[TV SPOILERS] Best five actors in the show

[Lokhtar]

Now that the season is almost over, who were the five best casting choices on the show?

For me (in no particular order):

• Charles Dance as Tywin - Perfectly as I pictured. That scene with Jaime stole the whole episode.
• Masie Williams as Arya - Enough said
• Sean Bean - Played the honorable guy way over his head perfectly
• Peter Dinklage - Enough said
• Jack Gleeson - We all love to hate him, and he got that spoiled little brat thing across so perfectly

MOD NOTE: This is a TV SPOILERS thread. ABSOLUTELY NO BOOK SPOILERS. Thank you. Xray.

[CryFenril]

5. Maisie Williams - The only reason she's not ranked higher on my list is because we haven't yet seen her be anything but a tough little weasel - because that's all that's been asked of her so far. She may well jump in my rankings next season, considering what she's going to go through. An excellent job of portraying all that is Arya - just so.

4. Nikolaj Coster-Waldau - Great depiction of an arrogant, too-good-at-it bastard who thinks highly of himself and not so much of anyone else. His affection for Tyrion and Cersei is tangible, but little else - and that is precisely how I saw him. Now if only they'd take away his Firefly duster and let him wear something else, lol...

3. Emilia Clarke - From shivering, huge-eyed fawn to khaleesi, she grew throughout the series. While her role in mid-series wasn't terribly demanding, the beginning and end of her story arc demanded a great deal of non-verbal communication on her part - and she pulled it off with nothing but her eyes. Lovely, lovely, lovely. I even forgot about the horrid wig.

2. Iain Glen - He didn't start out terribly strong, but those who have seen my posts drooling and sighing about his scene with Dany at the end know that he transmitted the hopeless, overpowering love that Jorah felt for his khaleesi in a few short frames (and badly lit ones, at that). The most emotional impact of the season for me, and a winner.

And number one by a fairly strong margin - Peter Dinklage.

Even his overblown way of speaking, while it may be a side-effect of his Shakesperean training, was perfect for a character who considers himself to be more intelligent than those around him. He was thoughtful, snarky, witty, funny, self-deprecating, and perfect. And consistent, above all.

I'll never be able to read Tyrion's chapters again without seeing Dinklage - and that is a good thing. He brings the man to life for me.

[MyDogIsNamedDanerys]

5. Maisie Williams - The only reason she's not ranked higher on my list is because we haven't yet seen her be anything but a tough little weasel - because that's all that's been asked of her so far. She may well jump in my rankings next season, considering what she's going to go through. An excellent job of portraying all that is Arya - just so.

4. Nikolaj Coster-Waldau - Great depiction of an arrogant, too-good-at-it bastard who thinks highly of himself and not so much of anyone else. His affection for Tyrion and Cersei is tangible, but little else - and that is precisely how I saw him. Now if only they'd take away his Firefly duster and let him wear something else, lol...

3. Emilia Clarke - From shivering, huge-eyed fawn to khaleesi, she grew throughout the series. While her role in mid-series wasn't terribly demanding, the beginning and end of her story arc demanded a great deal of non-verbal communication on her part - and she pulled it off with nothing but her eyes. Lovely, lovely, lovely. I even forgot about the horrid wig.

2. Iain Glen - He didn't start out terribly strong, but those who have seen my posts drooling and sighing about his scene with Dany at the end know that he transmitted the hopeless, overpowering love that Jorah felt for his khaleesi in a few short frames (and badly lit ones, at that). The most emotional impact of the season for me, and a winner.

And number one by a fairly strong margin - Peter Dinklage.

Even his overblown way of speaking, while it may be a side-effect of his Shakesperean training, was perfect for a character who considers himself to be more intelligent than those around him. He was thoughtful, snarky, witty, funny, self-deprecating, and perfect. And consistent, above all.

I'll never be able to read Tyrion's chapters again without seeing Dinklage - and that is a good thing. He brings the man to life for me.

I agree with everything in this post (even the goddamn order) so I don't feel the need to make my own list, though I would put Jack Gleeson just ahead of Maisie. I don't love Arya as much as I hate Joffery, and I think that Jack's acting is a testament to that.

EDIT: OK sorry I forgot one thing. Goddamn Jon Bradley as SAMWELL TARLY. He's got the #5 spot, sorry child actors. I mean sure he benefited from a great improvement in the character due to the reimagining by the writers and showrunners, but his comic timing was PRICELESS and endlessly entertaining. He singlehandedly made me love the wall which I normally dread going to. John Bradley ftw.

[maxlongstreet]

5. Maisie Williams - The only reason she's not ranked higher on my list is because we haven't yet seen her be anything but a tough little weasel - because that's all that's been asked of her so far. She may well jump in my rankings next season, considering what she's going to go through. An excellent job of portraying all that is Arya - just so.

4. Nikolaj Coster-Waldau - Great depiction of an arrogant, too-good-at-it bastard who thinks highly of himself and not so much of anyone else. His affection for Tyrion and Cersei is tangible, but little else - and that is precisely how I saw him. Now if only they'd take away his Firefly duster and let him wear something else, lol...

3. Emilia Clarke - From shivering, huge-eyed fawn to khaleesi, she grew throughout the series. While her role in mid-series wasn't terribly demanding, the beginning and end of her story arc demanded a great deal of non-verbal communication on her part - and she pulled it off with nothing but her eyes. Lovely, lovely, lovely. I even forgot about the horrid wig.

2. Iain Glen - He didn't start out terribly strong, but those who have seen my posts drooling and sighing about his scene with Dany at the end know that he transmitted the hopeless, overpowering love that Jorah felt for his khaleesi in a few short frames (and badly lit ones, at that). The most emotional impact of the season for me, and a winner.

And number one by a fairly strong margin - Peter Dinklage.

Even his overblown way of speaking, while it may be a side-effect of his Shakesperean training, was perfect for a character who considers himself to be more intelligent than those around him. He was thoughtful, snarky, witty, funny, self-deprecating, and perfect. And consistent, above all.

I'll never be able to read Tyrion's chapters again without seeing Dinklage - and that is a good thing. He brings the man to life for me.

You know, this would probably be my top five as well - can't argue with any of them. I'd like to slide Owen Teale in there as Alliser, but he doesn't have enough air time for me to be able to bump him up over any of the others.

Only difference is that I might make Coster-Waldau in a tie for first with Dinklage. He really is just nailing it as Jamie.

[Tyrone_Lannister]

I'm a newcomer, but I'll take a stab at it:

5. (Tie) Littlefinger & Varys--both despicable and both very untrustworthy. You can hear the lust in Petyr's voice whenever he brings up Catelyn's name.

4. Arya Stark--I've loved her from the start. She's the little defiant tomboy that now has to struggle to survive on her own and keep from being recognized.

3. Daenerys--she's gone from her trancelike state and into her own. She's finding her self and finding her inner dragon. She took control over her Khal and found her inner fire.

2. Tyrion/Jaime/Cersei--Tyrion is edging his brother and sister out. However, I loathe Cersei...she oozes sexuality and bitterness. She's the anti-Catelyn...lol. As for Jaime, I'm really trying to hate him, but I can't. He's perfect as the Kingslayer.

1. My favorite.....Tywin Lannister. At first, I loved Tyrion until I saw and heard Tywin. How can we go wrong with this man? He's diabolical, calculating and cold...sheer perfection for the father of three dysfunctional (and incestuous) people. I think it's hilarious that he tries to keep Tyrion away from Shae and Cersei/Jaime are boinking their brains out. But Tywin is tops for me. A far cry from Sardo Numspa from "The Golden Child".

Thanks for hearing me out...

[damian]

anyone that doesn't mention emilia clark isn't watching the same show i am

to be honest now that i'm thinking about it, just 5 is really hard to do.

i would go with (in random order):

sean bean

peter dinklage

emilia clarke

never mind i quit, too hard to pick from maise, sophie, jack gleeson, michelle fairley, nikolaj, iain glen,

[Arrogant Bastard]

Pretty tough to choose. I'll go with

5. Donald Sumpter as Maester Luwin--not a big role, but Sumpter has been terrific in every scene he's in and perfectly embodies Luwin. Really like his interactions with Bran and Theon

4. Emilia Clarke as Dany--Great transition from meek girl to strong warrior queen. I wasn't the biggest fan of Dany's storyline in the book, but from episode 4 on I really enjoyed the scenes beyond the narrow sea, mainly because of her and...

3. Iain Glen as Jorah Mormont--He's a lot smoother and less gruff than in the book, but it works great in teh show. Glen really sells his devotion to Dany well

2. Sean Bean as Eddard Stark--I was afraid Ned would come across boring in the show with his adherence to honor and principles, but Bean did a tremendous job of making Ned both interesting and sympathetic.

1. Charles Dance as Tywin--Perfect casting here, Dance is exactly how I imagined Tywin. His reaction to hearing that Robb has mobilized troops was the perfect facial expression; not quite a smile, but definitely a satisfied look. Loved his delivery of "they have my son" in episode 10. Wish they had kept "I suppose we should be grateful he [Joffrey] has not yet married a whore" but oh well.

Honorable mentions: Pretty much the rest of the cast, especially all the kids and Conleth Hill as Varys.

[NW Deserter]

1. Maisie Williams - Above all the other actors/actresses, she is her character in the truest form. She literally is Arya Stark, in every way - appearance, voice, mannerisms, everything. So, so, so excited for her travels next season.

2. Emilia Clarke - I thought she was incredibly strong throughout the whole series, the transformation from scared girl to mother of dragons as executed perfectly.

3. Harry Lloyd - Surprised to not see him yet on anyone's list. It's a damn shame Viserys is only with us for 6 episodes, but he was brought to live in such a convincing way.

4. Sean Bean - Really pretty self-explanatory. The man was the most well-known actor in this production and he showed everybody why. Great performance of a very tragic character.

5. NCW - Not quite how I pictured Jaime physically, but everything else about his portrayal was spot on. I know it's a way's off, but

I really think he'll nail all his scenes with Brienne

Ahhh damn, I forgot about Dinklage! He's a close number 5. The Shakespearean accent was just a bit too much at times, but he was still just about perfect as Tyrion.

[damian]

oh man and harry lloyd

eta crosspost!

[stevelabny]

Honorable mentions: almost everyone, but specifically the rest of the "under 20s". Bran, Arya, Jon, Dany, Sam, Robb and Theon.

5. Julian Glover as Grand Maester Pycelle - TREASON IS A NOXIOUS WEED! Most improved character from book to screen for me.

4. Iain Glen as Ser Jorah Mormont - Jorah is one of my favorite characters, and although Glen looks nothing like book Jorah, the delivery of his lines is amazing.

3. Harry Lloyd as Viserys - Insanity come to life. Awesome facial expressions.

2. Sophie Turner as Sansa - from momma's girl to spoiled brat to that amazing final scene with Joffrey on the bridge, she nailed every scene she was in.

1. Mark Addy as King Robert Baratheon - totally stole the show and deserves the supporting actor Emmy more than any of the other candidates. He actually had to deliver on multiple facets of his character as opposed to Dinklage havign 90% of his scenes be snark.

[BlackMamba]

No love for Jerome Flynn as Bronn? Pretty much every scene with him and Dinklage has been hilarious. And he brings a cool sense of mystery to the character - I haven't read the books, but I hope he sticks around and perhaps has a bigger role in future seasons.

And an honorable mention goes out to Richard Madden (Robb) for rising to the occasion and taking over the badass "King in the North" role after Ned/Sean Bean started to see less and less screen time in the lead-up to his death.

[Tyrone_Lannister]

No love for Jerome Flynn as Bronn? Pretty much every scene with him and Dinklage has been hilarious. And he brings a cool sense of mystery to the character - I haven't read the books, but I hope he sticks around and perhaps has a bigger role in future seasons.

And an honorable mention goes out to Richard Madden (Robb) for rising to the occasion and taking over the badass "King in the North" role after Ned/Sean Bean started to see less and less screen time in the lead-up to his death.

Good point! See!! Waaaaaaay too many to pick from!

[ferthepoet]

No Sam or Syryo?

[Podrick + Arya = Win]

5. Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (Jaime) - He gets my vote for his hair alone. Damn, I wish I had hair like that. Anyway, seriously, he's nailing the Jaime character. I read the books after watching a few episodes but he and Arya were perfectly cast and visualizing those characters was easy because of the actors' portrayal.

4. Charles Dance (Tywin) - A bit different from the appearance described in the books (sideburns et al.) but the old man has good screen presence.

3. Isaac Hempstead-Wright (Bran) - The hair again. :lol: Ok, seriously, again good casting here because he fits the description in the books and acts well.

2. Sean Bean (Ned) - I liked how they completely changed his look so he doesn't remotely resemble Boromir. His acting was great especially in the scene where he sends Beric after the Mountain.

1. Maisie Williams (Arya) - Like Bran and Jaime, they have the perfect actor for Arya. Nuff said.

[reiver]

I'm interested in the locations of the people who rate Dinklage's and Glen's performances. I'm British (Edinburgh) and i found Dinklage's accent to be beyond awful and into the sort of bad impersonation of an English accent you get on low rent sitcoms. It grated so much for me that i couldn't get past it and actually judge his performance.

Glen's delivery was also very distracting. He has a way of reading his lines that is so overblown and screams fantasy. 90% of his lines sound like he's doing the intro for an obscure RPG.

I was wondering if the people who like these guys are American and don't have their ears as tuned to the British accents in the same way that i probably wouldn't realise when someone mangles the Brooklyn or Texan accents.

Top 5 for me (in particular order)

Rory McCann: Criminally underused so far but excellent every time he's been called upon

Jack Gleeson: Any time he's been involved in a duff scene its been the writers to blame. Pitch perfect so far and again, underused.

Charles Dance: The perfect Tywin. In the same way Sean Bean now embodies my mental image of Sharpe when i read those books (despite not resembling the described character) Charles Dance will forever be my Tywin.

Kit Harrington: I've been very happy with how he's done and any problems i've had with Jon Snow have been down to either wonky staging (the wight "fight") or the writers messing things about (his Tyrion friendship)

Harry Lloyd: He managed to get across the disenfranchised little boy element of Viserys rather than just be a bit of a cartoon villain. Really looked deep into his character for a tragic figure and made him empathetical.

[Corvinus85]

1. Peter Dinklage

2. Sean Bean

3. Mark Addy

4. Maisie Williams

5. I am leaving this one open, because I can't differentiate between the other dozen or so actors that I really liked.

[Lion of Venice]

Only five? The whole cast is pretty much the best I've seen in a TV series, but if I have to choose, then these are the ones that surprised me the most:

Harry Lloyd: his Viserys was far better then the character is portrayed in the books, probably the actor that impressed me the most.

Rory McCann: The Hound is my favourite character in the books and I was worried that in the TV series he would have been less "extreme" and unplesant, but this guy made me forget all my worries and brought Sandor to life exactly as I imagined him.

Peter Dinklage: I still think that some added make-up to make him look more similar to the more deformed book-Tyrion would have been for the best, but he makes me quickly forget about it with his excellent acting.

Sophie Turner: at first I wasn't convinced about her Sansa, but the last episode made me really appreciate her acting! I now think that the not-so-good performance of previous episode was due to bad scripting more then bad acting.

Nikolaj Coster-Waldaw: I really enjoy his Jaime, I feel it's more human and sympathetic then the character from the books, but maybe it's just see him as opposed to imagine him. Anyway, he managed to make me like one of the character I like less in the books, and this deserves mention.

[Ser Plissken]

You lot must be blind.

The best actor in the show is the young fella playing Pyp.

[Ser Plissken]

Seriously, though...

The entire cast have been magnificent.

Iain Glen would top my list, closely followed by Peter Dinklage, Emilia Clarke, Charles Dance & Mark Addy.

Can't wait for Season 2.

[Knight Of The North]

Number Five: Jerome Flynn as the magnificent, rogueish, hyeana-like Bronn.

Number Four: Michelle Fairley as Catelyn Stark. Effortlessly and truly catching the feel and emotion of a woman who is seeing her life torn apart and replaced by fire and blood.

Number Three: Richard Madden as Robb Stark. To hell with all you haters, Richard has captured the Young Wolf and remade him appropriately, with the unsullied dignity of an Apex Predator, and the deadly glare to back it up.

Number Two: Maisie Williams as Arya. Dancing lessons and her first three scenes. 'Nuff said.

Number One: Much as it pains me to say it, Conleth Hill as Varys. I doubt many people will agree with me, but I kept forgetting Conleth was acting. He seems to inhabit that character, even more so than Maisie Williams does Arya.

Honourable mentions to Lena Headey, Sean Bean, Peter Dinklage and Mark Addy,