Ciarán Hinds is Mance Rayder

[Joe Scallywag]

He doesn't look like my mental image of Mance at all and given his age I'm thinking my previous shout for Ian McShane wasn't so bad after all where his age was my only grounds against it, Hinds certainly has some acting skills though I expect he will soon replace my old vision of Mance.

[PatrickStormborn]

He's not how I pictured Mance, but I'm willing to wait and see him in action before judging him. Liam Cunningham didn't look close to how I pictured Davos, and he did a superb job and won me over, so I'm sure Hinds will do the same.

[Ser Wun Wun]

Once again, I repeat myself: why can't a 59 year old man in reasonably good shape do all of those things and be a badass? Hell, Sylvester Stallone is 66 and he's doing plenty of his own stunts still! Are you even aware of the fact that it's hardly *that* old? There seems to be this idea that older actors can't fight with a sword (or be in better shape than many twentysomethings), but 60 is hardly that old. In fact, if Hinds is in good shape, I'm sure he could do all of that - or be trained to. Until we actually know what Hinds is capable of, I think it's silly to suggest that those scenes are definitely out.

I could easily see

Hinds climbing the Wall, actually

Ciaran Hinds - 2012, Political Animals

http://www.imdb.com/...60608/nm0001354

Sylvester Stallone - 2012

http://cdn.mos.total...8450-470-75.jpg

These are two very different sexagenarians we are talking about here :lol:

I don't know how old Simon Armstrong (halfhand) is, but I thought his fight last season was a little weak. And Armstrong looks both younger and in better shape than Hinds to me. So while of course they could give Hinds a fight scene, I think it would look a little silly, especially against a 20 something year old like Kit. Or rather Kit would look silly for getting his butt kicked by a 60 year old :drunk:

I'm sure Hinds will make a good Mance, he was great in Rome, it will just be a very different Mance than the one in the books. Kind of like show Stannis is different from book Stannis, but still awesome in his own way.

[Padraig]

I'm sure Hinds will make a good Mance, he was great in Rome, it will just be a very different Mance than the one in the books. Kind of like show Stannis is different from book Stannis, but still awesome in his own way.

Not been an awesome fighter in the immediate present in Westeros isn't a "very different Mance". Mance doesn't have many fights.

Anyhow, Barristan exudes danger in GoT. Not sure why they can't make Mance seem dangerous if they wish. The right armour, the right acting. Straight forward enough.

And since we don't see him climbing the Wall ever, its irrelevant.

[Masamune]

You think Mance Wooed and disarmed the Magnar of Thenn, and the giants, and the hornfoot men with his subtle charm?

Necessity makes for some strange bedfellows.

[The Meeraculous Third Reed]

Great actor, but not a Mance Rayder for me.

Happy to be proved wrong.

[Ser Wun Wun]

Not been an awesome fighter in the immediate present in Westeros isn't a "very different Mance". Mance doesn't have many fights.

Anyhow, Barristan exudes danger in GoT. Not sure why they can't make Mance seem dangerous if they wish. The right armour, the right acting. Straight forward enough.

And since we don't see him climbing the Wall ever, its irrelevant.

Ok, so he won't be "very" different, let's remove that intensifier. But he will still be (somewhat) different, clearly. Yes, Mance only has the one fight in the books, but it is repeatedly emphasized that he is the best swordsman amongst the wildlings. His power seemed to derive from that fact. He was cunning and charming too, but his real power came from the fact that no other wildling could kick his ass, though many tried.

And I know from watching Rome that Hinds can pull off menacing and dangerous very well. But his won't be a "mess with me and I'll cut your throat" type of dangerous, it will be a "mess with me, and this big guy over there will cut your throat for me" kind of dangerous, which is different from book Mance imo. They seemed to have made the opposite change with Stannis. I couldn't imagine book Stannis putting his hands on anyone, he has underlings for that. But show Stannis will (literally) cut your damn head off.

Also, his age and appearance would definitely be relevant when telling Jon that story about him climbing the Wall just a few months ago . A 60 year old (who's not in Stallone shape!) says he climbed a 700 foot wall recently and the audience isn't supposed to collectively say "WTF? Really?" Which is why I think they have to cut it. No big deal I guess, but it is still a change.

As far as Barristan...we'll have to agree to disagree on him coming off as dangerous. I didn't start reading the books until around episode 7 or 8 of S1, and if I hadn't I doubt I would have taken much note of him at all. His best stuff on the show so far was when Jaime was waxing nostalgic about him in the cell. That "cut through you like a hot knife through butter (or was it cake?)" line wasn't that menacing to me.

[Zios]

Really like the actor, cant wait to see him on screen. On a side note tho for Skyrim fans, I always pictured Mance to be like Ulfric Stormcloak...heh

[boojam]

Mance doesn't have many fights.

Yeah that's what I remember too.

It was his mind, his 'beyond the wall smarts' and powers of command that were important.

[boojam]

A note.

Many of the media sources say that Mance is last major character to be cast for season 3.

I don't know if he's considered as 'major' as Mance but what about Daario Naharis?

[dtones520]

Ok, so he won't be "very" different, let's remove that intensifier. But he will still be (somewhat) different, clearly. Yes, Mance only has the one fight in the books, but it is repeatedly emphasized that he is the best swordsman amongst the wildlings. His power seemed to derive from that fact. He was cunning and charming too, but his real power came from the fact that no other wildling could kick his ass, though many tried.

And I know from watching Rome that Hinds can pull off menacing and dangerous very well. But his won't be a "mess with me and I'll cut your throat" type of dangerous, it will be a "mess with me, and this big guy over there will cut your throat for me" kind of dangerous, which is different from book Mance imo. They seemed to have made the opposite change with Stannis. I couldn't imagine book Stannis putting his hands on anyone, he has underlings for that. But show Stannis will (literally) cut your damn head off.

Also, his age and appearance would definitely be relevant when telling Jon that story about him climbing the Wall just a few months ago . A 60 year old (who's not in Stallone shape!) says he climbed a 700 foot wall recently and the audience isn't supposed to collectively say "WTF? Really?" Which is why I think they have to cut it. No big deal I guess, but it is still a change.

As far as Barristan...we'll have to agree to disagree on him coming off as dangerous. I didn't start reading the books until around episode 7 or 8 of S1, and if I hadn't I doubt I would have taken much note of him at all. His best stuff on the show so far was when Jaime was waxing nostalgic about him in the cell. That "cut through you like a hot knife through butter (or was it cake?)" line wasn't that menacing to me.

It was more than just a few months ago that Mance climbed the Wall by the time he meets Jon. It was closer to two years by the time Jon meets him. Just saying. And someone who has climbed the Wall dozens upon dozens of times will be a veteran at it, meaning it wouldn't be shocking for him to climb the Wall again. And besides, they can just come up with a story about how he got through it without climbing.

[Werthead]

Recall that, in the TV show, Mance Rayder has been leader of the wildlings for a considerable period of time, far longer than in the books. As per Alliser Thorne's comments in Season 1, he was KBTW during the previous winter, a decade before the series started, and could have been there for a lot longer (say 30+ years), during which time he's slowly built up his authority and power over the wildlings. His age also makes him more of a contemporary with Jeor Mormont, which works quite well.

It's a change, yes, but not a critical one for the story. I am more interested in how it affects the other characters around him. Will Val even be in the story at this point?

[ServantOnIce]

I'm cautiously optimistic about the casting. I liked him as Caesar, but am not sure he fits Mance for me. I'm going to put my faith in the GoT casting crew though, since they've been pretty accurate overall.

They sure have!

http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb57887/gameofthrones/images/2/2e/Yara_Greyjoy_infobox.png

http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m1i748KPnL1r9h4heo1_1280.jpg

http://iqar.us/av/images/272976dd99448d579004bc217a6c399a3301183108.jpg

[The Color of Frost]

They sure have!

Overall is the key word here. When you consider that it's incredibly tough to cast every single character identically to what is in the books they've done a pretty good job given production costs, actor/actress availability, and etc.

[dtones520]

They sure have!

http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb57887/gameofthrones/images/2/2e/Yara_Greyjoy_infobox.png

http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m1i748KPnL1r9h4heo1_1280.jpg

http://iqar.us/av/images/272976dd99448d579004bc217a6c399a3301183108.jpg

So, maybe, 3-5 out of 40 are below average castings and I would disagree with you about Natalie Dormer being a bad casting. They couldn't cast a 15 year old in that role and based on the aging up of e characters that are 16ish in the books, Natalie isn't really that far off. Yeah, she is 30, but she doesn't look like it. And she is a fine actress.

The guy who played Xaro acted the part well, it just wasn't a well written part, you can't old that against him or the casting director. He acted out what he was given and did very well with it.

Gemma Watson was a bit rough as Asha, but Asha doesn't really stand out in aCoK either. We will see how she does when she actually becomes a fixture of a character. I will say she did pretty well in the scene with Theon at Winterfell.

Other bad castings? I cant think of many. Maybe Ros, but again that is just a stupid character. The guy who plays Dontos wasn't very good, which is why I am guessing they changed his storyline with Sansa this season. But other than that I can't think of many.

[Duir]

This is so so far away from the Mance that I've have in my mind thanks to the books.

Ciaran Hinds I have the utmost respect for as an actor, he's stunning in many of his roles.

And those eyes.

He will be awesome, he will be remembered.

But I think they must have somewhat altered the character of Mance in order for them to pinpoint Hinds as being the ultimate choice.

As seen by the reaction from the people on this board, most of us seems to be surprised by this casting (although pleased perhaps) so I think it's fair to state;

We are going to love him as Mance, it just won't be the same Mance as in the books.

[The Night's Watch Man]

http://img.gawkerassets.com/img/17wd7c8tvtiv0jpg/cmt-medium.jpg

Well, of course its not the same as in the books, at this point the story has enough changes to guarantee that, and judging from the picture above he looks pretty well fit for the character.

[Duir]

Of course he can look the part;

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-BDVtsdqIxh4/TzpJmwoYYWI/AAAAAAAALkc/cm8WAixCjZU/s400/boisguilbert.jpg

[Joe Scallywag]

http://img.gawkerass.../cmt-medium.jpg

Well, of course its not the same as in the books, at this point the story has enough changes to guarantee that, and judging from the picture above he looks pretty well fit for the character.

Of course he can look the part;

http://4.bp.blogspot...oisguilbert.jpg

Those two pictures is pretty much spot on Mance, however I'm gonna go out on a limb and claim they are both atleast 20 years old.

[ServantOnIce]

So, maybe, 3-5 out of 40 are below average castings and I would disagree with you about Natalie Dormer being a bad casting. They couldn't cast a 15 year old in that role and based on the aging up of e characters that are 16ish in the books, Natalie isn't really that far off. Yeah, she is 30, but she doesn't look like it. And she is a fine actress.

There are many reasons I don't like Dormer for this role but I will not say them here.