Last night saw the season premiere of HBO’s highly anticipated “Game of Thrones” kick off, which presented an extensive cast in a fantasy world of intrigue.

British star Sean Bean, plays a familiar role of a warrior marching into battle, laden down with armor and weapons.

The new series is based on George R.R. Martin’s popular “A Song of Ice and Fire” series of fantasy novels.

Bean plays the role of Lord Eddard “Ned” Stark as the Lord of Winterfell and protector of the northern edge of the kingdoms of Westeros.

“To do something like this is unusual for television,” Bean told the Boston Herald. “There’s an epic quality to it. It’s quite courageous of HBO to do this — it’s different. It’s great to do 10 episodes that stretch right across all seven kingdoms.”

Speaking about his character he said: “He’s a fair man — loyal to his king and realm.”

“He’s a courageous family man who looks out for his children and his wife. He puts his loyalty above all else.”

“If you play (the character) from what is there, it works,” he said. “You’ve got to try not to impose anything unnatural on the character. The book provided a very good description of the characters — what they look like, what they’re thinking. It’s a great back story and all the information you need is in the script. It felt very natural. I just tried to play as much as I could what Ned was in the book."