EXCLUSIVE: HBO has continued to defend stunt safety standards on the Game of Thrones franchise after Deadline obtained footage of a second on-set accident following our report about the $9.6M payout to performer Casey Michaels.
The 30-second video captures the moment that stunt performer Andy Pilgrim, whose credits include Harry Potter and The Batman, suffered a serious ankle fracture in November 2014 during production on Season 5 episode Hardhome.
Four years later, Pilgrim sued Fire & Blood Productions, the HBO subsidiary responsible for producing Game of Thrones. He later settled his complaint for £500,000 ($686,000), according to the stunt pro’s barrister. Pilgrim declined to comment.
Deadline has seen a copy of Pilgrim’s original legal complaint, which lays out his account of the accident, including how the stunt was changed between rehearsal and filming. His allegations bear a striking resemblance to those made by Michaels, who suffered a career-ending ankle break on the final season of Game of Thrones, four years after Pilgrim’s accident.
Michaels shared her story with Deadline last month, revealing her £7M ($9.6M) payout and the toll it had taken on her wellbeing. In both accidents, the man responsible for designing and executing the stunt was Rowley Irlam, who continues to be employed by HBO as a stunt coordinator on GoT prequel series House of the Dragon.
Irlam contests the allegations made in Pilgrim’s lawsuit, saying some unspecified claims were “simply untrue and unfounded.” The Emmy-winning stunt coordinator’s position is that he has worked on more than 150 productions over 20 years, and during that time has only overseen two accidents involving significant injury. His position is that few stunt coordinators boast this safety record.
Deadline has reported on a third accident on Irlam’s watch, during which two performers alleged that they sustained injuries — including one claiming they were knocked unconscious — while filming Captain America: The First Avenger in 2010.
In a new statement, HBO said it takes safety seriously and backed Irlam, saying he has “always done everything possible” to maintain high standards. The network declined to answer a series of questions about the similarities in Pilgrim and Michaels’ experiences. Irlam added that safety was his “top priority” and “great care” goes into designing stunt sequences.
The Game of Thrones lawsuits are notable given that stunt professionals have told Deadline that there is a propensity in the industry to brush injuries under the carpet. Performers fear being blacklisted by colleagues and losing work, while some also describe a culture in which discussing accidents could be considered a weakness.
Pilgrim’s Accident
In a High Court legal document filed in June 2019, Pilgrim alleged that he suffered his ankle fracture when performing a stunt involving riding a 16-foot wooden wall as it fell forward to the floor. He was playing a member of the Night King’s dead army during a shoot in Magheramorne quarry, a location in Northern Ireland that featured in a number of important Game of Thrones episodes. The scene that made the final cut, including the wall-fall moment, can be seen below.
Citing a risk assessment report carried out by HBO’s special effects team, Pilgrim said the wall was meant to be “lowered by a crane.” This is how the stunt was rehearsed with up to six performers, but Pilgrim claimed that the stunt changed when it came to the shoot.
He alleged that instead of being lowered by a crane, the wall fell forward in an “uncontrolled and ungoverned fashion,” bouncing up as it hit the floor and breaking his ankle. Pilgrim added that there were “several more” stunt performers than during rehearsal, and they were required to position themselves higher on the wall.
Pilgrim’s account appears to be supported by a video obtained by Deadline. In the footage, the wooden wall can be seen falling forward with a thud, while two vertical cables hang behind, apparently slack. In his lawsuit, Pilgrim claimed that these were the crane cables that were meant to control the landing of the wall. As the dead army charged forward, Pilgrim can be seen lying on the wooden wall after suffering his injury.
The video has circulated in the stunt community and was shared with Deadline by Wayne Michaels, the father of Casey Michaels, as he attempts to raise awareness about HBO’s safety standards. We are not publishing the video in order to protect the identity of sources working on-set, but a screenshot capturing the immediate aftermath of the accident is below.
The Sun newspaper obtained a copy of HBO’s High Court defense in 2019. The network, via Fire & Blood Productions, reportedly admitted that the stunt was changed so that the wooden wall fell freely. However, HBO blamed Pilgrim for failing to execute a “straightforward” stunt and said accidents were an “occupational hazard.”
A Game of Thrones stunt performer, who spoke to Deadline on the condition of anonymity, visited Pilgrim in hospital on the day of the accident and said his injury was “shocking.” In his court document, Pilgrim’s attorney said that five years after the incident, he was still experiencing pain in his ankle, and it was less flexible, meaning he was unable to perform jumps or run long distances. He did, however, work on later seasons of Game of Thrones as a performer and safety professional.
In a statement issued by HBO, Irlam said: “As an experienced stunt coordinator of over 20 years, I have successfully and safely managed hundreds of complex stunt sequences across film and television. We put great care into designing stunt sequences with safety as the top priority. In the rare instances when an injury does occur, it is deeply upsetting for everyone involved.
“The unfortunate incident involving Mr Pilgrim took place 11 years ago. The matter was resolved between Mr Pilgrim and the production company and there were no rulings or findings of fault against me personally. Mr Pilgrim continued to work within my team for two additional seasons following the incident, serving as stunt performer and stunt safety professional only. The accusations you put forward are simply untrue and unfounded.”
An HBO spokesperson said: “We take these matters very seriously. Mr. Irlam is a celebrated and respected stunt coordinator and has an extensive history with HBO productions. As an expert in such a physically demanding field, we remain confident in his abilities and know he has always done everything possible to maintain the high safety standards that are required on our productions.”
Pilgrim’s accident was reported to the Health and Safety Executive Northern Ireland (HSENI), but the regulator did not launch a formal investigation. The body’s resources are limited, and investigations tend to focus on the most serious workplace incidents, such as fatalities.
History Repeating Itself?
Pilgrim’s account contains similarities to Casey Michaels, who was injured in 2018 on Season 8 of Game of Thrones when she dropped from a 12-foot ledge into a landing rig made of cardboard boxes.
Michaels shattered her left ankle, later arguing that the stunt was not designed competently and was changed by Irlam between rehearsal and filming. This included alleged modifications to the landing rig and an increase in the number of performers participating in the stunt.
Casey Michaels
Supplied/HBO
Commenting on the two Game of Thrones accidents, Wayne Michaels, Casey’s father and a respected stunt performer who has doubled for James Bond, said: “One can see a disturbing pattern of behaviour and repeated systemic failings that would not be tolerated in any other industry.”
He continued: “I am attempting to raise awareness about HBO and the British Stunt Register’s safety standards and how, unfortunately, it is not uncommon for stunt coordinators to deny responsibility for accidents and injuries despite the injured performer having reported to and received instructions from them during the stunt, on which significant damages had to be paid.”
Deadline can reveal that there is some confusion over whether Michaels’ accident was properly reported to HSENI, which was a legal requirement for HBO under UK regulations. HSENI said it had no record of the 2018 incident being flagged. HBO’s position is that it has email evidence showing that an on-set safety official did call in the accident, but was told that HSENI did not wish to investigate.
