This Is Us Producer Tweets Out Moving Fan Story About GoT Author George R. Martin And His Late Friend

People are fascinated by celebrity encounters, those stories that give a small snapshot as to what these prominent figures are like just one on one. Sometimes we are disappointed to find out that our famous heroes are actually jerks but other times we get a story that makes us even bigger fans. Writer George R. Martin has reached a level of celebrity that not many other writers experience, with Game of Thrones mania reaching around the world. With the final season upon us, ‘This Is Us’ creator, Dan Fogelman, decided to grace Twitter with his touching celebrity experience with the renowned author and people everywhere can’t stop crying.

Key Points

Ahead of the Game of Thrones premiere ‘This Is Us’ producer Dan Fogelman tweeted out an emotional fan story about GoT writer George R. Martin

Image credits: Dan_FogelmanIn a twitter thread, the creator of the hit NBC drama shared the story of him and his friend Alex Hanan running into Martin at a Broadway show in 2017. Fogleman describes his friend as “handsome and charming as hell” then goes on to explain, “He’s also obsessed w ‘Game of Thrones’ like no one you’ve ever known.” It becomes clear the focus of the story is about his superfan friend trying to meet his idol.Image credits: Dan_FogelmanImage credits: Dan_FogelmanImage credits: Dan_FogelmanDespite Folegman’s pleading to keep cool Hanan refused to let the fan opportunity get away from him. He got his fan photo and “miraculously got George R Martin’s cell phone number,” who was accompanied by his wife.Image credits: Dan_FogelmanImage credits: Dan_FogelmanImage credits: Dan_FogelmanAfter the show, his excited friend can’t decide whether or not to text Martin. Fogleman begs him not to afraid that he will only be disappointed when his idol doesn’t respond, but once again Hanan cannot be deterred from at least trying – which once again pays off.Image credits: Dan_FogelmanImage credits: Dan_FogelmanMartin invites an elated Hanan to join him and his wife for their post-show tradition of grabbing some pizza. Fogelman still can’t believe their luck and is convinced that this is where things will finally go south but agrees to go “at least it will be a funny story.”Image credits: Dan_FogelmanImage credits: Dan_FogelmanThe night ended with a giddy superfan living out a night with the author of his favorite series, but that’s not how the Twitter thread ended. What George R. Martin didn’t know that night was that the joyful Hanan was battling stage 4 lung cancer.Image credits: Dan_FogelmanFor Fogelman, this final season of Game of Thrones will mean more than just a cool T.V show. “It will also be a reminder of our friend who we will miss terribly.” And adds that people should use the story as “a reminder of the importance of kindness (for no other reason than being kind).Image credits: Dan_FogelmanImage credits: Dan_Fogelman

Photo of Alex Hanan and his literary hero George R. Martin

Image credits: Dan_FogelmanHanan was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2014 and passed away in July of 2018. He was candid about his diagnoses and blogged about his illness on his blog ‘I Got This.’