I would have been in a state when I read it in the scripts. I probably would have cried."
  Actress Natalie Dormer, who was cast to play Queen Margaery Tyrell in the show's second season, also made her final appearance as a main cast member for the series. In contrast to Chapman, Dormer found out about her character's impending death approximately six months before the rest of the cast, saying "I requested while making season 5 that showrunners David Benioff and Dan Weiss release me from working on the show earlier than usual so I could do another project, and they ended up phoning me — and that was The Call. But I got it six months ahead of normal. They were like, 'We weren't going to tell you this for a few more months, but we're not going to release you now, so you can't do that job you really want to do and we're really sorry about that. But on the bright side, we are going to release you proper in the not-so-distant future.' It was good news, bad news — no you can't do this, but don't worry, you're going to have lots more opportunities very soon." Dormer also stated about her departure, "It's the longest time I've ever spent playing a character. I'll always have a little yellow rose after my heart, and I think it was just the right length of time, to be honest. It's time for the Westeros story to move on and it's a perfect time for her to exit."
  After appearing as a recurring guest actor in the fifth season, actor Jonathan Pryce was promoted to regular cast member for the sixth season. Prior to being cast as the High Sparrow, Pryce was approached to play another role in one of the previous seasons and refused the part. After being approached with the role of the High Sparrow, Pryce stated that he accepted the role because "If the role hadn't been what it turned out to be for High Sparrow, I probably would not have been involved. I remember starting out and my agent said 'does the character change the situation or is he just a functionary' and this character changes the situation." Pryce added, "Once I started work on ''Games of Thrones'' I was incredibly impressed with the organization, the crew and they're really good at their job and story telling so I have become a fan of the show."
  Recurring guest actors for the series Eugene Simon, Julian Glover, Roger Ashton-Griffiths, Finn Jones, and Ian Gelder, who portrayed Lancel Lannister, Pycelle, Mace Tyrell, Loras Tyrell, and Kevan Lannister, respectively, also made their final appearance in the series. Finn Jones, who was cast concurrently in the leading role for the upcoming television series Marvel's ''Iron Fist'', spoke about his departure saying, "I had been on ''Thrones'' for six years. It was yearly employment. Now I was at a crossroads and I had to think of what the future is. I was very blessed that something like this has come along at the right moment," referring to ''Iron Fist''. Eugene Simon also spoke about his learning of his departure, saying that the showrunners promised a "huge scene" for his character in the season finale, with Simon responding, "for everything that you've done for the last six years, thank you. This is a wonderful way to go. I really, really appreciate it, and I look forward to doing it for you."
  For the scene at the Tower of Joy, Lyanna Stark was portrayed by actress Aisling Franciosi. The Danish comedian Frank Hvam portrayed the clerk at the Citadel, although his lines may have been dubbed as he was not a confident English speaker.