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Oberyn Martell Cast


fireandbl00d

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Hi Alia, Thanks for the kind words. WOW ! You read my mind ! I was just about to post the EXACT same thoughts ! I grew up in Arizona and the SW and felt that GRRM put some of that into Dorne as well. My hometown is high plain \ mountain steppe and at over 6000 ft above sea level has the roasting sun and cold snaps that remind me of my fathers home province of Avila in the Castillian Meseta.

I think he even slipped in some South Western cuisine, stuffed peppers ( Chile Rellenos) sugar skulls common with Dia de los Muertos celebrations along with snake meat.

There was a restaurant near my hometown that served a mean rattlesnake .

All in all Dorne is a place with a varied population. Quentyn Martell is not classically Dornish in appearance. Nor are his compadres, the Yronwoods and Gerris Drinkwater.

The Fowler twins are described as fair, as is Edric Dayne. Then you have Timeon who is described as the typical short, lithe and swarthy Dornishman.

I always felt a kinship with the Sandy Dornishmen as I'm from the high desert and a "typical" Iberian in appearence.

DB~

LOVED Arizona and love stuffed peppers and I hope to live there at some point, once I can figure out how to escape the East Coast, lol.

And the Martells House Sigil compared to the Aztec sun cinched it for me in terms of cultural references. Just those little details can tell you a lot in terms of what the Author might be thinking.

My boss is Chilean/Italian and is "dark" due to her Italian heritage, because her mom Leontina is BLONDE.

In terms of the Welsh influence, you see it in the names like Elias Uncle Prince Lewyn, which is very similar to the Welsh names as Llyewelyn ap Gruffyd who was the last Prince of an independent Wales before the English came.

Martin plays with cultures to try and be inclusive, and represent the things that probably captured his imagination. I'm sure that the movie El Cid, (one of my favorite vintage movies), really influenced his idea of the pageantry of Medieval Spain as well.

And if you look at the Starks, you can tell their culture is a hybrid of Celtic, Viking lore, AS WELL as Native America even. Skin changers/wargs are straight from the Native American tradition of "shape shifters." He didn't go the route of turning them into straight-up 'were-wolves," but endowed some of the Northerners with the ability to become any animal.

I don't get the impression the Hispanic audience mind sharing the Dornish with the Welsh.

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Didn't George already say a half Indian actress from True Blood looked exactly like Lady NYM? Janina Gavankar? And the fanart he posted of Arianne had her looking more Indian/Middle Eastern tbh.

True, but she is playing a Hispanic character- "Luna Garza," and I actually thought "Arianne" looked more like a younger Salma Hayek.

I also think the Sand Snakes are supposed to be like the "Bond Girls," so they will be very diverse.

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True, but she is playing a Hispanic character- "Luna Garza," and I actually thought "Arianne" looked more like a younger Salma Hayek.

I also think the Sand Snakes are supposed to be like the "Bond Girls," so they will be very diverse.

I love a lot of what you have said on this particular thread.

Part of why I like House Martell so much is their well noted diversity, not just in their skin tones, but also in their social lives. This is a society that was accepting of homosexuality, which rings in stark contrast to how many approached homosexuality elsewhere in Westeros.

As such, it is disappointing that people want nail one specific skin-tone or real race onto a character, because that defeats so much of what Dorne and House Martell are.

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I among many others was hoping that Oded Fehr would get the nod. Does anyone know if he even auditioned?

I've never heard of Pedro or seen him in anything before that I recall. But I'm willing to reserve judgement until I see him in action. GRRM commented on the casting and apparently Pedro ''killed it'' with the audition. So that's definitely a good sign. I just hope he does the character justice. Can't wait to see him next season.

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I love a lot of what you have said on this particular thread.

Part of why I like House Martell so much is their well noted diversity, not just in their skin tones, but also in their social lives. This is a society that was accepting of homosexuality, which rings in stark contrast to how many approached homosexuality elsewhere in Westeros.

As such, it is disappointing that people want nail one specific skin-tone or real race onto a character, because that defeats so much of what Dorne and House Martell are.

Thank you, :blushing: :)

I try very hard to be measured in my approach to other posters, (which is why I probably go way long sometimes, but I've seen people in my work life, burned by badly-toned emails), :stillsick:

I have to say that I tend to be more "Team Stark," though I'm well aware they have serious skeletons in their history. I just always found it interesting that so many people hate Brandon Stark, (who is dead), but love the RV and yet, there is no difference between their behaviors.

It's also the same with people who love Jaime, but despise Dark Star, even though ironically DS tried to kill, the very daughter of the man who tried to kill Bran Stark. It's just that later in the books, Jaimie gets a redemption arc, whereas I don't know if DS gets the same treatment.

On the Martells, my feeling is that I'm not sure if it's "acceptance" of private behaviors so much as like most nobility in history, they do and love as they please. That there is no persecution, and they seem to be a fair-minded House enough is a good thing though.

But, with these types of characters, they need to tread carefully that they are not turned into a soap opera, or the Sand Snakes turned into the Kardashians.

What was done to Loras makes me cringe.

However, I'm going to need to watch them a little more closely as I'm not fully convinced that they are necessarily a force for "good," or a force for their own power, which makes them no different than the Lannisters, or Tyrells in that regard.

Also, on the RV himself, I'd need a little more information on the women in his life, and if they were okay with him taking their daughters. Obara's mother seemed pretty devastated.

But, all that is another thread.

But, as far as casting goes, I think the individual actor should fulfill the integrity and come as close to Martins historical references and intent as they can, and again, if D&D just stick to the text, then I think misunderstandings are avoided.

Again though, I appreciate your kind words. :wub:

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He looks the part. HBO has ruined the books in a few casting decisions, but they have overall been very good. I trust DnD to make good decisions, albeit not great ones. Fair to say, the shows are not the books, and the books are not the shows. Just enjoying both mediums, and waiting patiently for the new book, while the shows fill the gaps

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I among many others was hoping that Oded Fehr would get the nod. Does anyone know if he even auditioned?

Seems unlikely. Fehr is a major movie star. GoT has a reasonable budget, but not enough to be spending that kind of fee on a second-rank character.

I've never heard of Pedro or seen him in anything before that I recall. But I'm willing to reserve judgement until I see him in action. GRRM commented on the casting and apparently Pedro ''killed it'' with the audition. So that's definitely a good sign.

This is by far the most important factor, I think we can all agree: that the actors cast can really bring something to the role. It's nice if they look right and it's nice if there's diversity in the cast, but above all else it's essential that they can bring a performance.

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