Game of Thrones

Dame Diana Rigg -- the legendary actress with epic roles in "Game of Thrones" and the UK's 'Avengers' TV series -- has died.

The British actress rose to prominence in the 1961 TV series, "The Avengers," and became a worldwide phenomenon as a Bond girl in the 1969 Bond film, "On Her Majesty's Secret Service."

For the younger generation ... Dame Diana, of course, earned critical acclaim for her role as Lady Olenna Tyrell in the HBO hit show, "Game of Thrones." Sad to say ... she admitted in 2019 she never watched the show, but that's neither here nor there. Rigg earned an Emmy nomination for her role in 2018.

BTW ... her Bond role was pretty historic. She played Tracey Bond ... James Bond's wife. She was the only Bond girl to ever get him to the altar, never mind the character was killed shortly after the wedding.

In "The Avengers," she played the incredibly desirable Emma Peel and earned an Emmy nomination in 1967 and 1968.

Rigg, who grew up in India after her father accepted a job there, trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and made her acting debut in "The Caucasian Chalk Circle" at the 1957 York Festival. She'd later join the Royal Shakespeare Company and earned several roles but perhaps none more important than as Cordelia in the touring production of "King Lear."

Dame Diana was a highly-respected stage actress ... earning a Tony Award nomination for her role in "Abelard and Heloise." She'd later join the National Theatre Company ... earning a second Tony nomination for her role as Celimene in "The Misanthrope."

She finally won a Tony Award in 1994 for Best Actress for her role in "Medea." That same year, she was made a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire for her work in drama at the 1994 Birthday Honours.

Rigg had already been made a Commander of the order of the British Empire at the 1988 New Year Honours.

Sophie Turner is reaching the bulging baby bump stage ... and she might be getting a head start on shopping for her bundle of joy.

The 'Game of Thrones' star and her husband, Joe Jonas, hit up Melrose Ave Tuesday afternoon, strolling down the famous shopping street and showing off her growing baby bump, which is pretty prevalent these days.

Sophie dressed up her bun in the oven with grey leggings, a crop top and plaid blazer. Kid's already more stylish than the average.

The expectant parents wore masks as they shopped around ... never too early to get a head start on baby stuff, even in a pandemic. Fortunately, stores on Melrose are open again, so Sophie can shop till she drops.

Peep Joe's Bruce Lee graphic tee ... makes ya wonder, is the baby kicking already? Of course it is!

The Mountain from "Game of Thrones" just broke an almighty weightlifting record that once belonged to his archrival ... and now, he wants to break the dude's face in the ring.

Hafthor Bjornsson -- who played The Hound's brother on the hit HBO series -- set a new world record Saturday by deadlifting 501 kilograms (about 1,104 lbs) and staying standing upon releasing the massive weight, while he was getting gassed up by his squad nearby.

It's an incredible feat, and before this ... his muscle-man foe, Eddie Hall, held the record at 500 kg from just a few years ago when he deadlifted at the World Deadlift Championships.

It should be noted that Eddie went down in utter exhaustion after his lift, BUT ... he did hold the bar up longer than Thor did. In any case, The Mountain's got him beat with this latest show of strength, but the feud's not over ... 'cause the guy wants to settle this once and for all in the ring -- as in boxing. He said as much in a post-interview, where he challenged Eddie to a fight in the ring, during which he says he wants to dole out a KO.

Welp, Eddie has already responded to the call ... saying he will "1,000 percent sign those papers" while going on to explain it's not for money or glory, but to teach The Mountain a lesson after he apparently called Eddie a cheat at a competition they were both in once upon a time.

EH also makes a point to say he was never naive enough to think no one would ever beat his record -- but it sounds like this bitter rivalry will, in fact, end up with gloves on.

Gareth Pursehouse -- the man accused of murdering Drew Carey's ex-fiancee, Dr. Amie Hardwick -- once cracked a joke about "Game of Thrones" that now seems especially unnerving.

Harwick's alleged killer -- who allegedly attacked her in her home and caused her to fall from a third-story balcony -- posted his "joke" on Instagram in May 2019 ... about the famous 'GoT' scene from season 1 where Jaime Lannister pushes Bran Stark out of a window.

Pursehouse's pun is more about the incestuous relationship between Jaime and his sister, Cersei, but the fact it involves someone falling from a great height to their presumed death is certainly creepy.

We broke the story ... cops say Harwick was found unresponsive underneath a third-story balcony, with injuries consistent with a fall. She was taken to a hospital where she later died from her injuries.

Pursehouse was arrested for murder Saturday afternoon. He bonded out of jail Tuesday evening after being held on a $2 million bail.

Harwick and Pursehouse dated years ago, and as we reported ... she filed for 2 restraining orders against him in 2011 and 2012, claiming he attacked her multiple times and once threw her out of a car on the side of the freeway.

Sad news for "Game of Thrones" fans ... the guy who stood in as the body double for Alfie Allen's Theon Greyjoy has died, and Alfie's now offering up his thoughts and prayers.

Andrew Dunbar passed away on Christmas Eve in Belfast, Ireland ... this according to his friends and an extras acting agency that had employed him. No cause of death was immediately revealed, but the news seemed to stun his contemporaries, including Alfie.

The English actor posted tributes of his 'GoT' stand-in, saying "RIP Andrew Dunbar," and then going on to share his full thoughts. Alfie wrote, "Andrew Dunbar was an actor who was also a stand in as Theon on GoT. Extremely shocked and saddened to hear of his passing. To lose a loved one so young, I can only imagine what his family are going through."

Tommen Baratheon is backing up what Tormund Giantsbane has said about an alternate ending to their hit show, "Game of Thrones" ... and goes further by demanding its release.

We got Dean-Charles Chapman Saturday in NYC and asked him about what costar Kristofer Hivju recently said to a British outlet about a different version of events for the 'GoT' finale -- which he said was mostly for fun, and something he probably couldn't talk about.

Dean plays it close to the vest here, not revealing the content of any such ending. But, he certainly seems to be confirming there was actually a second ending that was shot.

Granted, Dean's character -- who was prematurely crowned King of Westeros -- was killed off in season 6. Still though, he appears to know about the secret ending -- and is down to see it out there. Check it out ... he says the fans deserve at least that after being let down.

Of course, tons of people were pissed over the actual ending to the series -- including AOC and Senator Elizabeth Warren -- because they felt it was rushed and poorly written.

Emilia Clarke says she was pushed to perform in the nude as a young actress getting her start on "Game of Thrones" ... and she's had fights on sets over her refusal to bare all again.

Emilia -- who rose to fame playing Daenerys Targaryen on 'GoT' -- opened up on Dax Shepard's "Armchair Expert" podcast about her experiences with nudity ... explaining that going nude early on Season 1 of 'Thrones' made others assume she was comfortable acting naked.

She says she was told she needed to perform nude so as not to disappoint her 'GoT' fans. Emilia says she fought to keep her body covered by issuing a "f*** you" to folks on set.

It's a pretty fascinating conversation ... Khaleesi says she didn't feel comfortable saying no to a "f***ton" of nudity as a 'GoT' rookie, but eventually learned she could set the barriers on how much she was willing to reveal after working with Jason Momoa, her onscreen love interest.

Good news, bad news for "Game of Thrones" fans!!!

The Good News ... author George R.R. Martin is finally giving a timetable on when he plans to finish the final two books from his "A Song of Ice and Fire" saga!!!

The Bad News ... George says they'll come out BEFORE the NY Jets or Giants win another Super Bowl -- so it could be a while!!!

Of course, Martin is a HUGE NY football fan -- he blogs about both teams -- but he's REALLY down on the Jets and Giants at the moment because, well, they suck!!!

But, don't get too upset NY fans ... Martin tells us he's actually warming up to the Giants' infamous Daniel Jones pick!!! So, that's a start!!!

George R.R. Martin ain't in Westeros anymore -- and with Winter officially having come and gone, it looks like the famed author hopped a dragon to SoCal ... emphasis on LOOKS like.

The "Game of Thrones" scribe was spotted at a beach in sunny Oceanside -- at least that's what we first thought when we saw this photo. Turns out -- this is George's freakin' doppelganger IN THE FLESH!!! Seriously, the resemblance is uncanny.

We reached out to George's rep to make sure it was in fact him, and we were told no dice!!! The rep says George was actually in a completely different state. The dude's got a crib in Santa Fe, NM -- so he very likely might've been there with his wife, Parris.

When we pressed the rep for George's location he rep told us ... "I know exactly where he is. Not California. Holed up writing."

As for his impostor here, the guy was only slightly less dressed down than the real McCoy -- rockin' a short-sleeve button-down shirt, matching pants and brighter version of GRRM's signature charcoal cap.

Something else to keep in mind ... Comic-Con just wrapped the weekend before in nearby San Diego. So, maybe this guy's still cosplayin'.

Doesn't appear the fake George was flocked by fans -- especially those disgruntled ones who've been bitching about a botched final 'GoT' season.

The good news for real George is if he ever does need someone to help him dodge angry mobs ... he can find him on King's Beach Landing!!!

Joe Jonas and Sophie Turner clearly pulled out all the stops for their second round of nuptials, and it was the polar opposite of an Elvis wedding.

Sophie and Joe shared this pic of them walking down the aisle last Saturday at the French estate, Chateau de Tourreau. It was super glam, and lots of folks were on hand to cheer them on, including Nick and Priyanka, Kevin Jonas and his wife, Danielle.

Sophie looked frickin' amazing ... no surprise, but still, amazing.  

It was a far cry from their first and official wedding in May, right after the Billboard Music Awards, where they beelined it down the strip to a small chapel where an Elvis impersonator did the honors as they exchanged Ring Pops and Dan + Shay serenaded them.

They needed to tie the knot in the U.S., but the real ceremony went down at the chateau.  

They left France for a honeymoon and jumped on a yacht in Capri. They had lots of company ... Katharine McPhee, who's on her honeymoon with David Foster, said on social media that Joe and Sophie were 2 yachts over from them. Fancy schmancy.  

Joe Jonas and Sophie Turner are getting ready to tie the knot again with a nod to her "Game of Thrones" stardom ... by going full red wedding for their rehearsal dinner!!!

Joe and Sophie just arrived at La Mirande in France for their Friday night rehearsal dinner ... and the bride and groom are decked out in a matching bright-red ensemble.

Sophie rose to fame playing Sansa Stark on 'GoT' ... and the couple's dinner garb clearly looks like an homage to her time in the Seven Kingdoms. 

The red wedding theme only extends to Joe and Sophie though ... their star-studded dinner guests showed up wearing all white. Here's hoping their night ends better than the 'GoT' version did!!!

Check it out ... Priyanka Chopra, Nick Jonas, Kevin and Danielle Jonas, Ashley Graham and fellow 'GoT' alum Maisie Williams are all looking super fresh. Here's hoping no one spills during the feast!!!

Joe and Sophie already said "I Do" stateside during an early May surprise wedding in Vegas, complete with an Elvis impersonator ... but they're in France now for some formal nuptials. 

Sophie Turner's face says it all ... she's stoked to get married to Joe Jonas again, but this time in a place that's super formal and super fancy ... even for France.

The couple has arrived at what is presumably their official weekend wedding venue, the Château de Tourreau in Sarrians, and from the look of the place ... it's going to be epic.

The French chateau is a restored 18th century castle with 9 rooms, a luxurious pool, a winery and a tennis court ... so yeah, it'll be perfect for the 'gram.

Joe and Sophie's arrival at the Chateau follows a week-long trek across the country that started in Paris -- where they were joined by Nick and Priyanka -- with a stop in a Provence village away from everyone else to get some R&R.

It looks like it's the final countdown to the wedding ceremony now, though ... and we'll be on the lookout to see who's on the guest list, besides Dr. Phil.

As you may know, the TV host spilled the beans about the date of the wedding on an Instagram comment earlier this week, when he said ... "Easy now! 1 week to go! Ha! See you at the wedding!"

Of course, the couple already tied the knot in early May in a surprise Vegas ceremony officiated by an Elvis impersonator ... but word on social media was they had a formal wedding planned in France sometime in 2019.

Hodor from "Game of Thrones" must've still been in character during his DJ set this weekend -- he didn't talk much ... but there was A LOT of noise coming from his booth.

Actor Kristian Nairn came through for his DJing gig Friday night at Larry Flynt's Hustler Club in Vegas, where he'd been booked to perform for a Rave of Thrones event ... in honor of the Comic-Con going down, of course. It was a rooftop affair, full bar included.

Musically speaking, Kristian didn't disappoint. The dude did his thaaang well from behind the turntable, mixing in a bunch of EDM hits, and the crowd ate it up on the dance floor.

Like we mentioned earlier, Hodor wasn't in a chatty mood -- at least from what we can see in this video. Not even a courtesy "Hodor" mumble on the mic ... kind of a bummer, really.

BUT ... Kristian was cordial, waving at patrons who, naturally, shouted out his character's name. It also looks like folks showed out in full 'GoT' attire, with some even taking a seat on a makeshift Iron Throne.

Luckily, nobody endured death by flesh-eating white walkers this time around. Yeah, Hodor holds the door ... and holds it down pretty much everywhere else, including here.

The biggest DJ in all of Westeros is taking his talents to Las Vegas ... Hodor from "Game of Thrones" is throwing it down on the 1s and 2s Friday at a strip club!!!

Actor Kristian Nairn, famous for playing Bran Stark's trusty sidekick in the super popular HBO series, will be the guest DJ Friday night at Larry Flynt's Hustler Club as part of Comic-Con weekend in Vegas.

The strip club is having a huge 'GoT' themed rave to kick off the weekend ... and come midnight, Hodor will be spinning tunes on the rooftop terrace as patrons dressed in cosplay dance the night away!!!

Turns out, club owners are HUGE fans of Hodor and the entire 'GoT' franchise ... and we're told the venue is gonna be tricked out to bring the show to life. Brothels were big in the Seven Kingdoms, so it makes sense.

What's the over/under on the number of times Kristian says "Hodor" during his DJ set???

Someone hold the door ... sounds like a great party.

Kit Harington is finding healthy ways to release stress -- getting in a workout down the street from his stay at a "wellness center" ... aka rehab.

The "Game of Thrones" star was walking out of a gym Friday in the Connecticut neighborhood where he's been taking what his people call a mental health retreat ... at a luxury facility.

Kit, who played Jon snow on the extremely popular HBO series, was rocking jeans and a button down on his way out of the gym. His female companion appears to be someone connected to the facility -- maybe a sponsor ... she's been seen with him around town in late April.

As we reported ... Kit's reportedly getting treatment for exhaustion, stress and alcohol abuse at a facility that's believed to cost about $120,000 per month. As you can see, he's allowed to leave the facility from time to time.

We're told Kit spent about 90 minutes at the gym ... plenty of time to get in a killer workout.

3:34 PM PT -- Kit's reps got back to us, and say he "has decided to utilize this break in his schedule as an opportunity to spend some time at a wellness retreat to work on some personal issues."

They say he's NOT there for "rehab," and emphasize the words, "wellness retreat."

Kit Harington was hit hard by "Game of Thrones" coming to an end -- so hard, he checked himself into a rehab center for stress and alcohol before the final episode aired.

The actor, who famously played Jon Snow on 'Thrones,' entered a luxury Connecticut facility for a mental health retreat weeks before the May 19 finale ... according to the NY Post, which first reported his rehab stay.

Kit's been getting treatment for stress, exhaustion and alcohol abuse. The Post says his wife -- fellow 'GoT' star Rose Leslie -- has been very supportive of the decision to get professional help.

The rehab facility is believed to cost over $120,000 per month ... no word yet on when Harington will be released.

As you know, 'GoT' wrapped its highly-anticipated 8th final season earlier this month. Reviews of the whole season were extremely mixed, at best, and downright awful at worst. It still got HUGE ratings, though.

Video of Kit reacting to the final script in the 'GoT' behind-the-scenes documentary as he read the fate of his character and Emilia Clarke's Daenerys Targaryen went viral ... because he broke down in tears.

Clearly, he wasn't just being dramatic. He has since said he needed therapy after learning how the show ends for his character.

Kit's also been very open about how much the show's worldwide attention has impacted his life. He told Variety the "darkest" point was when Jon Snow was killed ... but later came back to life.