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In 2019, Sean Bean expressed in his response to Vulture that he resorted to reading the first book to get a feel for who Eddard Stark was. In his answer, the actor also shows that he perfectly grasps the nature of screen adaptations based on book series and how they can differ in order to work as best as they can within their particular entertainment medium.
Bean read the first book while being mindful to keep himself at enough distance in order not to stifle his creative process and the dimensionality that the character should embody on the screen. In his words: “It was just to get a flavor, really. I didn’t want to get too attached to how Ned was portrayed and what the story was about, because I knew it was probably going to change. And I wanted to bring some of my ideas to the part.” The British actor also stressed the importance of bringing a level of sympathy and vulnerability to Ned, stressing that the Lord of Winterfell was an honest and honorable man but not without faults.
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As full of depth and relevant details as George R.R. Martin’s books are, Bean knows that “there’s only so much you can get from a book.” He wanted to avoid getting too attached to ideas that could be lost in the translation from the book’s pages to the TV screen. In addition, Bean incorporated other elements, even some biographical ones, to help inspire his portrayal of the noble Ned Stark.
