--- title: Obama Game of Thrones Characters: GQ Bill Simmons description: Barack Obama confessed that he has trouble remembering the names of the characters on Game of Thrones. canonical: https://time.com/4117124/obama-cant-keep-track-game-of-thrones-characters/ author: Megan McCluskey article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-11-17T22:04:30.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T08:02:57.381Z og:title: Obama Says He Can't Keep Track of 'Game of Thrones' Characters og:description: He's too busy running the real world to keep track of a fictional one og:url: https://time.com/4117124/obama-cant-keep-track-game-of-thrones-characters/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf52baedc0088b9ef/698871912dce013b459e68c8/barack-obama-tyrion-lannister.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2000 og:image:height: 1125 og:image:alt: barack-obama-tyrion-lannister og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Obama Says He Can't Keep Track of 'Game of Thrones' Characters twitter:description: He's too busy running the real world to keep track of a fictional one twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf52baedc0088b9ef/698871912dce013b459e68c8/barack-obama-tyrion-lannister.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Obama Reveals He Can't Keep Track of the _Game of Thrones_ Characters > Sponsored content. 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Every edition is assembled by TIME editors rather than generated automatically. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-brief-2026q3/newsletters?i=ba71f8f4-19e2-4f65-ab02-b15b78356484&cr=time-nl-brief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: 'Thrones' Catching Up With Book Plot Means Spoilers For All [Watch (HLS stream): 'Thrones' Catching Up With Book Plot Means Spoilers For All](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/j83INjRk.m3u8) (2:02)  _Published 2015-06-16. The day_  by [Megan McCluskey](https://time.com/author/megan-mccluskey/)  ## Megan McCluskey Staff Writer Nov 17, 2015 10:04 PM UTC  From left: Barack Obama and Tyrion Lannister. From left: Barack Obama and Tyrion Lannister. Mehmet Ali Ozcan—Getty Images; Helen Sloan—HBO/AP  by [Megan McCluskey](https://time.com/author/megan-mccluskey/)  ## Megan McCluskey Staff Writer Nov 17, 2015 10:04 PM UTC Barack Obama confessed that he has trouble remembering the names of the characters on _Game of Thrones_ in an interview for _GQ’s_ “Men of The Year” [20th anniversary issue](http://www.gq.com/story/president-obama-bill-simmons-interview-gq-men-of-the-year). The Commander in Chief sat down with HBO’s Bill Simmons, the former editor in chief of ESPN’s Grantland, for an exclusive White House Q&A, during which he said that he loves the popular HBO drama. However, when asked about his favorite character from the series, Obama responded, “My favorite character is probably…the dwarf, what’s his name?…The problem with _Game of Thrones…_is that I don’t remember the names of any of the characters.” In fact, he revealed he can only recall a single person from Westeros. “I remember the characters, so when I watch it, I know exactly what’s going on,” he said. “But if you read a review of the show afterwards and they’re mentioning such and such, the only one I remember is Jon Snow, because I can pronounce Jon Snow.” Basically, the show is long and full of actors. It’s no secret Obama is a fan of the show. Last year, co-creators of the show, David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, [told _Vanity Fair_](http://time.com/20215/president-obama-gets-to-watch-game-of-thrones-season-4-before-you-do/) that Obama was given advanced screeners of the show’s upcoming season. ## Transcript The Game of Thrones season five finale aired sunday and with the end of the season the show has essentially caught up with George R. R. Martin's A song of Ice and Fire series. Throughout the course of the TV series websites like ScreenRant and CheatSheet have discussed the differences between the story told on TV and in Martin's books. But specifically in the last two episodes of season five, we saw new storylines not yet revealed to book readers, and some fans aren't so happy. Prepare for spoilers. In episode nine, Dance of Dragons, Stannis Baratheon most likely lost his entire fan base when he sacrificed his daughter at the stake in a last ditch effort to change his fate with the Lord of Light. Lord of Light, show us the way. Mother. This was one of the first plot lines that Martin suggested to show runners David Benioff and Dan Weiss making it a spoiler for his next book in the series. When George first told us about this, it was one of those moments where I remember looking at Dan I was just like, God that's so, it's so horrible, and so good in a story sense. Because it all comes together. As a result [ UNKNOWN ] wife [ UNKNOWN ] hangs herself in the season finale, right before [ UNKNOWN ] ill- fated march on Windsorfell. Stansis says later, seemingly murdered by, of all people [ UNKNOWN ]. Do you have any last words? In contrast the most recent book, A Dance with Dragons, has Stannis weathering a snow storm and managing depleting supplies and men. But the most confusing plot point for the show is one that the book readers new was coming, John Snows death. When John is stabbed at the end of the fifth novel it is unclear whether he just faints or actually dies. But in the show he's clearly murdered in a scene reminiscent of Julius Caesar's betrayal. This is obviously a big deal, the death of Jon Snow. It's something we've been thinking about for a long, long time. And although Kit Harrington, who plays Snow, and show runners David Benioff and Dan Weiss have all confirmed that Snow is Is in fact dead. Martin has avoided answering whether or not Snow will make appearance in the upcoming Winds for Windsor novel. The book is rumored for release later this year. 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