[Possible Spoilers] Five Worst Actors

[I'll pay the iron price]

Emilia Clarke is a great actress I think

[Maester Ruin]

Emilia was pretty good in season 1, but her storyline and dialogue in S2 was just terrible. She had so many lines that made me cringe, most of them when she was trying to act upset. the "WHERE ARE MY DRAGONS?" scene was hard to watch, since it was the last line of an episode, it was obviously meant to be very dramatic but i could not keep a straight face when i saw it. Same goes for her rants when she visits the spice king. Her story about how she hatched dragons, that her dreams come true and that she will take back what is hers with fire and blood fell very flat because she sounded like she was about to break down crying at any moment...

As for Kit, i think hes pretty good. he has a nice chemistry with sam and i enjoyed his scenes with tyrion in S1. he is good at using his face to display emotions, and i really enjoyed his scene with mance. I think its part of his character that he is supposed to start of as a slightly frightened boy and become more confident and harder as the series progress, and it looks like he is pulling that off.

I dont see how anyone can complain about Mellisandrae, the woman who plays her completley nails that creepy religious fanatic personality. She comes off as scary yet seductive, great acting imo.

[Maester Ruin]

And as foor Oona, this is obviously a case of book fans being upset over the change. i dare anyone to point out a single scene where she acts bad. The scene where she told Robb about the childhood incident with her brother was great in my opinion. i dont see what there is to complain about.

[Travy1991]

Yeah I don't necessarily understand how people can say Oona Chaplin is a bad actress. She hasn't got enough screentime, for one. The thing is...Talisa is a badly written character thus far. She's basically just a plot device that is beautiful, caring and flirtatious with Robb and used as a source of contrived conflict between Robb and Catelyn.

[Maester Ruin]

Yeah I don't necessarily understand how people can say Oona Chaplin is a bad actress. She hasn't got enough screentime, for one. The thing is...Talisa is a badly written character thus far. She's basically just a plot device that is beautiful, caring and flirtatious with Robb and used as a source of contrived conflict between Robb and Catelyn.

I dont think she is that badly written. GRRM himself wanted Robb to marry a girl from Volantis, and i think the reasoning was to introduce the TV-Audience to the Free Cities and their Slave culture in Season 2, Since the Free Cities play a huge role in Dannys Storyline ins S3. it was a bit of Foreshadowing basicly, and expanding the TV-audience knowledge of the World in the Series.

[PotterNo1]

Alfie Allen is a terrible actor. He sounds like someone acting in a school play most of the time. Sophie Turner is pretty poor too.

[insertname]

What? I thought Alfie Allen was great. Okay, yeah, he might sound a bit wooden at times but his facial expressions more than make up for that and have made me feel sorry for a character I never cared about in the books.

Well, as others have said, generally the cast of GoT is amazing, and so the "worst" actors aren't that bad either (And some of the flaws come from the writing). That said, my top 5:

1. Emilia Clarke (Most of the time I like her as Dany, but some of the lines like "Fire and Blood" made me cringe, which no one else did. She's good as Dany overall, but she can't do the angry screaming)

2. Aiden Gillen (Again, may be the writing to blame but he just hasn't sold on being as sly as Littlefinger really is)

3.Sibel Kekilli

4.Finn Jones

5.Harry Lloyd

I had a hard time even coming up with five names though, shows how great the cast is.

[Chaircat Meow]

5.Harry Lloyd

:dunno:

[Rhaenys Sand]

Watch Oona in "The Hour" and Sibel in "Gegen Die Wand" and you'll see that the writing has screwed their characters off, not the actresses.

[Shit_for_Honour]

Saying Oona's one of the worst is harsh. I don't necessarily agree with the changes they've made to the Jeyne storyline, in fact it's probably my only major book to screen complaint, but I think she's done a good job as Talisa.

[Arcydas]

Hm, i believe the cast is really great.

The 'worst' perfomances is something that should not be confused with 'most different book to tv adaption' of a character.

It's not Aidan Gillens job to play book littlefinger 100% the way he was written by GRRM, but the way he is presented by D&D to him.

Bad actors? There are none on the show.

Less convincing acting? Only few scenes come to mind and they are not really worth mentioning.

The actors perform greatly the way they are meant to by D&D. It's just their writing that confuses me sometimes and creates discrepancy within characters (e.g. Jaime killing his cousin : Out of character?)

[protar]

I dont think she is that badly written. GRRM himself wanted Robb to marry a girl from Volantis, and i think the reasoning was to introduce the TV-Audience to the Free Cities and their Slave culture in Season 2, Since the Free Cities play a huge role in Dannys Storyline ins S3. it was a bit of Foreshadowing basicly, and expanding the TV-audience knowledge of the World in the Series.

GRRM wanted Robb to marry a girl from Volantis? Where on earth are you getting that?

No offense but that's just not true. What happened is that D+D kept making more and more changes to Jeyne until she was a completely different character and then George went "Hey now that you've butchered my character and changed her nationality you may as well give her a different name," (or at least I imagine that's how the conversation went.).

[Maester Ruin]

GRRM wanted Robb to marry a girl from Volantis? Where on earth are you getting that?

No offense but that's just not true. What happened is that D+D kept making more and more changes to Jeyne until she was a completely different character and then George went "Hey now that you've butchered my character and changed her nationality you may as well give her a different name," (or at least I imagine that's how the conversation went.).

No, They abandoned the Jeyne westerling concept from the begining because they wanted to keep robb in the front with catelyn, having Robb spend so much time in the Crag, away from the stark host would not work in the Series because of time issues, So George came up with the concept of a Character from Volantis named Talisa.

It was a necessary change, deal with it. The writers also wanted to have robb marry for love, not to save a girls honour.

[Cloaked]

I don't think any of the main actors are bad, and certainly not Emilia Clarke or Kit Harington, who are both theater trained. Actually, I think they are both excellent. If I had to say who of the actors playing main characters has some room for improving acting skills, I would have to say Jason Momoa as Khal Drogo. As much as I like the guy, his acting is about as good as that of Arnold Schwarzenegger, so he keeps getting parts for his body shape, like the Conan role he did after Game of Thrones. I would love to see him surprise viewers with something different.

The thing is Jason Mamoa CAn act (I mean not compared to Tom Hanks but certainly more so than a Keanu Reeves or Arnold) but either he isn't getting roles that don't fit the mold he's played of late or he isn't looking outside of that mold (I assume its the former).

I do distinguish between characters that aren't as I think they should be and the acting itself but I must say I think Kit Harrington looks the part, but my mind was blown when I saw D+D say they KNEW he was the PERFECT Jon Snow from the beginning. Jon very much dwells within his own mind and is more somber and thoughtful than those in the Watch of age with him, but he is clever and witty and has some great lines. Every time Kit Harrington delivers a line I'm expecting it to be "well ill just take my ball and go home." I don't get reflective and contemplative (or for that matter intelligent) from him, it all just seems to come out as sulky. Having said all that, I certainly don't hate his portrayal though it is far from the Jon Snow in my head, but I am surprised he's a theatrically trained actor, I did not know that until reading this thread. For all I know he's just made specific choices that somewhat put me off...

To tip the scales in the other direction the man playing Jaime (I know his name but would misspell it if I tried) has been a pleasant surprise and I'd be interested in seeing any other english speaking roles he's done.

(oh and a random thought that I just had - I think Lena Headey is a very good actress, but the Cersei she's playing ain't the Cersei I've lived with for 18 years)

[Jon Mark Selmy]

Angry? I don't know what makes you think that, because I don't see any anger in my post at all. I just think it's interesting when a actor/actress does a poor job, it's the writers/director's fault, but when they are good, it's always thanks to their talent. I see bad writing used all the time as an excuse to defend an actor and IMO yes, bad writing may be a problem, but doesn't excuse a bad performance.

Well, it seemed a bit too "strongly said". But it's fine. I don't see that trend you talk about, though. 'll be the first to comment if I think some actor is bad. It's just that this show don't have any I can think of. (Well, the girl who makes Shae is a little bellow average, but other than that...)

I also think you can explain why you disagree with someone, but considering that opinions about what makes someone a good actor are usually subjective, I just don't think anyone can say other person is wrong for having a different opinion.

Sure you can. And that person can say you're wrong back. Also, acting technique is not entirely subjective. Neither is good writing. You can like or not like the work of the artist/writer itself, that's subjective but weather it was or wasn't well executed obbeys some criteria. Granted, when you act at a high level, quantifying and ranking the small mistakes that persist becomes very hard.

I strongly disagree about Michele only being a little better than Emilia, I personally think Michelle is the best actress on this show and Emilia is the worst, but that's my opinion. I haven't seen a scene where Michelle doesn't do a good job, where you can say she is overreacting or emotionless, but Emilia has several scenes like that.

I've seen her, as well as every other actor on the show, commit a slight mistake on occasion. Michelle overacts a bit on occaion, for instance. Leana Headey is technically the better female actress on the show (and I'm sure most experienced actors and directors will agree) and Charles Dance is 'probably' the better overall actor on the show and yet, even they are not entirelly flawless, no actor really is.

Another thing that must be said - and I say it as someone who has acted for 7 years, though mostly as a hobby - is that our impressions are all going by the final product. We don't really know if pehaps whoever does Shae acts in one take and Lena - who is awesome on the final product - needs 10. That's the director's job/fault and we can't comment on it without seeing the original footage.

If we have to forget about experience to compare two actors then we can talk about how Maisie, who is 15 and had no previous education or experience as an actress does a great job and holds her own when she is working with an actor like Charles Dance, while Emilia, who went to Drama School, does a poor job in some of the scenes.

We don't "have too" forget. But it is pretty unfair to judge a 20 years old actress with the same amount of rigor we judge a 40 years old. And I agree that Maisie is one of the best female technical actors on the show, she's just very naturally gifted, but most people aren't. And Emillia doesn't do a 'poor job'. No actor on the show really does a 'poor' job. The worst I've seen so far is 'ok job' and usually we see 'good job'. With occasional 'great jobs'.

About the "where are my dragons scene?" I have to disagree again, I think Emilia fails a lot in the scenes where she has to be angry, she makes the faces and she yells, but she doesn't really show real emotion, that's why those scenes end up being ridiculous. Other actress may be better at showing that rage and anger and save the scene, but she just can't.

Except she usually does. Her voice is on the right tone and her expressions are ok to good and occasionaly she even uses the occasional 'dramatic act'. She is pretty much on the show's "average". It almost seems like you have a peeve against her.

[irishking44]

There's a "worst" actors thread for SE2, but I'd like to make something a little more inclusive.

Try to base your opinions on acting ability, not personal attacks to the actors/actresses, and how they carry themselves in their respective roles. "Because they aren't hot enough/ugly enough" isn't a sufficient answer--we're talking about acting skill, not arbitrary things that cannot be changed or controlled.

If you want to provide an in-depth explanation, feel free to do so, but it is in no way required to validate your opinion.

I'll get the ball rolling with my list:

• Emilia Clarke
  
• Kit Harington
  
• Natalia Tena
  
• Carice van Houten
  
• Oona Chaplin
  
• Eugene Simon (Lancel)
  

"Meh" actors that aren't bad, but aren't particularly good either:

• Richard Madden
  
• Gemma Whelan
  

So you think the woman who plays Shae is good? credibility gone, man. sorry

[Chalkius Stark]

I don't think there's a single bad actor amongst the main cast. Most of the time it's average writing that's let them down. I don't like Natalie Dormer much, but it's not her acting, I can't explain it.

The weakest though is probably Kit Harrington, but he's by no means bad, just not as good as the rest. I wasn't keen on Lena Headey or Alfie Allen first season, but their performances improved drastically. Lena in Blackwater was great, while Alfies entire character arc, particularly the last episode, was simply amazing.

[Just an archer]

Well, it seemed a bit too "strongly said". But it's fine. I don't see that trend you talk about, though. 'll be the first to comment if I think some actor is bad. It's just that this show don't have any I can think of. (Well, the girl who makes Shae is a little bellow average, but other than that...)

I have seen people saying that the only bad thing about the show is the writing and that all the actors are good, but I disagree, and I have seen people who say that if they do a bad job it's because the writing is bad, and I disagree, a bad script doesn't mean the actor's performance has to be bad.

Sure you can. And that person can say you're wrong back. Also, acting technique is not entirely subjective. Neither is good writing. You can like or not like the work of the artist/writer itself, that's subjective but weather it was or wasn't well executed obbeys some criteria. Granted, when you act at a high level, quantifying and ranking the small mistakes that persist becomes very hard.

Acting technique may be objective, but someone's opinion about who is or isn't a good actor is not. Look at this thread, even if some names are posted more than others, once in a while we see criticism about an actor that most people consider good or at least ok for the role. People think that if they like an actor then the actor must be good, you like Emilia as an actress and you think she is a good actress. I don't. You think Michelle is a good actress but not that great and I think her work in GoT is amazing. That's why I think the word wrong shouldn't be used in this case, because how you see an actor depends on how much you like them, and opinions are subjective.

I've seen her, as well as every other actor on the show, commit a slight mistake on occasion. Michelle overacts a bit on occaion, for instance. Leana Headey is technically the better female actress on the show (and I'm sure most experienced actors and directors will agree) and Charles Dance is 'probably' the better overall actor on the show and yet, even they are not entirelly flawless, no actor really is.

Well that's your opinion, you see her scenes and think "she is overreacting here", I see that scene and think she is spot on. About Lena, I don't what do you mean with that "technically" she is the best actress, personally I don't care how famous an actor is or how many awards he/she has, doesn't mean they are always the best in every performance, maybe Michelle is not as popular as Lena (I honestly have no idea), that doesn't mean Lena is better. There a lot of super famous actors who can't really act or are only good in certain roles, that doesn't make them better than the rest. And I don't really know what the directors or the other actors think about the GoT cast and honestly I don't care. I'm not going to base my opinion in what others think.

Another thing that must be said - and I say it as someone who has acted for 7 years, though mostly as a hobby - is that our impressions are all going by the final product. We don't really know if pehaps whoever does Shae acts in one take and Lena - who is awesome on the final product - needs 10. That's the director's job/fault and we can't comment on it without seeing the original footage.

The director has a job to do and must stay in schedule and film the scenes in time so they can move on with the production and besides, the director can't get a good performance from an actor if the actor can't give it to him. And they choose the best takes, why wouldn't they? why would they include a bad take instead of the good one? I don't understand what you are getting at with this, that a actor who does an ok job in a couple of takes is better than one who does a really good job in ten? Granted, the first one saves film, but nothing else.

We don't "have too" forget. But it is pretty unfair to judge a 20 years old actress with the same amount of rigor we judge a 40 years old. And I agree that Maisie is one of the best female technical actors on the show, she's just very naturally gifted, but most people aren't. And Emillia doesn't do a 'poor job'. No actor on the show really does a 'poor' job. The worst I've seen so far is 'ok job' and usually we see 'good job'. With occasional 'great jobs'.

I see that as a way to excuse, sorry, Emilia landed a big role and she is among some very talented and/or experienced actors, ok, but that doesn't mean her performance doesn't have to be as good as the others. You think she doesn't do a poor job, I think she did it in the scene where Viserys dies (she doesn't show any emotion, at all), when she is yelling so that they will let her enter in Qarth, when she tries to convince the Spice King to give her ships, the infamous "where are my dragons?" scene, when she goes to see the Thirteen to get back her dragons (she overreacts in those scenes IMO) and in last week episode when she meets Barristan she was kind of flat.

Except she usually does. Her voice is on the right tone and her expressions are ok to good and occasionaly she even uses the occasional 'dramatic act'. She is pretty much on the show's "average". It almost seems like you have a peeve against her.

I personally don't see real emotion when she needs to show rage or anger, as I said before, yes, she makes the faces and she yells, but that's it, someone yelling. That's why I don't like how she did those scenes. And I don't have a peeve against her, I just think she isn't good and I try to explain why I think that.

[LordStoneheart]

There's a "worst" actors thread for SE2, but I'd like to make something a little more inclusive.

Try to base your opinions on acting ability, not personal attacks to the actors/actresses, and how they carry themselves in their respective roles. "Because they aren't hot enough/ugly enough" isn't a sufficient answer--we're talking about acting skill, not arbitrary things that cannot be changed or controlled.

If you want to provide an in-depth explanation, feel free to do so, but it is in no way required to validate your opinion.

I'll get the ball rolling with my list:

• Emilia Clarke
  
• Kit Harington
  
• Natalia Tena
  
• Carice van Houten
  
• Oona Chaplin
  
• Eugene Simon (Lancel)
  

"Meh" actors that aren't bad, but aren't particularly good either:

• Richard Madden
  
• Gemma Whelan
  

I feel like you probably judged them on their looks or something other than acting ability. All of these people are phenomenal actors, especially Emilia. She is the perfect Dany full of passion and innocence at the same time. Watch her during Viserys' crowning scene. One of her best moments. Jon Snow isn't given much but quietness and some sulking until the later books, but Kit nails what the writers give him perfectly. Oona has nothing to base Talisa on since she is a made up character, but what she does give is alright. Not much so far but nursing and goo eyes at Robb, but her slave brother story was handled well. By far, the best are Arya, Catelyn, and Daenerys though.

[StannisandDaeny]

True. He lacks the Stannis personality, and I'm not convince of the acting: he looked like he won't fight to the bitter end. I imagine Jason Statham as Stannis - I think he got it, except he's too hunky. :P

Really? His reaction to the wildfire and his dialogue about Storm's End was priceless.