Game of Thrones is well known for its dark sense of humor, but its link to comedy is more deeply rooted than the fecal matter in King’s Landing, because it turns out that portions of the series were filmed in the same castle as Monty Python.
If you’ve watched Game of Thrones, you’ll probably remember Winterfell as the home of Game of Thrones characters like Arya and Sansa Stark. But the main castle of Winterfell is the same one that we see in Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Easily one of the best comedy movies ever, Monty Python and the Holy Grail parodies King Arthur and other legends. In fact, Monty Python and the Holy Grail is probably the best movie the comedy troupe — which consists of Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, and Michael Palin — has ever made.
But where is this filming location in the real world? Well, Doune Castle is in Scotland, and is a medieval stronghold that dates back to the 15th century. With its rich history and classical architecture, there isn’t a more ideal place to film shows about dragons and swordsmith and whatnot.
Even though we don’t see much of it in season 1, Winterfell is a pivotal location in Game of Thrones. They may not have realized it at the time, but the Starks leaving Winterfell is one of the catalysts that sets Game of Thrones in motion.
When Jon Arryn died, Ned Stark and his family were summoned to King’s Landing. Robert Baratheon, who was King at that time, wanted Ned, as his old friend, to replace Arryn as Hand of the King. But things quickly went downhill when Ned discovered the true parentage of Cersei Lannister’s children.
King Robert was killed, Cersei’s son Joffrey took the Throne, and beheaded Ned Stark in front of everyone, setting the infamous War of the Five Kings into motion.
The majority of the Starks died later on at the Red Wedding, So, if you think about it, the family really would’ve been better off staying in Winterfell. And it also feels only right that Winterfell is the place where the surviving Stark siblings reunite in the first episode of season 8.
In terms of tone, Monty Python and Game of Thrones couldn’t be more different. You probably wouldn’t even recognize the castle as Winterfell when you’re watching Monty Python, and vice versa. So, don’t feel bad if, when watching the two film back to back, you experience a little bit of tonal whiplash. But now you know what these essential opposite productions have such a huge thing in common, so you can point it out to anyone you watch them with (like we do – all the time).
For more on the world of Westeros, check out our guides to the Game of Thrones cast, the House of the Dragon cast, and House of the Dragon season 2.