The common assumption amongst Game of Thrones viewers is that Jon Snow and Daenerys Targaryen are the show’s biggest stars. Both have existed as young leaders in isolated plot lines — and if the story is a song of Ice and Fire, Jon is the ice and Daenerys is the fire. But, according to new data, the imp himself, Tyrion Lannister, is the true star.
Looker, a data platform based in Santa Cruz, California, has gathered statistics on character deaths and total screen time in every season of Game of Thrones. According to their findings, Tyrion gets the most screen time, followed by Jon Snow, Daenerys Targaryen, Cersei Lannister, and Sansa Stark. It’s a bit of a surprise that Sansa has more screen time than Arya or even Jaime Lannister.
The numbers shift slightly if you look at the number of episodes a character has appeared in rather than outright screen time. Tyrion still reigns supreme with 54 episode appearances, but this time Cersei Lannister climbs to second place, supplanting Jon and Daenerys.
The upcoming seventh season will reveal if the writers simply like Tyrion a whole lot or if he has a greater significance to the story. Theories abound that he’s secretly a Targaryen.
Check out the rest of the data here, which includes the surprising revelation that Season 3 is the least bloody season — despite the notorious Red Wedding.
Game of Thrones Season 7 premieres July 16 on HBO.
