Full spoilers for Game of Thrones: Season 6, including the finale "The Winds of Winter," continue below.
Bran Stark came back with a bang in Season 6, delivering what proved to be the most interesting exposition and backstories on Game of Thrones. From finding out the origins of the White Walkers to why Hodor earned the name "Hodor," Bran delivered big reveal after big reveal, culminating in the confirmation that Lyanna Stark is in fact Jon Snow's mother.
With viewers left to sit with that big revelation until Game of Thrones: Season 7 premieres and many more unanswered questions still lingering, IGN got on the phone with actor Isaac Hempstead-Wright to pick his mind about the series. The conversation ranged from whether he knows what Lyanna whispered to Ned, to why he thinks it's important Jon Snow's father be revealed at a later point in time, all the way to whether Bran might be the person responsible for the White Walkers getting into Westeros. He helped us dive deep on theories and speculation to get everyone excited all over again for Game of Thrones' return.
IGN: The show finally confirmed Lyanna is Jon's mother. How crazy was it for you to get to physically be there for this momentous scene?
Isaac Hempstead-Wright: It was amazing, because I would have been quite happy watching it on the TV and going, "Oh, well that's cool." To get to be there in the room while this intense and momentous scene went on and be a part of it and involved in the whole action was a real privilege.
IGN: The audience finds out this fact and Bran learns it, but no one else in Westeros seemingly does. Why do you think it's important than Bran know Lyanna is Jon's mom?
Hempstead-Wright: This is the thing: I don't think Bran knows why this is significant, but he knows that it is significant because he wouldn't have seen it if it wasn't earth-shattering, because everything we've learned so far during his visions has been pretty big and important, from the creation of the first White Walker to the origins of Hodor.
This is clearly another important milestone in the history of Westeros. For Bran, he sat there sitting, "This isn't my brother. This is my cousin somehow, but who's the dad? And why have I been shown this? If I find out who the dad is and why I need to know who the dad is, then let Jon know quick."
IGN: So do you think he does realize then that the baby is Jon?
Hempstead-Wright: I think he can probably work it out. It's implied that Ned's going to take this baby as a surrogate child, and all Bran has to think is, "Oh, well did my dad father any surrogate children? Oh yeah, Jon Snow!"
Baby Jon Stark on Game of Thrones
IGN: It's also left unanswered who the father is, but obviously there is a very popular fan theory that answers that, and I think the show offers some dots we can connect there -- like, Rhaegar Targaryen left his men to protect the tower. Given that seemingly easy connection to draw, why do you think it's important that piece of information be kept from viewers?
Hempstead-Wright: That's a very good point. There's clearly going to be another revelation, and that revelation is going to have significance. I think, when we do find out that Jon Snow's father is whomever, I think it will have more impact as a sole piece of information. I think whoever that individual is who is Jon Snow's father will have such an important and integral role in the history of Westeros that it will have enough power to be a vision by itself. It raises some interesting theories as to who the father could be. [laughs] It's clearly got to be someone pretty important.
IGN: Were you partial to any "who are Jon Snow's parents?" theories before you got to shoot this scene?
Hempstead-Wright: I always kind of just thought R+L=J. It makes the most sense, there's evidence in the books, and we're halfway there now, I think. But we'll have to see. [laughs] Who knows! They might through a curve ball. Maybe it will be it's actually Ned and Lyanna and it's like the Lannisters.
IGN: I saw that one going around! I was like, "No, Ned would never!"
Hempstead-Wright: [laughs]
IGN: There was one part of what Lyanna said to Ned that was intentionally muffled so the audience couldn't hear it. Do you think Bran heard what she said? And do you know what she said?
Hempstead-Wright: Oooh. I personally don't know what she said. I hadn't even thought of that, whether Bran actually heard it. That's a good question, actually. Yeah, no, maybe he could well have heard it. I didn't play it like that [laughs]. I should have thought of that!
Robert Aramayo as Young Ned Stark and Aisling Francioso as Lyanna Stark on Game of Thrones
IGN: Well, when you get the Season 7 scripts you can figure it out then.
Hempstead-Wright: Yeah, I'll be like, "Oh, whoops, yup, I did know."
IGN: As we're getting this far into the show, Game of Thrones has been alternately killing and confirming some popular fan theories. One, and I don't know if you're familiar with it, is that Lyanna actually gave birth to twins, and one was Meera.
Hempstead-Wright: Oh, I love this theory. I think this theory's so cool.
IGN: Were you bummed it didn't pan out that way?
Hempstead-Wright: Ellie [Kendrick], who plays Meera, was telling me about it. When she first mentioned it, I was like, "Wait, what? How? Where does that fit in?" And then it all came together. It was like, "Ohhh, my god!"
IGN: I still think Meera has a big role to play regardless.
Hempstead-Wright: Well, you know with Game of Thrones -- so far -- they only keep people [for a purpose]. As the Lord of Light says, everyone who is alive is still alive for a reason. So the very fact she's still standing I think proves she's got something to do.
IGN: Switching over to the other part of Bran's storyline, we said goodbye to Coldhands. We knew him for such a short time.
Hempstead-Wright: [laughs] Yeah, right. Short and sweet.
IGN: Do you think that's the last we've seen of him?
Hempstead-Wright: I think he'll definitely be back. We played that scene so when Benjen looks at Bran, it's kind of like they're having a psychic conversation which Meera isn't party to. They're basically going, "I'm going to see you down the road, and when I see you, everything will have gone down the drain and it will be under much less comfortable circumstances and everyone will be dying and there will be dragons and ice zombies and we're going to have to try and save the day." It's almost like the calm before the storm. It's like one of them is getting shipped off to war early, and the other's like, "I'll see you in the trenches."
IGN: Earlier in the season, Bran came face-to-face with the Night King and the Night King grabbed his arm, leaving a mark. What do you think that mark means? Do you think that has greater significance down the road?
Hempstead-Wright: It's difficult to tell exactly what this mark means. I think it could be one of a number of things. It could be like a tracking device, so now Bran is basically being monitored everywhere he goes, which is a worrying prospect. I was just talking to somebody else recently and thinking about it. The way he had that in the cave meant that magic in the cave wore off.
So I heard an interesting theory that perhaps maybe that means if Bran goes through the Wall the White Walkers will be able to easily walk through, because there's supposed to be magic cast on the Wall. It's a very worrying thing to have attached to him. It's certainly going to have some further implications, I think, down the line.
Isaac Hempstead Wright as Bran Stark and Vladimir Furdik as the Night King in Game of Thrones
IGN: I'm very partial to that theory that Bran might unwittingly let the White Walkers through. Looking ahead, where do you think Bran goes next? I know that's pure speculation on your part, but where do you think Bran's mission takes him once he travels south of the Wall?
Hempstead-Wright: I think the sensible thing to do would be to head to Winterfell, it would seem, because two of his other Stark compatriots appear to be there. Surely I think Bran, with all his vision stuff, he's got a little bit of a vague "Find My Friends" app in his brain and he can go, "Right, the Starks are at Winterfell. That's where I'm heading now."
I think they can make a dream team. Like, we've got the amazing leader and warrior in Jon, Sansa's becoming quite the diplomat, Arya can do the slicey, slicey assassin face-change thing, and Bran can be a tree wizard. We'll be like the Fantastic Four.
IGN: More Stark reunions for us all to get emotional over.
Hempstead-Wright: I know, come on! We've been waiting seven seasons!
IGN: Bran had such a huge year in Season 6 after being off screen for Season 5. What has it meant for you to come back in such a big way and be the person who really provided a lot of answers for people watching the show?
Hempstead-Wright: It was really quite nice to have an almost quite integral role in the storytelling, because it was almost like I was asking like a narrator to some of the ancient history of Westeros. With such an amazing brain as George R.R. Martin's and such a vast, sprawling, complex series of novels as A Song of Ice and Fire, I think naturally the history and the lore is inherently fascinating. So to have been able to have a real serious window onto that has been so cool. Even if we had just gotten to see the flashbacks on screen, I would have been really excited about it, but to have been able to play through them was just tremendous fun.
IGN: Are there any specific visions or periods of time that you would like to see Bran flash back to that we haven't gotten to see yet?
Hempstead-Wright: Well, we've done quite a few of the important ones so far, I think. I think the big one that's left is the Mad King, surely. I'd like to see more of that. That's what I'm holding out for.
IGN: We did get that teaser vision where Jaime kills him.
Hempstead-Wright: Yeah, I think that probably suggests that maybe there's more to come. Who knows?
Terri Schwartz is Entertainment Editor at IGN.
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