The late Diana Rigg was fierce behind the 'Game of Thrones' camera, as well as in front of it

With the unfortunate passing of the late Diana Rigg recently, new untold stories about the goings-on of the veteran actress' have begun to emerge from the crew who worked with her while on 'Game of Thrones'. Rigg passed away one week ago at the age of 82, while in her sleep. She had been diagnosed with cancer earlier this year.

Beginning her time on the fantasy series of 'Game of Thrones' when she was 74, Rigg's heavy presence in the series will be documented in parts of a new behind-the-scenes book entitled 'Fire Cannot Kill a Dragon'. And yes, she was quite the bad-ass.

The Royal Shakespeare Company veteran, who also appeared on Broadway three times, joined 'Game of Thrones' following showrunners David Benioff and Dan Weiss pitching their idea of which character she would be perfect to play. In the book, Benioff recalls: "Dames don't audition for you; you audition for them. We loved her, she was funny, she was bawdy, she was everything we wanted for that character."

Weiss added that the actress was interested at once, quipping to the pair of them: "There's an awful lot of bonking, isn't there?"

Once cast as the fierce Queen of Thorns Olenna Tyrell, Diana Rigg shows up to the first cast roundtable of the series, with all of her lined memorised - which set the bar high for the rest of her less-experienced co-stars.

Emilia Clarke, who played the ill-fated Daenerys Targaryen in the series, remembers the one scene that she shared with Rigg. She mentions this in the book, saying: "I only had one scene with her and was very blessed to have had that [...] it was watching an acting master class."

Director Mark Mylod, who is nominated at this year's Emmys for 'This is Not for Fears', admitted that he was "terrified" of the actress. He continued: "My very first scene with her, I asked her to do a very minor thing. Like, 'Would it make sense if you close the door and walk a few paces before this moment?' She came back with some rebuttal about why she wanted to do it another way and then said: 'Thank you! Go away!'

"I became a five-year-old boy. I could feel myself blushing and creeping back to my monitor, stripped of any kind of dignity or authority."

The official untold story of how George R. R. Martin's fantasy series came to life will be hitting bookshops on October 6.

Via Entertainment Weekly.