597 replies to this topic

[Dorn]

the sword in the night, on 24 April 2011 - 10:16 PM, said:

I have found someone perfect for Margery Tyrell.  She even looks like Loras.  She played Michael's wife on Nikita and she's in the new movie hidden.  Her name's JORDAN HAYES.  She's pretty, petite, she's got the right hair and is really good.  Plus, she's up and coming, so she might be easily caught.

She's spot on perfect!! Great find

[Morrigan]

She's Canadian though...

[Dalan]

True.  No more Canadian actors.  Ryan Reynolds was bad enough...

[Vargos]

*would like to see Kris Kristofferson in a role*  No idea which one. Perhaps as Doran Martell? He has the looks of a man who has been through /alot/ during his life.

[saillias]

Please get James Purefoy from Rome in some role! Euron Greyjoy would be perfect.

[Tonya J]

Guys, are you still reading here?  (Benioff & Weiss)

Back when you started this website and asked for casting suggestions, I posted about the actor Nikolaj Coster-Waldau and you ended up casting him as Jaime.  I'm not saying I am directly responsible for that but it seemed that you were indeed listening.

Saw the casting news from George's clue earlier today.  It was posted at the web log devoted to Joss Whedon:  http://whedonesque.com .

I'm thrilled about this actor and it jolted me into thinking about Ron Perlman.  If he isn't too busy with Sons of Anarchy,  please consider casting him in the show.  He's so wonderful.

[ICE CROW]

Look with Danerys story begging to expand across the narrow sea we begin to see a much more racially diverse set of characters. There are to actors both of whom were in Kingdom of heaven and were amazing who i think would be amazing additions to the cast as characters in Qarth or definitely Meereen or Astapor somewhere along Danys ventures through the slave lands.
First is also from Deep Space Nine Fame Alexander Siddig plays Iman a Muslim general i think in Kingdom of Heaven. The second actor i think would be perfect i think especially as any number of big Meereenese characters is Ghassan Massoud who plays Saladin and gives an amazing performance throughout Kingdom of Heaven.

[Hound's She-wolf]

I think Luke Goss would be breat for the Red Viper. He can already swing a spear like nobody's business (see first ten minutes of Hellboy II) and he has a voice that would make a wolverine purr.

Also, Karl Urban would be great as almost any hot knight.

[Saturn Girl]

ICE CROW, on 15 August 2011 - 01:59 AM, said:

Look with Danerys story begging to expand across the narrow sea we begin to see a much more racially diverse set of characters. There are to actors both of whom were in Kingdom of heaven and were amazing who i think would be amazing additions to the cast as characters in Qarth or definitely Meereen or Astapor somewhere along Danys ventures through the slave lands.
First is also from Deep Space Nine Fame Alexander Siddig plays Iman a Muslim general i think in Kingdom of Heaven.

I second the recommendation to cast Alexander Siddig.  He was terrific in DS9, and recently in Cairo Time.  He has such expressive eyes, he conveys so much with just a look.  

I would also love to see Tony Head (from Buffy the Vampire Slayer) in this production.  I think he'd make an amazing Qyburn - he looks normal and kindly, but he can turn on the malevolent super creepiness at any moment and certainly could believably convey Maester-level intelligence.

[George Snow]

Saturn Girl, on 31 August 2011 - 07:21 PM, said:

I second the recommendation to cast Alexander Siddig.  He was terrific in DS9, and recently in Cairo Time.  He has such expressive eyes, he conveys so much with just a look.  

I talked to Nana Visitor at DragonCon this weekend, and she said that she would tell Al to look for the Dornish parts in Game of Thrones.  She said that he was based out of England, so that should help.

GH

[ICE CROW]

George Snow, on 06 September 2011 - 11:54 AM, said:

I talked to Nana Visitor at DragonCon this weekend, and she said that she would tell Al to look for the Dornish parts in Game of Thrones.  She said that he was based out of England, so that should help.

GH

I hope so, that would be amazing. I just hope especially moving into later season the expand the cast Ethnically. i don't know about anyone else but i felt the part of Hallyene the pyromancer, was more suited to an middle eastern actor.

[BrosBeforeSnows]

ICE CROW, on 08 September 2011 - 04:47 PM, said:

I hope so, that would be amazing. I just hope especially moving into later season the expand the cast Ethnically. i don't know about anyone else but i felt the part of Hallyene the pyromancer, was more suited to an middle eastern actor.

I understand why HBO feels the need to have an ethnically diverse cast, and there is something to be said for casting the better actor over the better resemblance, but I do kind of wish they'd stick to the books a little more than they have, appearance-wise. Most of the deviations in the first season were pretty minor, like hair and eye color (i.e. Jorah has fair hair instead of black. Tyrion doesn't have mismatched eyes, etc..), but when you completely change a character's race, it can have unforeseen repercussions on the entire storyline.

As for Hallyne, he's described as pale white in the books, which is not a skin tone I generally associate with Middle-Easterners. Now, on the other hand, Salladhor Saan is described as olive-skinned in the books, and the name even sounds Middle-Eastern to me, but a black actor was cast instead. He may be great for the role, don't get me wrong, but the casting directors are taking some liberty with that, which I don't necessarily mind, but I don't really see the need for it, either.

It may not make a difference for a role like Salladhor Saan, but it could potentially cause problems for other roles, like that of Xaro Xhoan Daxos, for example. In the books, Xaro is described as pale white, and the Qartheen people in general are referred to as "Milk Men" by the Dothraki and other outsiders because of their pale skin, yet a black actor was cast in the role. That could be a little difficult to explain away. I suppose they can say that Xaro's not a "Milk Man" because he's a merchant prince, rather than a member of the Pureborn, or they could just drop all references to the "Milk Men" altogether, but that's demonstrative of how changing seemingly minor physical attributes of a character can lead to further changes down the line. Granted, it's a fairly minor example and doesn't affect the overall storyline so far as we know, but changes like that can sometimes have a domino effect across an entire script.

I suppose I'm a purist in the sense that I want to see GRRM's vision translated to screen word-for-word. But, of course, that's unrealistic given the vast difference between mediums (i.e. you can show what's going on inside of a character's mind in a book, whereas you usually can't do that on film without looking cheesy). But certain things, like the wrong hair or eye color, could be easily remedied by makeup artists and hairdressers, I would think. If that's not the case, then yes, I would rather see Iain Glen as Jorah than a lesser actor with black hair, and if it's impractical to make Iain look more like Jorah from the books, then so be it. But that's somewhat of a false choice. There are plenty of actors out there, and it's hard for me to imagine that they couldn't have found an actor with black hair whose abilities were comparable to Iain Glen's.

Of course, there are all kinds of dynamics at play in casting; money, scheduling, cronyism, deadlines, etc... But what I find inexcusable is when filmmakers deviate from the book in order to "make it their own" or to "put their own stamp on it". Luckily, I don't think that's the case for GoT (D&D sound very committed to sticking to GRRM's vision as close as possible), but that's why I'm ultimately wary of deviations from the book, however minor they might be.

Edited by BrosBeforeSnows, 24 September 2011 - 04:16 PM.

[Ran]

Quote

Salladhor Saan is described as olive-skinned in the books

This keeps being claimed, and I can't find the  source of it. Anyone have a cite?

[Jojen]

Hmmm...in the first chapter where he's mentioned (Davos in ACoK), we're only told that he's Lysene and has curly white hair. Nothing about skin color.

[Knepah]

It is often spoken of how budget is a concern for HBO when adequately transferring book to film. I have had an idea for you that may solve budgetary costs.

One of the adaptations for a Terry Pratchett novel (It may well have been The Colour of Magic although I am uncertain) called an open casting call to fans to take part in filming as extras. A Song of Ice and Fire is one of the most popular fantasy series in the world, and has a global fan-base, particularly in Western Europe and is perhaps on par with Pratchett in terms of adoration by enthusiasts. With the UK and Ireland specifically in mind, perhaps costs could be cut by posting a similar invite to fans to volunteer to appear in Game of Thrones to enable you to spend money elsewhere on special effects, exotic locations or casting more well known actors? This would seem more economic than spending money on paid extras.

But that's just my two cents.

Edited by Knepah, 09 October 2011 - 10:53 PM.

[ICE CROW]

Ive been thinking lately about the Queen of thorns, I think Maggie Smith is the perfect actress for her. I can already see her ordering around left ad right.

[HashRouge]

ICE CROW, on 10 October 2011 - 09:49 PM, said:

Ive been thinking lately about the Queen of thorns, I think Maggie Smith is the perfect actress for her. I can already see her ordering around left ad right.

I think Maggie Smith would be superb as the Queen of Thorns! In fact, I'm not sure anyone could do better. She's been playing a Queen of Throns-esque character in Downton Abbey and consistently steals every scene she's in!

[riverlands]

Mads Mikkelsen as Victarion Greyjoy.
Alexander Siddig as Prince Oberyn.

Edited by riverlands, 13 November 2011 - 04:55 PM.

[Hound's She-wolf]

Oded Fehr would be fantastic as Oberyn Martell. I also love Luke Goss as Oberyn Martell.

Mads MIkkelson would be great as anybody, looooove him.

[EddardStarkForever]

Awesome show guys, can't wait until season 2, it will be amazing!!!! Really glad when going to see more of Robb, that was a big let down for me in the books.