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

[andrew_]

But, if he never gets a role, he'll be speculated about until the end of the series for every open male role down the road - Oberyn Martell, Doran Martell, the Greyjoy brothers, Jon Connington, Hizdahr zo Lorac, Areo Hotah, Gerold Dayne, etc.

[Toth]

And this is why I say, let's give him Victarion and be done with it. And because I have nothing to add for the actual topic (except that I'm still hoping for Siddig), I join the "For Christ's sake not Purefoy for Oberyn"-chorus and log off.

[jonsid]

Oded Fehr would tick all the box's for me as prince Oberyn, good actor ,mediterranean in appearance, intimidating and roughly about the right age,

[Arkash]

Oded Fehr and Naveen Andrews are excellent choices.

[Khal-a-bunga]

I have to ask - what performance of Oded Fehr's is giving some people the opinion that he would make a good choice for Oberyn? I've seen him on quite a few television shows and in a decent number of movies (the Resident Evil movies, the Mummy movies, several straight-to-DVD flicks...), and he never much impressed me. I wouldn't call him a bad actor, but he's not exactly a 'good' actor, either. I'd say he's a competent actor.

Naveen Andrews is another interesting choice. While Sayid started out as a strong, interesting character, the performance seemed to get worse with every additional season of Lost. For instance:

http://touch.dailymotion.com/video/xc4zmg_what-happened_shortfilms

.......yeah.......

I'm still holding out hope for Alexander Siddig or Cliff Simon, but I'm interested in what it is about those two aforementioned actors that gets their names brought up so regularly? Maybe a performance of theirs that I missed, or a show or movie I should check out again to re-evaluate my opinion.

[Raksha the Demon]

Faran Tahir.

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0846687/

He's got the right eyes and he's pakistani; and he positively smoldered in his brief appearance in Star Trek (2009) and was an effective baddie in the first Iron Man movie.

I certainly think Alexander Siddig could do a good job as Oberyn; or anyone he played in GOT, and I'd love to see him in the show; but Oberyn has black eyes, and Siddig's are light. However, I wouldn't rule out casting him because of his eye color; there are too many instances where the TV series' characters don't physically resemble the book originals, at least not down to eye color.

[polarbear]

I'm going for Jimmy Smits as the red viper. He adds to every series he's guested on.

[AdrianAegon]

from how I imagined it, Oberyn should look mediteranean like, a guy with a darker complex, but who is not arab; like he comes from southern Spain. Dorne was always compared to Spain.

pesonally I don't have a favourite for this part, and I checked your's:

that oded guy - no. just that. no.

banderas?! he was a good zorro, but no!

purefoy - I see him actually as a good Euron! imagine him with a patch on his eye! and Ray Stevenson as Victarion... brothers of Rome, brothers of the Iron Islands!

naveen andrews - i loved him on lost, but he doesn't strike me as a Viper!

actually the only one who just seem to be him is this Cliff guy. He's a little bit old, but they could manage to make him look proper. What I like about him are his eyes! they are profound and alert!

the rest, I guess not. Oberyn, sould look fit, athletic, middle aged, with olive skin (Not black or close to), mediteranean looking, and he should have sex-appeal! Nina Gold can pull a star for this part, because is for one season, or simply she could bring an unknown actor who fits and acts great.

[King Daemon Blackfyre]

I'm going for Jimmy Smits as the red viper. He adds to every series he's guested on.

If he plays Oberyn similarly to the character he is on Sons of Anarchy (Nero Padilla), that would be perfect.

Jimmy seems the right age as well.

ETA: Links below showing him as Nero (could be a modern-day Oberyn).

http://img2-1.timeinc.net/ew/i/2012/11/19/Nero-Padilla_510x317.jpg

http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_mbin82WBzU1rpat8ho1_500.jpg

http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_mb8h03LiV51rpat8ho1_500.jpg

[andrew_]

Oded Fehr in the Mummy series IS the Prince of Dorne in terms of looks. But yeh he certainly isn't a great actor, but he has enough for me to be confident of him in the role. Also see Deuce Bigelow Male Gigolo, he's the only good part of that movie.

[Khal-a-bunga]

Oded Fehr in the Mummy series IS the Prince of Dorne in terms of looks. But yeh he certainly isn't a great actor, but he has enough for me to be confident of him in the role. Also see Deuce Bigelow Male Gigolo, he's the only good part of that movie.

Haha! Yeah, I've seen him in that. Being the only good part of that movie is true enough, but that's a bit like being the shiniest turd in the bowl - I'll stick with Cliff Simon/Alexander Siddig. Both look the part, and both are good actors. I wouldn't be opposed to seeing Naveen Andrews playing Oberyn, I would just hope that he's turn in a better performance than he did in Lost seasons four through six.

[andrew_]

Haha! Yeah, I've seen him in that. Being the only good part of that movie is true enough, but that's a bit like being the shiniest turd in the bowl - I'll stick with Cliff Simon/Alexander Siddig. Both look the part, and both are good actors. I wouldn't be opposed to seeing Naveen Andrews playing Oberyn, I would just hope that he's turn in a better performance than he did in Lost seasons four through six.

Didn't get that far into Lost, got up to mid way through season 3 and gave up, when polar bears and killer black smoke rocked up I legged it.

[Nezzer]

Alexander Siddig is the perfect choice IMHO. Just give him a wig and shave his beard and he will look exactly how I pictured Oberyn in my mind, from the voice, to the looks, to the attitude. I don't know much about Oded Fehr and Cliff Simon, but they have the looks and apparently they are good actors, so they are good enough for me.

[Longspear Ryk]

Didn't get that far into Lost, got up to mid way through season 3 and gave up, when polar bears and killer black smoke rocked up I legged it.

The polar bears actually wind up makin some sense.... The black smoke is based on doomsday legend "the destroyer"

[Drfunk]

Can we please stop with the racial themes in GoT? The very same people who are pushing for brownish Martells are making this about race. Mad Men got accused of only employing white people.. quality apparently is a second issue with those people, it's all about the ratio of white vs non whites. When HBO started getting flack for the same haters, their suits prob got D&D to make more "non white roles" and ended up changing Ducksauce, Sallador etc... now with the Martells those same haters see this as an opportunity to get more non whites into the show. It seems their logic goes like this:

1. Is he the best actor for the role? "Who cares, he "looks" the part and plus he's not white"

2. What about this actor who happens to be white with a tan? "Why would you want him when there's CLEARLY A METRIC TON OF OTHER GREAT NON WHITE ACTORS"

3. What did >> X actor << do to make you think he'd be a great Viper? "Umm, well I'm sure he'll be great cause you know, he's not white and looks like HOW I PICTURED HIM TO BE"

Is there any objectivity to these discussions? Can we just for a second really get off the whole race bandwagon and just consider actors by their you know MERITS? I'm a book purist myself, there's a @#$@ ton of shit that annoyed the hell out of me on the adaptation, and yet the race thing is the LEAST of my concerns. If you're a fan, you'd care more about how those actors portray the source characters and less about how they @#$@ look on tv. I also keep hearing about the whole Dorne is brown argument...

1. Isn't Dorne populated with THREE different Dornishman? Yet why is it people keep forgetting 1/3 of its populace comprised of Stony Dornishmen who are Andals living there. I.e white people with a tan.

2. Would it be SUCH a travesty to change the Martells from Salty to Stony? If and ONLY if the candidates for the Doran/Oberynn happened to be white actors?

3. Would you stop watching the show if they cast some of the Martells as white?

See how ridiculous everything sounds? Why can't we have an honest competition between actors who could portray these characters to their fullest potential? Instead of whining about skin colour. By the same retarded logic, I guess I should put forth the notion we need more Asian actors in GoT right? I mean come on Asians are virtually half the population or will soon be and not even "1" asian? WTF IS UP WITH THAT THOSE RACIST BAST@#$@. Does it matter there hasn't been any Asians described in the source? Nah since apparently race is all that matters here.

Kidding aside, I'm still on the Purefoy bandwagon myself. Simply because unlike other actors mentioned here, Purefoy has the 1 quality that the Viper really is defined for : SWAG. Seriously, he'd kill in that role and it's a shame some of you can only see his skin colour.

PS: Yes i'm not white.

[ShowOverBooks]

Oded Fehr!

Hmm. Good choice. I recently watched a few episodes of Sleeper Cell, and he was very good in that. Charming, but utterly ruthless and deceitful.

[ShowOverBooks]

Javier Bardem.

REALLY liked him in No Country for Old Men, but I think Fehr is a better choice for THIS character, in particular.

I would like to see Bardem in another role, though.

[ShowOverBooks]

Can we please stop with the racial themes in GoT? The very same people who are pushing for brownish Martells are making this about race. Mad Men got accused of only employing white people.. quality apparently is a second issue with those people, it's all about the ratio of white vs non whites. When HBO started getting flack for the same haters, their suits prob got D&D to make more "non white roles" and ended up changing Ducksauce, Sallador etc... now with the Martells those same haters see this as an opportunity to get more non whites into the show. It seems their logic goes like this:

1. Is he the best actor for the role? "Who cares, he "looks" the part and plus he's not white"

2. What about this actor who happens to be white with a tan? "Why would you want him when there's CLEARLY A METRIC TON OF OTHER GREAT NON WHITE ACTORS"

3. What did >> X actor << do to make you think he'd be a great Viper? "Umm, well I'm sure he'll be great cause you know, he's not white and looks like HOW I PICTURED HIM TO BE"

Is there any objectivity to these discussions? Can we just for a second really get off the whole race bandwagon and just consider actors by their you know MERITS? I'm a book purist myself, there's a @#$@ ton of shit that annoyed the hell out of me on the adaptation, and yet the race thing is the LEAST of my concerns. If you're a fan, you'd care more about how those actors portray the source characters and less about how they @#$@ look on tv. I also keep hearing about the whole Dorne is brown argument...

1. Isn't Dorne populated with THREE different Dornishman? Yet why is it people keep forgetting 1/3 of its populace comprised of Stony Dornishmen who are Andals living there. I.e white people with a tan.

2. Would it be SUCH a travesty to change the Martells from Salty to Stony? If and ONLY if the candidates for the Doran/Oberynn happened to be white actors?

3. Would you stop watching the show if they cast some of the Martells as white?

See how ridiculous everything sounds? Why can't we have an honest competition between actors who could portray these characters to their fullest potential? Instead of whining about skin colour. By the same retarded logic, I guess I should put forth the notion we need more Asian actors in GoT right? I mean come on Asians are virtually half the population or will soon be and not even "1" asian? WTF IS UP WITH THAT THOSE RACIST BAST@#$@. Does it matter there hasn't been any Asians described in the source? Nah since apparently race is all that matters here.

Kidding aside, I'm still on the Purefoy bandwagon myself. Simply because unlike other actors mentioned here, Purefoy has the 1 quality that the Viper really is defined for : SWAG. Seriously, he'd kill in that role and it's a shame some of you can only see his skin colour.

PS: Yes i'm not white.

Well, there ARE an awful lot of white people in GoT already. Some other races would be exotic and interesting (and yes, I AM white).

The Starks, Lannisters, Baratheon, Greyjoys, AND Targaryans are white in the show. Kinda boring, honestly. One of the things I DO like about the show is that it's not just Brits. Nicholas Waldau is fine as Jaime, and I really liked the dudes playing Ducksauce, Jaqen, and Salador Saan.

The show is a different universe - we're not reading lengthy descriptions of the physical traits of the various cultures, so "spice it up", I say.

[King Daemon Blackfyre]

Kidding aside, I'm still on the Purefoy bandwagon myself. Simply because unlike other actors mentioned here, Purefoy has the 1 quality that the Viper really is defined for : SWAG. Seriously, he'd kill in that role and it's a shame some of you can only see his skin colour.

PS: Yes i'm not white.

Jimmy Smits has plenty of swag. I am now on his bandwagon.

[The Dragon King]

Well, there ARE an awful lot of white people in GoT already. Some other races would be exotic and interesting (and yes, I AM white).

The Starks, Lannisters, Baratheon, Greyjoys, AND Targaryans are white in the show. Kinda boring, honestly.

The show is a different universe - we're not reading lengthy descriptions of the physical traits of the various cultures, so "spice it up", I say.

It's interesting that you find it boring because of the actors race, I found the show fascinating because it was fantastic drama.

I'm a big fan of the movie "Mongol", they're all Asian in the movie and I didnt feel slighted because of the lack of other peoples, I just sat back and enjoyed the movie, too bad you can't do the same.