Diana Rigg once 'stormed off' the set of <em>Game of Thrones</em> ? and inspired costars

The great, late Diana Rigg was an inspiring and intimidating force both on and off camera as the Queen of Thorns Olenna Tyrell.As detailed in the upcoming book Fire Cannot Kill a Dragon – the first uncensored behind-the-scenes story of the making Game of Thrones – Rigg was not only formidable as the crafty House Tyrell matriarch across five seasons of the HBO fantasy series, she could be fierce backstage as well.The Royal Shakespeare Company veteran, who died earlier this month, was 74 when she was offered a recurring role in the series by showrunners David Benioff and Dan Weiss in 2012. We loved her, she was funny, she was bawdy, she was everything we wanted for that character." Adds Weiss: "She said with a big smile, &apos;There&apos;s an awful lot of bonking, isn&apos;t there?&apos;" of the show&apos;s R-rated content.Then Rigg impressed the producers by arriving at her first table read having already memorized all her lines for the season, showing some of the less experienced cast members how a seasoned pro prepares for a job.Over the years, Rigg continually stunned with her ability to deliver instant-classic takes on the writers&apos; material and helped make many lines iconic, such as: "I’ve known a great many clever men. Be a dragon."Benioff and Weiss expanded Olenna&apos;s role from author George R.R. Martin&apos;s novels to double down on Rigg&apos;s strength as a performer.