Cast of Game of Thrones: Sean Bean confirmed

[Ser_not_appearing_yet]

Dont be ridiculous. Its not like Addy is tiny or whatever. They are perfectly capable of portraying him as a man once fairly hefty.

Seriously, moan about something genuinely important.

[Halfhand]

I'm not saying I'll boycot or that this spells doom for the series, but it will almost certainly be a different character as that in the book.

And you can tell this because they cast an actor that is a little bit shorter than Robert is supposed to be? Huh?

The fact is that make-up, costuming, cinematography, set design, visual effects, etc. all can change the viewer's perception of a character. The second fact is that Addy apparently nailed his audition since a) he was cast and b) Parris said her and George were seriously impressed after seeing video of his audition.

So let's wait until we see the final result on screen before we start saying how TV Robert is going to be completely different from Book Robert.

[Brude]

The fact is that make-up, costuming, cinematography, set design, visual effects, etc. all can change the viewer's perception of a character.

Most of the time they just have the one who needs to be bigger stand on a box. That's pretty much it, that's usually all you need to do to make that effect work. Maybe a slightly low angle too, when he's not in a two-shot, to drive it home.

It's REALLY easy to fix that issue and it's done all the time in film.

[Venardhi]

Let me put it this way:

Sandor Wouldn't be who he is without his size or his scarred face. Loras wouldn't be who he is without his looks. Sam wouldn't be who he is if he were good looking and thin.

It isn't just the size that matters. The general shape of a man who is very strong beneath his weight is clearly apparent or not, not to mention Robert's square-jawed good looks.

They very well may go to the lengths needed to change him physically, but it seems odd to cast someone that would require that much work if they planned to stay as close as possible to his physical description in the books. He may very well turn out a very impressive stand-out performance, but I very much doubt he will be the Robert I see when I read those books.

[Lord O' Bones]

He's a fat-ass with a huge beard. I'm pretty sure his jaw could be crazystraw shaped and no one could tell the difference.

[denstorebog]

They very well may go to the lengths needed to change him physically, but it seems odd to cast someone that would require that much work if they planned to stay as close as possible to his physical description in the books.

See 'Gimli'.

[antisocial]

Holy crap! Mark Addy was the dad in Still Standing?

I had... I had no idea.

Sorry. Thats to apologize in advance for the expletives Im gonna use in the next few sentences.

"Still Standing" was the only prime time show I watched beside BSG, and looked forward to. And I was really upset (yes pissed-off upset) when it got canceled. Hell, I still set the DvR to record the shows just so I can watch them again.

So there is no f'n way that Mark Addy is English. Nope I wont except it. He was (is) so damn American in that show. My god I associated with his character, I mean "Bill" is kind of the anti-hero/hero whos so American that only an American could be that irresponsible, slobbish and lazy enough to get away with playing that part.

:)

But in all seriousness, I very glad hes playing king Robert. And I am blown away hes British. Damn he does American so well.

You ever heard an American try and do English? Even as an American I find most attempts insulting. They end up sounding faux-English like Madonna, bleh.

Its no secret that Briton produces some of the best actors in the world, and America produces some of the most popular. Its a smart choice going with an (almost) all British cast. And one Im glad about.

Born in York, England there is no f'n way....I think they (IMDb) meant New England or maybe New York.

Yeah *nods head* its a typo for sure.

[Padraig]

He may very well turn out a very impressive stand-out performance, but I very much doubt he will be the Robert I see when I read those books.

Time for some shocking news.

There is going to be a lot of characters that don't look like how you envisioned when you read the books. :stunned:

Time to give up on this TV series.

You are simply aiming way too high. You don't want him to just look like Robert does at the beginning of the aGoT (and he will i.e. fat), you also want it to be clear that he was a fighting machine 15 years before. For some reason, you think this impossible for Addy. 15 years ago.

And the guy isn't short apparently.

And comparing his selection with casting Sam as a thin man? That's just silly. If Robert was going to be thin now, sure you would have a point. But Addy not been thin 15 years before hand?

Serious, time to give up on this TV series. Its going to depress you a lot. :P

[Venardhi]

You really aren't reading what I'm saying, you're just looking for the most fanboyish things you can pick out and jumping to conclusions. People are who they are in part because of what we look like. We're treated differently by the outside world and we grow to some extent or another into the role that others cast us as unless we actively fight it. Robert is the womanizing, stubborn, hedonistic jackass that he because he is 1. King, but more importantly 2. Was essentially the masculine ideal of his society.

I want Robert to be fat (and if you ask me Addy is far from as fat as he should be). But I also want him to be the kind of fat that you still wouldn't want to fuck with him. Robert still fights, I gather he still WINS the melee with some regularity. Robert isn't JUST fat, he is tall and muscular under that fat. He is still built like a linebacker under his flab, and Addy just looks to have a pretty average overweight build. Either way he is going to need assistance, I just hope they don't just go for the easy fat-suit.

Think Butterbean.

I'm willing to concede that not everything in this will live up to what I see when I read the books, but I'll be damned if I'm not going to voice my well-reasoned opinion on a forum designed for that purpose because you think my standards are too high. I'm glad they found a talented actor and I am excited to see what he brings to it, but not being critical would be disingenuous.

[Analu]

I'm willing to concede that not everything in this will live up to what I see when I read the books, but I'll be damned if I'm not going to voice my well-reasoned opinion on a forum designed for that purpose because you think my standards are too high. I'm glad they found a talented actor and I am excited to see what he brings to it, but not being critical would be disingenuous.

Problem is you're being critical for no reason other than your own visual opinion of what Robert should look like and what you expect Addy to look like when he plays Robert.

At least wait until the pilot comes out and you can critique what Addy brings to the table to your hearts content, before dismissing him. Cuz right now, your criticism doesn't seem all that "well-reasoned" or constructive to me.

[Winter Crow]

Seriously, a guy says his opinion and he's jumped by half the forum and called Fanboy? Christ, this was why I left the General Forum back in the days. Its fine that you guys don't agree, but as Venardhi said, this is a forum that is actually designed to voice your opinion. Don't go all "Oh shush you, you haven't seen the series yet!".

Neither have you, I remind you. It might be that Robert's height is going to completely alter the way we're going to view him. OR IT MAY NOT. If you can tell him to wait until he's actually seen the pilot, then so should you.

And for the record, let us not make an argument out of this topic shall we? Create a separate "Addy isn't tall enough to be Robert" topic for that.

[Venardhi]

"My own visual opinion" = how he is described in the book.

[denstorebog]

Err ... look, I'm all for being open to other people's interpretations of roles... but that Still Standing clip was some of the most generic TV I've seen in a long while, and the dude really came off as a second-rate comedy actor, like a more voluminous Bob Saget although somewhat less annoying. Still completely uninspiring to watch.

Oh well, still optimistic though.

(Also, I agree that they'll need to do some *serious* effects work for this guy to physically become Robert. Might be doable, though.)

[Analu]

And everyone will have their own visual interpretation of how he's described in the books, though admittedly they'll all look fairly similar.

My point was more that you seem pretty unwilling to grant Addy much leeway here, and are counting him out from the get-go.

[Padraig]

You really aren't reading what I'm saying, you're just looking for the most fanboyish things you can pick out and jumping to conclusions.

If you say so. :) When you compared the casting of Addy to casting Sam as a thin man or Renly as an ugly man you lost me. You probably were simply exaggerating for effect but it makes it hard to say that your opinions are "well reasoned" when you exaggerate.

We don't know how Addy will look in the series. All we do know is that Addy currently isn't thin and he isn't small. That's certainly appropriate. Addy may not look like he will win melees at the time aGoT is set. But that is not important to the story. I remember Ned telling him that people will let him win melees anyhow. He wouldn't "deserve to" win.

The main point about Robert is that he was 15 (or more) years ago a great fighter. He has fallen a long way from that. Addy seems to fit that persona. Requiring that the actor has to "stay as close as possible to his physical description in the books" is hopelessly optimistic.

And yes, characters will be different in the TV series than to how they are presented in the books. Its impossible to get actors to exactly represent a character in a book, so you get close enough with a great actor and work with that. Modifying some minor character traits is fine if you have an actor that works otherwise. :)

[Venardhi]

Oh yeah, "He may very well turn out a very impressive stand-out performance." and "I'm glad they found a talented actor and I am excited to see what he brings to it." is totally dickish.

I am concerned for the performance physically, and hope his talents are large enough to overcome it. I am not dismissing him or saying he is a bad choice, just one that will require more effort on everyone's part if they plan to present him the same way Martin did in the books. Bean isn't my first choice for Ned either (for various reasons), but that isn't dismissing him either.

[Gertrude]

In my mind Robert is like King Henry VIII. I look at his portrait from late in life and it's really hard for me to see the handsome, athletic, superstar he was supposed to be. Addy seems just fine for the role to me. Height can be faked.

[Padraig]

Seriously, a guy says his opinion and he's jumped by half the forum and called Fanboy?

:lol:

Who called who "fanboy"? The guy you are defending called others fanboys?

We always end up arguing about some people's rights to voice an opinion but nobody's right to respond.

Oh yeah, "He may very well turn out a very impressive stand-out performance." and "I'm glad they found a talented actor and I am excited to see what he brings to it." is totally dickish.

I certainly didn't say you were being "dickisk". I just thought your arguments flawed.

And your last few comments have been more reasonable, I give you that. Except that ,don't expect him to be presented exactly like the guy in the books. Saves yourself from being dissappointed. :)

[Venardhi]

If you say so. :) When you compared the casting of Addy to casting Sam as a thin man or Renly as an ugly man you lost me. You probably were simply exaggerating for effect but it makes it hard to say that your opinions are "well reasoned" when you exaggerate.

I never said anything of the sort, never even mentioned Renly.(see what I mean about not -really- reading what I'm trying to say?) My point wasn't that this was the equivalent of casting a thin Sam, but that a person is often shaped by their physical appearance and that Sam wouldn't be the same person if he were thin, much like Robert wouldn't be the person he was if he were as average-looking as Addy. Both characters are described as gloriously and disgustingly fat, so if I were to make the comparison, it would be to casting someone who was just a bit overweight for Sam, or clearly very strong under his weight, rather than someone grossly obese.

(Edit: added 'casting' to be clear)

[Winter Crow]

Dudes, this topic is not for arguing Addy's physical shape compared to Robert. I've got nothing against the whole argument, but please take it to another topic before this one is lost in an eternal flame war.