CREATORS of the critically acclaimed television series Game of Thrones, David Benioff and Daniel B. Weiss, met each other for the first time while studying in Dublin.
The pair spent a year in Trinity College studying Irish literature back in 1995, becoming obsessed with it in the process, but left the country when the year was up.
Weiss wrote his thesis on James Joyce’s Finnegan’s Wake, while Benioff wrote his thesis on Samuel Beckett.
Speaking about his time in Ireland, Benioff said: “It was a great year and I loved it. I thought maybe writing about dragons would be better for me.”
They continued to stay in touch after moving back to the U.S. and later after David stumbled across a fantasy novel by George R.R. Martin, the first book in the Game of Thrones series, he knew just who to contact about it.
The duo have admitted that their admiration for Irish literature and indeed the Irish countryside where much of the series would ultimately be filmed was a major factor in initially drawing the duo to the fantasy epic.
Speaking on the Jimmy Kimmel show, Weiss noted that it was a “happy coincidence” that the show was filmed in the country where they first met.
“We came full circle and stayed there for 10 years.” He said.
When asked who discovered the books, Benioff recalled: “I started reading his first book, a Game of Thrones.
“I got about 200 pages in and became obsessed with it.
I called Dan and said: ‘you need to check out these books, I might be crazy but I think this could be the greatest series of all time.’”
