Tired of dying in practically every single film or TV show in which he appears, Sean Bean perked up when an interviewer mentioned he might be able to rejoin the cast of Game of Thrones through flashbacks that are (almost) certainly coming in season 5. But Bean got a little too excited, and may have confirmed a popular fan theory without meaning to.

When Vulture's Jennifer Vineyard brought up Bran Stark's visions of his father, Lord Eddard, through the Heart Tree, Bean loved the idea:

Oh, yeah, yeah! And I'm his father, so that would be great fun! Just to go back to that for a while, it would be such fun to do. It would be great! It would be bizarre, but it would be great! So I guess if they're going to do flashbacks, then yeah!

But he didn't stop there:

And that should happen, shouldn't it? I've definitely got some unfinished business that needs to be resolved there. I'm obviously not Jon Snow's dad. And you need that to be revealed at some point, don't you? So Bran would kind of be the one having the flashback, and he would see Ned praying, right? And revealing those things?

Well, obviously. Wait, what?

Although the true origins of Jon Snow, who everyone knows as Ned Stark's bastard, have never been made explicit, strong hints in the first book of George Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire have given rise to a fan theory that Jon is part-Stark, but not on his adoptive father's side. And that's not even the best part: He could throw another huge monkey wrench into the already complicated battle for succession to the Iron Throne.

And Bean implicitly confirmed it all, whether he meant to or not. Of course, that doesn't mean he possesses any insider knowledge. He could have, like many, just read the first book and drawn his own conclusions about Lord Eddard's secret shame.

Still, it's more fuel on the hearthfire of a theory that seems to be getting more popular all the time.

[H/T Vulture, Photo: HBO]