London, Jul 13 (IANS): Actress Gemma Whelan ate chicken all day on the sets of the hit TV series "Game of Thrones" despite being a pure vegetarian.

The 36-year-old actress, who plays Yara Greyjoy in the series, assumed she would be able to request a meat substitute for her character to consume, but soon realised the "calibre" of the show. So, she chowed down on the products which resulted in a huge protein hit, reports belfasttelegraph.co.uk.

"I'm a vegetarian. My brother, Theon (essayed by Alfie Allen), kills two boys and comes back thinking he's a hero. In the script, it says my character is eating meat. I thought I'd just tell them on the day that I don't eat meat and we could bring in a meat substitute," Whelan said.

"I didn't know the calibre of the show at the time and the set guy made a whole vat of chicken, so I ate chicken all day. I just told myself I was going method. The protein hit was quite something," she added.

Whelan joined the "Game of Thrones" cast in 2012.