Oberyn Martell-Who Should Play The Red Viper Of Dorne ?

[The Red Bard]

Ready for a dark horse?

Michael Fassbender

Tell me he wouldn't nail it. :box:

I know he's already good friends with one Liam Cunningham, plus the part is just small enough so that he could fit it in.

The part would entail maybe four or five scenes, perfect for a man on a tight scdedule.

[Khal-a-bunga]

^ I'm a huge fan of Fassbender, but I don't think he would fit the Red Viper. And, leastways, Oberyn will most definitely have more than 'just a few' scenes. I would expect him to be a fairly prominent supporting character next season. Honestly, and I know that this is a role that would require more of a commitment from Fassbender than playing the Viper, but I'd like to see him as Jon Connington. If that part is going to be cast at all (and I believe it will), they'll need a charismatic actor to pull the role off, and having a major actor like Fassbender playing the part would immediately ingrain this somewhat difficult story line as important in the minds of the audience. Not sure who would play Aegon, but I definitely think he would make a fantastic Jon Connington (though I also agree that Kevin McKidd would do a fantastic job, as well).

[lunadangelo]

Since the part is so small, this would be a great cameo for an A- list actor who loves the show.

Oh, the possibilities. :leer:

[AryaRocks]

What about Rufus Sewell, he could pull of that charismatic / danger thing quite well I think?

[The Killer Snark]

I think Sewell would be good as well, a little typecast in the role perhaps, but he'd do a solid job.

[houseHB]

Naveen Andrews

[Hard Truths Cut Both Ways]

Fassbender would be awesome but I doubt he would do a TV show.

Just based on the casting history I think it will be a British actor who has previously worked with HBO. James Purefoy would be great, he would probably be my number one choice. I could also see Dominic West, apparently he was offered the Mance Rayder role and he turned it down, but maybe he would take the Red Viper role since it is a short term commitment.

[DorneToTheWall]

Jordi Molla would be a great Oberyn Martell. I'm thinking about how he acted in Bad Boys 2 and Columbiana. He matches the character perfectly, and has a lot of the sex appeal I attributed to Oberyn while reading. The guy is great, he's like the Spanish Tom Cruise.

[Nikos Targaryen]

Antonio Bandares

[lunadangelo]

Fassbender is no dark horse, nor is Sewell. Whilst both are amazing actors which I would love to see in the show, both have quite distinctive blue eyes, which frankly do not fit with the description of the Martell family.

[RottenAppleFossoway]

There's literally no way Oberyn, Arianne, Quentyn, Trystane, and Doran will not be cast. They are all too important going forward.

Aside from the Red Viper, none should be cast until season 5 though, Quentyn possibly for season 6, and Trystane can be an extra

[jhawksmoor]

cliff curtis.

[FrozenFire3]

Sendhil Ramamurthy, 39 years old, Indian origins. Bonus: he studied drama in England and was a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company.

http://www3.pictures.zimbio.com/gi/Sendhil+Ramamurthy+USA+Network+Moth+Storytelling+8XiaqQFiS6Yl.jpg

[NewJeffCT]

Disagree with Manu Bennett. He isn't tall enough. Actually, I haven't been back to this thread for a while now because I'm starting to get a bad feeling that Oberyn might be written out of it. Surely, he should have at least had a mention by now.

No way will the Red Viper be written out, unless they write out all of the Dornish plot lines (Quentyn Martell, Arianne, Doran, etc). Plus, it's one of the iconic scenes from the entire series, along with the Red Wedding and Ned being beheaded.

Manu Bennet is 5'11" and I don't think they need somebody tall to play Oberyn - in fact, a shorter actor will look better against the mini-Mountain from last year (Ian Whyte, a slender 7 footer). Bennet looked short because LIam McIntyre was 3-4 inches taller, I believe.

[Jorah the Explorer]

When I read Oberyn in my head it comes out as Obi-Ron, rhyming with Obi-Wan. Even though I know it's probably something like O-Barren. Hopefully the show doesn't take away this fun quirk my brain has.

[Rhaegarsjoy]

Djimon Hounsou

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005023/?ref_=tt_cl_t2

[LadyMondragon]

I see him as Jason Isaacs. Just picture him with the long hair from harry potter but black instead of white.

Like he had in The Patriot? He's even got the Widow's Peak. I am totally behind this choice!

[sertravisredbeard]

Cliff Curtis and Jordi Molla both seem like they would work for me. Not really big names, but the right age and can be cast as someone with a more foreign upbringing.

[voodooqueen126]

I think that as the Dornish are described as Spanish (there are very fair Spaniards and more Moorish Spanish) then Eduardo Noriega Gómez who played Mikel Lejarza Eguía in the Spanish movie El Lobo, would be perfect.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_Lobo

I saw that movie late night on SBS and Noriega played this incredibly conflicted character with aplomb.

I think the Spanish are white, given that they speak a European language, look European, were until recently devout Christians, took part in the Renaissance of European culture (especially the exploration that made the subsequent colonial period possible)

On the basis of Spanish history I wouldn't really consider them POC, and I would also differentiate them from Hispanics (who are)...

They were also the first Europeans to take part in the colonial and imperialistic project, enslaving Native Americans (so viciously that they died and Bartolomé de las Casas initially suggested that Africans be used to spare the Indigenous people, before he realised that was also wrong).

Also the concept of Limpieza de sangre is Spanish, and that was quickly applied to Africans and the Indigenous people of the Americas.

Perhaps Oded Fehr can play the Red Lamb for an awesome cameo?

[piratesswoop]

Why do people keep fancasting light-skinned white dudes for this role? :dunno: