Lyanna Mormont Was Only Supposed to Appear in One Game of Thrones Scene

With a massive series like Game of Thrones, things don't always go according to plan—and sometimes that turns out to be a good thing. Case in point: Bella Ramsey, the young actress who made her debut in season 6 playing Lyanna Mormont. Though she only logged a few minutes of screen time in that first episode, the iron-fisted ruler of Bear Island became an instant fan-favorite character. Which was good news for Ramsey, as she was originally only hired to appear in a single scene. But her performance as the little spitfire in a room full of male leaders more than twice her age won over Game of Thrones's showrunners and ultimately led to Ramsey being hired as a recurring character.

In an interview with , co-showrunner David Benioff talked about how amazing it has been to witness the transformation of the actors in the show—and made mention of Ramsey in particular:

"Part of what excites me is the performance of these actors. So many of them have been with us since the beginning and they’ve grown—both literally for the kids, and as characters. In many cases, they’re going so far beyond what was expected for them. Some, like Lyanna Mormont, were just supposed to be in one scene. Bella is such an incredible actress that we kept bringing her back because we wanted more Bella."

We'll see Lyanna again when Game of Thrones returns for its final season on April 14.