Spoiler

Of course, watching Ned become a head shorter might cause his fans to depart which would put a dent in the ratings for the next season. Let's hope that the show is great enough that they are forced to tune in.

Back to Casting News....

Alright, so we have confirmation that Sean Bean has been cast as Ned Stark. However, we have more casting news along with the aforementioned announcement.

Mark Addy has been cast as King Robert Baratheon. He has mostly worked in comedic roles, but has lately taken some serious roles. His audition impressed Martin enough that he was cast as Robert.



Harry Lloyd is picked to play the role of Viserys Targaryen. Llyod has been in English shows such as Doctor Who, Robin Hood, and the Devils Whore. I think he definitely has the look pull off to Viserys.



Jack Gleeson is going to play Joffrey Baratheon. His most noteworthy role was the Little Kid from Batman Begins.

Kit Harington has been tapped to play Jon Snow. Harington's work has mostly been in theaters, and he is making his television debut as Jon Snow. Apparently, the producers were "blown away" by his audition for Jon Snow. I hope the kid is damn good if he is playing Jon.



You can check out this well researched piece on all the actors for more information.

http://thewertzone.blogspot.com/2009/07/more-official-casting-news-for-game-of.html

Also, there are is a rumor going around right now that Gillian Anderson might have been cast as Catelyn Stark, and HBO is going to announce it at San Diego Comic Con. However, this hasn't been confirmed, but there are a couple of people insisting that it is true. For now, I would categorize this as a hopeful rumor.

 

It's so great their making this. I like all the casting, the only ones i don't know about are the actore playing joffery and jon. Mark Addyin a Knight's tale was good (if comedic) but atleast we know he could fit the time period. (as much as a knights period is in the period)

 

This thread got me started reading the series, the first three of which I've put away in a week-long road trip and the fourth I'm currently a third of the way through, and GRRM is most definitely deserving of all the praise he's gotten. A Song of Ice and Fire truly has everything. Romance, humor, betrayal, action, grief; you name it, it's in there. I'd have to agree with just about everyone here when I say my favorite characters are Arya, Daenerys, Jon Snow, Tyrion and the Kingslayer being my favorite characters, and I could go on and on. Cersei, BRAN, sometimes Sansa, even Sam who seems like he's getting better and better. I guess the only ones I don't really like are the chapters concerning the Ironborn/Greyjoys. When I think about it they seem so insignificant that nobody really cares what they're doing since once the war is over they'll get crushed. But maybe I'm wrong.

I may have to get HBO just because of this show. I've been waiting for another excuse besides Entourage, and this might just be it. It definitely sounds promising already.

 

I'm a huge fan of the series but it's really not hard to figure out how the series will end:

Spoiler

everyone dies

 

Martin has said that the ending will be bittersweet. I highly doubt that your guess can be categorized as bittersweet.

Anyway, we have more casting news.

As per Reuters, the role of Catelyn Stark has been cast, and it is not Gillian Anderson. Instead, it is multiple Tony awards and BAFTA winning actress Jennifer Ehle.

 

Well bittersweet or not it probably doesn't make much difference to Martin.

Spoiler

everyone dies, except Jon Snow(even his wolf dies which makes the ending bittersweet)

 

My thoughts:

Spoiler

Actually, I think Jon's going to end up dead. Too much has been going his way lately and he's located right where the Others are going to attack first. My two most likely candidates for survivors right now are Tyrion and Bran. Tyrion would live simply to spite everyone, and I see Bran as the most likely Stark to survive (because one of them has to, right?). He's going somewhere no one would expect to find him, and Martin seems to be putting fairly strong emphasis on his warg powers. Of course, Martin could just be purposely hyping Bran to make it worse when he does get killed off...

On the subject of casting, I think Ehle was a better choice to play Catelyn; Gillian Anderson looked too young (maybe that was just the picture though; it was from Maxim after all).

 

It looks like Daenerys (unconfirmed) and Jaime (confirmed) has been cast. Martin revealed to fans at the Montreal Con that Jaime has been cast, but he refused to divulge the actor's name. I'm fervently hoping my dream casting (Kevin McKidd) comes true.

On the other, the casting of Dany is a bit murkier. Martin claims, he has no knowledge of Dany being cast. However, an actress by the name of Natalie Victoria says she was wasn't allowed to try out for Daenerys, because HBO has already gotten someone for her.

Either way, we are due to get some major casting news in the next few hours or days.

 

More casting news came out about 10 days ago, and we have had several actors cast for various roles.

Alfie Allen as Theon Greyjoy.



I'm not exactly sure what to think about this one. Theon is supposed to look like a smug asshole. The only thing, Alfie Allen, resembles is a retard.

Tamzin Merchant as Daenerys Taragyen.



She certainly isn't averse to doing to nude scenes (much to my delight) as evidenced by her role as Katherine Howard on the Tudors. However, I'm worried if she will be able to pull of a character like Dany. She was decent on the Tudors, but she never stood out even with all her scenes of seduction. I'm hoping she learned her lesson and does much better in a Game of Thrones.

Nikolaj Coster-Waldau as Jaime Lannister.



I have shed my tears (metaphorically speaking) for the non McKidd casting, and I'm now behind the Nikolaj Coster-Waldau casting. He isn't quite what I imagined the Kingslayer to look like, but the guy has the look and acting range along with versatility to pull off one of the most complex characters in the series.

Iain Glen as Ser Jorah Mormant



Love the Ian Glein casting. He has the look for an old and weary knight in exile. Helps that the guy is an absolutely great actor too.

Richard Madden as Robb Stark



Arya and Sansa have also been cast, but they are both unknowns. Here is what the Starks look like as of now. Unfortunately, the image is too big for me to fit here, so if you want to see what Arya and Sansa look like just click the link.

http://liftingfaces.com/uploads/thestarks.jpg

The last piece of news is that the Hound has been cast. The name hasn't been released, but they have an actor.

 

Didn't spot any news in this thread about Cersei's casting, but it's been finalized as Lena Headey, the actress who played Sarah Conner in the Terminator: The Sarah Conner Chronicles.




I wonder if she'll look good with blond hair... Quite a good actress, though. Not quite what I've imagined Cersei to look like, but I guess she'll do.

 

I knew about it, but I didn't want to post over and over again without anyone else.

I thought Lena Headey would be a good choice for Catelyn, but I think she can make for a very good Cersei as well. She is not Tricia Helfer (who I wanted), but she is a good enough actress to pull off the icy bitch routine deliciously.

Oh and it looks the like the Hound has been cast well. Martin's clues about the Sandor's casting point to Rory McCann.





One last piece of news that any Deadwood (one of the best shows HBO has ever put on) fans might enjoy. Garrett Dillahunt (Francis Wolcott from Deadwood) is huge fan of the book series, and wants to be involved with the tv series. I remember how great he was in all three of his Deadwood roles, and I can't help but be excited about who he might play.

 

Game of Thrones just got picked up for a full season!

They also released the first image.



http://tv.ign.com/articles/107/1073428p1.html

 

...at least GRRM fans are used to long waits.

 

I Starting reading this series when I was in 7th grade, you want to talk about good morning, welcome to the fucked up world of GRRM written Fantasy. It was and still is my favorite all time series to read, and I used to check his damnable web site for updates on it all the time, but he only tends to change his message to the people once a year..actually should check it..last update was January of 2009. He does blog however, so feel free to try and moan there.

One of the most epic series I have ever read, and without a doubt the most highly recommended piece of literature to anyone who even thinks they might like fantasy. It is that good.

 

The good news is that he is getting closer to being done. On his blog, he mentioned that he is up to 1311 as of March 1st. Here is hoping, we get news of A Dance with Dragon's completion this month as well.

 

So, I finished reading the books so thanks at first at Philly Homer for introducing them to me.

Spoiler

As to my guess on how this series will end, I do hope that Daenerys will come out victorious since she is my favorite character but the dismissal of Ser Jorah is certainly going to bite her in the ass at the worst possible time and the fact that the Ironborn people are out to get her Dragons is not a good sign either.

Other than those two, I also like to follow Jamie, Tyrion and Arya. I also liked the Sansa chapters, sure she was a spoiled girl but the way she was confronted with reality and what she experienced made her a likable character, but I don't think she will live through this. Maybe she will get knocked up and die after her child is born.

 

You're welcome.

I didn't just update for any odd reason, I come bearing the first trailer of the series.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6MophfvUlfI

It's only 22 seconds, but it leaves you want a lot more.

Furthermore, he is the first image released from the show. I have tried to post it on here, but it's entirely too big for me to post. I tried finding a smaller version, but I couldn't. So, I will just a link you to the blog post, I did on A Game of Thrones.

 

A new Daenerys and Loras Tyrell

I'm going to quote The Joker and ask "What does it take to make you people join in?'.... I don't mind posting updates or anything, but posting by myself is really no fun, I kinda feel a bit weird just posting by myself.

Anyway, the news broke today that they found someone to play Loras Tyrell. Reading that, I remembered that I never posted the news that there was a new actress has been cast for the role of Daenerys.

After holding auditions in Dublin, Belfast, and London, the team behind Game of Thrones settled on a relative unknown by the name of Emilia Clarke . Here is what George RR Martin had to say on Emilia getting cast to play Daenerys.

There really isn't much to judge Clarke on since her her only accredited work (on IMDB) is starring in one episode of a show called Doctors. I'm assuming it's some sort of British soap opera, since the show has more than 1,300 episodes over a 7 year span. If you visit the link above, there are video links to her appearance in Doctors.



Soon after her casting, Clarke commented through a Facebook message, and it appeared on a German Lord of the Rings fansite (I think they are following GoT because of Sean Bean's involvement).

I don't know if she became a fan of the books, before or after, she got the part of Daenerys either way, it's good to see she is a fan of the source material.

Also, as I mentioned above, they ahve a guy playing Loras Tyrell.

I did a blog post (Visit! A hit is good for writing moral) about, and I figured I should post it here as well.

A couple of days ago there was a rumor on Winter is Coming that Finn Jones has been cast as Loras Tyrell aka The Knight of Flowers (pictured right on my blog).

Today, George RR Martin confirmed the casting. Here is what he had to say on the decision to go with Jones.

Most of you are probably asking yourselves: Who the fuck is Finn Jones? And indeed that's a very good question to ask. The new Loras Tyrell is a 22 year old British actor, who is best known for his role in the popular British soap opera, "Hollyoaks". He originally appeared in the spinoff of "Hollyoaks" known as "Hollyoaks Later". Apparently, the guy was a good enough actor that they decided to promote him to the original soap, which is a good indication that Benioff, Weiss, and Gold (executive producers and casting director) have got themselves a good actor for Loras. Look wise, he seems to match Loras pretty well. His age shouldn't be a point of concern, since it's not a big deal, in Hollywood, to see an older actor playing a younger role just look at Brandon T Jackson (26) played a 16 year old in Percy Jackson. Jones looks young enough (pictured below) for Loras, which is a good thing considering youth is a big part of Loras' character.



Finn Jones is the first one to be officially signed, and Martin sheds a bit of light on the casting process.

Though Martin tells us to take the rumors with a grain of salt, I should mention that so far the casting rumors have been very accurate. Mo Ryan and Winter is Coming reported the castings of Sean Bean and Lena Headey far before sites like Hollywood Reporter. In fact, there hav e been rumblings that HBO was so unhappy with the leaks that they have been extra cautious with this particular project. Up until now it seemed to work, but Jones kinda ruined it by tweeting about it. Also it's interesting to see that his twitter page seems to have disappeared right after he accidentally leaked the news. Martin and HBO can try as hard as possible to dissuade rumors, but the A Song of Ice an Fire fan base will sniff out any significant news that pertains to Game of Thrones.

And as Martin continues, it looks like won't to wait much longer for more casting news.

Look, I'm excited about Jones' casting, but it mostly has to do with the fact that we finally get another bit of casting news. However, I anticipate the casting announcement for characters like, Littlefinger (one of my favorites), Bronn, Pycelle, and Tywin, far more fervently. And it looks like we might be closer to getting them.

Can't wait to see more of Winter come to HBO!

 

This thread just makes me want to read the books again. Which is going to make me want to read A Dance With Dragons. Which is never going to be finished. Very vicious, unproductive circle.

Love the casting of Jones as Sir Loras, btw. Looks just like I had imagined him.

 

Game of Thrones: Casting Petyr "Littlefinger" Baelish

Latest update from Georgie, which was posted a couple of days.

It seems if he is getting closer, but I don't think we see the book this year.
--------------------------------------
I wrote a speculation piece on possible actors who could possibly play Littlefinger. Figured I would post it heer while we wait for some casting new to break.

Before I begin this post, I just want to say the author of Winter is Coming has already done something similar. However, our choices to play Littlefinger mostly differ, which is why I decided to do a post about who I would like to see play Lord Petyr Baelish. The devious man known as Littlefinger is perhaps my favorite character (competing with Jaime Lannister) from the entire series. In a series filled with nobles, who are entitled to their positions by their blood, it's refreshing to see lowly Petyr Baelish embark on a meteoric rise to power within the complex King's Landing political structure. Sure, his means and obsessions might be considered unsavory and creepy by many, but I think he is a brilliant character. Without getting into spoilers (for anyone who hasn't read up to book 4 yet) Littlefinger is a man who literally has nothing when he comes to King's Landing. By the time he leaves, the "the second most devious man in the Seven Kingdoms" (according to Varys) had become a major player in the Game of Thrones. He thrives on chaos, and ultimately wants to destroy the nobles and prove that he is better than them. And I find that admirable. With my liking of the character, and his significance to the overall story, the character of Littlefinger is extremely important, which is why HBO, David Benioff, Dan Weiss and Nina Gold need to pick an excellent actor to play the diabolical rags to riches story of Westeros. Another reason as to why, I'm doing this post now is because we will be getting more casting news (I believe) shortly, so I might not get this opportunity again until next season.

Quick summary of Littlefinger's character as A Wiki of Ice and Fire

Honorable Mentions - James Callis (just became a series regular on Eureka, so he won't be Littlefinger) and Gary Oldman (far too many movies lined up to even consider a TV series) were both considered, but I decided to go with these 6.

Christoph Waltz
​

If you have watched the opening scene of Inglorious Basterds, then you can understand why I would suggest Waltz to play Littlefinger. For those of you who haven't (I tried really hard at to find the scene, but was unsuccessful) Waltz displays all the acting ability and mannerisms necessary to play Lord Baelish. In the scene, Waltz is questioning a man about potentially hiding Jews within his house knowing perfectly well that he is helping them hide. However, he plays along, makes the man comfortable and even cracks a few jokes during the questioning just to gain the man's trust. Having gained some semblance of trust, Waltz increases the tension and creepiness of his character and proceeds to calmly litter the entire house with bullets. In those few minutes, Waltz shows you that not only does he have the ability to play Littlefinger, but he would excel in such a role. Don't believe me? The Academy gave him an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for his role. However, the Oscar might prove to be an issue as that cuts down the chances of him appearing in Game of Thrones. Perhaps, the prestige of being involved in an HBO show might be alluring but a glance at his IMDB page shows that Waltz just wrapped filming for the Green Hornet, and has a couple of more projects lined up, which makes his chances of appearing in Game of Thrones very slim.

The Verdict - He has the acting ability, comedic timing, creepiness, and mannerisms for Littlefinger down. Hell, he even looks a bit like him though he might be a bit too old (53). The latter isn't that much of an issue, but the Oscar winner's work schedule wouldn't allow him to commit to a television series for potentially 7 seven seasons in a supporting role even if it is an HBO production.

Dominic West
​

It's a well known fact that HBO likes to keep things incestous with their actors, which gives West and other HBO alums a very good shot at getting a part in the series if they chooses to do. West was the main character in what many consider to be the greatest TV show ever: HBO produced The Wire . Moreover, he was recently cast by Nina Gold (Casting Director for Thrones) in The Devil's Whore so she is obviously familiar with his work and abilities. Those of you haven't watched either one of those should check out 300, where West does a good job of playing the character of Theron (pictured above), whose ambition rivals that of Littlefinger. Having watched the Wire and 300, I think West is more than capable of handling Littlefinger, he can even pull of the look. His British accent, while being somewhat of a problem in The Wire, will be an advantage when it comes to Thrones. His height (6 feet) might be an issue but the producers have already shown that they are willing to veer from the book described heights of the character (I'm looking at you Mark Addy).

The Verdict - If West chose to audition for the role, I think there is a very high chance that he gets it. The only thing stopping him would be the commitment to star in another television series especially in a supporting role. Of course, he has nothing major lined up in the future, ( he recently wrapped up shooting for John Carter of Mars) so maybe he does go for the role.

Michael C Hall
​

Before, I get any farther, I just want everyone to know that I'm a huge fan of Dexter, so my opinion is a bit biased. Having said that, Hall would be my second choice (we will get to first in a while) to play Littlefinger. Both Dexter and Littlefinger hide in plain sight. They both come off as disarming, but in reality they are exceptionally cunning and manipulative. Both of them take advantage of the fact that their opponents underestimate them. As I was reading (I try to imagine what actors what would play certain characters) I thought Hall could easily pull off Littlefinger especially in the later books when the true extent of Littlefingers's deviousness is revealed. Hell, he might even get an Emmy out of it. Unfortunately, it would never be possible with Hall's commitment to Dexter. Furthermore, I highly doubt Showtime wants their poster boy to be a Supporting Actor on an HBO production even if Hall does have a previous relation with HBO through Six Feet Under.

The Verdict - Though, he would be perfect for the role (if he could pull off a British accent), there is a better chance of Sansa becoming an entertaining character than Hall playing Littlefinger. The shooting schedule would never match up and Showtime wouldn't allow it.

Michael Emerson

Emerson is quite the popular choice amongst fans to play Littlefinger and it looks as of it is actually quite possible, since Emerson has just finished with Lost and doesn't seem to have anything else he is working on at least that's what his IMDB page says. Honestly, that surprises the fuck out of me since Emerson won Emmys and universal praise for his portrayal of Benjamin Linus. You would think network executives, or directors would be lining up at his door to offer him a job. Maybe, the team behind Game of Thrones has already approached him him and thy are keeping ii under wraps as per HBO's desire. After all, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles' corpse wasn't cold before HBO had signed Lena Headey to play Cersei Lannister. or maybe, Emerson is just busy pitching the TV show he and Terry O'Quinn were rumored to have come up with together. For the sake of extending this article, I'm going to go with the former and assume that Emerson could potentially be playing Littlefinger. First, that would be a fucking coup for HBO. Network executives, everywhere, are looking for the next Lost, and Game of Thrones has been brought up in that conversation. By getting the best actor and (arguably) most interesting from the show, you would generate even more buzz for Game of Thrones. Buzz aside, it's not as if you are gettign a mediocre actor. Diabolical, Manipulative, and Creepy are often words used to describe Littlefinger. Well, Emerson has been doing a an excellent job of it for the past few years, and if he can master a British accent then I can only think of one or two actors who would be better suited to play Littlefinger.

The Verdict - Very much a possibility, since he doesn't seem to have anything else lined up. Emerson could do an amazing job with the role and would highlight the creepiness to Littlefinger. Emerson's acting talent would also allow the Master of Coin's dry wit and comic aspects to flourish. The only concern would be Emerson's age (55), but that can be ignored especially considering the benefits to acquiring Emerson.




Aidan Gillen
​

If Emerson was one of the more popular choices then Gillen is one of the most logical choices to play Littlefinger. He has the prior relationship with HBO, and his agent even admittedto contacting the team behind Thrones to get Gillen some work in the series. The shooting will take place in Northern Ireland, which happens to be Gillen's home. All of these factors suggest some sort of involvement for the artist formerly known as Councilman Carcetti in Game of Thrones. What makes him a wonderful fit for Littlefinger is the ruthless ambition he displayed as Tommy Carcetti. Not only that, while watching the show, I actually believed that Tommy would actually fix Baltimore's problems even being familiar with the man's ambitious nature. A lot of that credit goes to Gillen's acting as he made the audience believe that he was the man for Baltimore. That kind of talent is going to come in quite handy if he gets cast to play Westeros' second most devious man. If you look at the picture above, you could totally see that smirk on Littlfinger's face as he sits in another one of the Small Council's meetings.

The Verdict - You don't break the bank on him, but he provides with you with a solid performance. Not only is Gillen a very talented actor, he is not well known, and that makes him perfect (From HBO's standpoint) for a supporting role like Littlefinger.

Edward Norton
​

Look at that picture, it just screams Littlefinger. In a perfect world, Edward Norton would be playing Petyr Baelish, and he would do an absolutely stellar job with it. Unfortunately, we do not live in a perfect world, and Norton is far too big to grace the silver screen for a supporting role. He does have a connection with Nina Gold, since she was the Casting Director for The Illusionist, but I don't think it's going to come in handy when it comes to Norton.

The Verdict: He is one of the greatest actors of our generation, so a supporting role in a TV series will not appeal to him.

Agree? Disagree? Comment here or on my blog.