Casting Ideas Season 2/3

[TooNice]

Who would you like to see play the key players in season 2/3 of GOT?

i personally imagined davos as something like mads mikkelson, and melisandre as someone like january jones. mads mikkelson doesn't give enough of that 'average joe' kind of vibe that i got from davos though, but he's pretty awesome, so i dunno.





i have no idea who could play stannis...

as for theon's father. this guy.



but hey i'm not a casting director, what do i know . what would be your suggestions anyway? feel free to do whichever, and how many characters as you want.

[Alan_87]

In an ideal world and a limitless budget and no clashing:

Stannis Baratheon - Mark Strong
Balon Greyjoy - Ian McShane
Davos Seaworth - Dominic West
Brienne of Tarth - Eva Damen

Maybe one or two of them a real possibility

[mars]

Davos - Vincent Gallo (from Buffalo 66)
Damphair - Peter Capaldi (from In the Loop)
Strong Belwas - Byronn Minss (from Black Dynamite)

[thirstyVan]

Apparently the IMDB page for episode 10 lists (or listed, it looks like it's gone now) Gerard Butler as Stannis. Though it's not really confirmation of anything, that would be fantastic.

Here's a link to the story on Warming Glow (site may be slightly NSFW. I don't have a problem but you never know...)

[Alan_87]

Pretty sure that's already been proven to be a hoax. Thank God.

[thirstyVan]

i personally imagined davos as something like mads mikkelson, and melisandre as someone like january jones. mads mikkelson doesn't give enough of that 'average joe' kind of vibe that i got from davos though, but he's pretty awesome, so i dunno.

January Jones? Not good. I love her in Mad Men but after seeing X-Men First Class, I am starting to suspect that what always seemed like great acting on her part (that bored, not quite there attitude of a miserable housewife) might be all she's got. Maybe it's not great acting so much as just how she is. And that wouldn't really fly for Mellisandre.

[thirstyVan]

Pretty sure that's already been proven to be a hoax. Thank God.

booooooooooooooooo. I thought it was a great idea.

(this! is! WESTEROS!!!) heh.

[Alan_87]

Looks exactly how I imagined Stannis.

[Werthead]

Mark Strong isn't impossible, but he's becoming a bigger and bigger player in Hollywood movies. Given Stannis is a recurring character across potentially 5+ seasons, I don't think it's likely.

My picks:

Davos Seaworth
Philip Glenister, best-known as Gene Hunt in Life on Mars and Ashes to Ashes. He has a strong everyman, no-nonsense vibe like Davos, but also has a wounded, vulnerable side (particularly in his lesser-known roles) that Davos displays.

Stannis Baratheon
With Strong likely unavailable, this one gave me some considerable headaches until someone on another forum suggested Robson Green. Green is the former acting and singing partner of Jerome Flynn (who plays Bronn), but more recently has made a name for himself in dark, haunted and serious roles, most notably as the werewolf MacNair on Being Human. His steely-eyed thousand-yard stare, unyielding determination and uncharismatic charisma (if that makes sense) all fit Stannis perfectly. Plus he's one year younger than Mark Addy and has very short hair, which is a bonus.

Melisandre
Tricia Helfer. Sorry to be Captain Obvious on this one, but she's a good actress who does 'intense' very well, has a notable individual fan following and, more realistically, has already auditioned for a role (Cersei in S1) so is known to the casting directors already. Her new show just got cancelled after the pilot stage, so she's available. Finally, she looks good in red and has a proven facility with wigs.

Craster
Ian McShane. Because we need McShane for something, and if it's for two scenes a season apart from one another in which he just acts like an old git, so be it

Maester Cressen
Roy Dotrice. Dotrice was supposed to be Pycelle, but had to pull out for health reasons. Cressen is a short but notable one-scene role that is quite memorable and Dotrice should do it brilliantly.

Edmure Tully
Jamie Bamber. Edmure is a bit of a wide-eyed, idealistic and headstrong guy, but due to the aging-up of Cat and Lysa, he also needs to be able to sell these qualities convincingly whilst being at least in his thirties. Bamber (Lee Adama from BSG, for those who don't know) does all those things quite well, plus he has an open schedule and is known to the casting director (he auditioned for Jaime in Season 1).

Roose Bolton
David Bamber (best known as Cicero in Rome and Hitler in Valkyrie). He has a slightly off-kilter charm and a proven ability to play two-faced characters excellently.

Ramsay Snow (aka Bolton aka Reek Mk. 1)
Daniel Mays (most recently seen as Keats in the final season of Ashes to Ashes and Cromwell in Outcasts). He does bug-eyed crazy-one-moment-but-rationale-the-next brilliantly.

Asha Greyjoy
Nora-Jane Noone. Best-known for The Magdalene Sisters, she's the right age, resembles Alfie Allen a bit and has the strength and intensity that Asha needs to do the role (a great suggestion by the Winter is Coming site).

Balon Greyjoy
Keith Allen. Possibly slightly gimmicky (Alfie Allen is his real-life son) but he's got the acting chops to do it and he looks like Balon right down to a tee (seriously, put a kraken on him and he's good to go).

Jaqen H'Ghar
(Technically introduced in the final episode already but they cheesily stuck a cloak over his head) My preference is Idris Elba, but between him helming his own BBC TV show and a growing movie profile after Thor, I don't think it's likely. Though obviously Jaqen is the only castmember who can be recast at will and it not be jarring to the audience, so that's not so much of a problem

Qhorin Halfhand
Sean Pertwee. If you want a grizzled-but-still-capable-of-kicking-butt veteran who looks like he's been through the wars, Pertwee is your man.

Xaro Xhoan Daxos
Peter Capaldi (from The Thick of It). Charming, obseuiqious (sic) but with a hint of threatening steel. Anyone who's seen him as the Angel Islington in Neverwhere knows he can handle that, no problem.

Brienne of Tarth
Eva Damen. She wants it, the fans are keen, she seems to have the acting chops to do it and she's got the looks (those looks being 'Hollywood unattractive' rather than 'actually unattractive' of course, but that's the way these things roll).

Ygritte
This is almost certainly going to be an unknown, since they need an up-and-coming actress who looks of an age with Jon Snow, or maybe a year or two older. I don't have any ideas at all for this one. The same for Magaery Tyrell and Quaithe.

[Rob B]

Mark Strong isn't impossible, but he's becoming a bigger and bigger player in Hollywood movies. Given Stannis is a recurring character across potentially 5+ seasons, I don't think it's likely.

My picks:

Davos Seaworth
Philip Glenister, best-known as Gene Hunt in Life on Mars and Ashes to Ashes. He has a strong everyman, no-nonsense vibe like Davos, but also has a wounded, vulnerable side (particularly in his lesser-known roles) that Davos displays.

Stannis Baratheon
With Strong likely unavailable, this one gave me some considerableheadaches until someone on another forum suggested Robson Green. Green is the former acting and singing partner of Jerome Flynn (who plays Bronn), but more recently has made a name for himself in dark, haunted and serious roles, most notably as the werewolf MacNair on Being Human. His steely-eyed thousand-yard stare, unyielding determination and uncharismatic charisma (if that makes sense) all fit Stannis perfectly. Plus he's one year younger than Mark Addy and has very short hair, which is a bonus.

YES Strong as Stannis would be full of Win. He does menacing acidic characters well, loved him in Sherlock Holmes.

Melisandre
Tricia Helfer. Sorry to be Captain Obvious on this one, but she's a good actress who does 'intense' very well, has a notable individual fan following and, more realistically, has already auditioned for a role (Cersei in S1) so is known to the casting directors already. Her new show just got cancelled after the pilot stage, so she's available. Finally, she looks good in red and has a proven facility with wigs.

This has to happen, I think.

Craster
Ian McShane. Because we need McShane for something, and if it's for two scenes a season apart from one another in which he just acts like an old git, so be it

McShane needs to be a part of the series, I couldn't agree more. Maybe Balon?

Jaqen H'Ghar
(Technically introduced in the final episode already but they cheesily stuck a cloak over his head) My preference is Idris Elba, but between him helming his own BBC TV show and a growing movie profile after Thor, I don't think it's likely. Though obviously Jaqen is the only castmember who can be recast at will and it not be jarring to the audience, so that's not so much of a problem

Failing Miltos Yerolemou in heavy make-up , Elba is a good choice, though I think his physical presence is a bit too overpowering. I just picture Jaqen to be more slinky in physical appearance, and Elba's performance as Heimdall and Charles Miner (on the US Office) really shows off his imposing physical presence. Then again, Mark Addy destroyed any pre-conceived notions many of us had about playing Robert.

Brienne of Tarth
Eva Damen. She wants it, the fans are keen, she seems to have the acting chops to do it and she's got the looks (those looks being 'Hollywood unattractive' rather than 'actually unattractive' of course, but that's the way these things roll)..

This.

[kged]

Damphair - Peter Capaldi (from In the Loop)

OH. MY. GOD.

Oh my actual God.

Mars, you are now officially the greatest poster in all the illustrious history of SFFW, and possibly of the entire internet.

[ginshun]

I just saw a post on GRRM's Facebook page saying that HBO had cast Alan Rickman as Stannis. Can anybody confirm or deny.

I personally think he would be perfect, and is a little higher profile actor than what I would have expected. Great news if true, IMO at least.

[ginshun]

Never mind. I misread. What I saw was a facebook page that somebody made, saying that they should cast Alan Rickman.
While I agree with this, it's a pipe dream. He's way too big an actor to play what amounts to not a main character in a cable series.

[TooNice]

nice choices werthead. can't believe i didn't think of tricia helfer though, i love battlestar galactica! but i still believe january jones would be really good, her demeanor and look is just exactly how i pictured it, and she does it quite well even if it's the only thing she can do.
mark strong would be perfect for stannis now that i think about it, obviously that's probably not going to happen though, he's in a lot of films these days (none of them on par with his talent, minus kick-ass ).

[mars]

Stringer for Jaqen, they're completely different. Excellent idea for Brienne.

Mars, you are now officially the greatest poster in all the illustrious history of SFFW, and possibly of the entire internet.

You're right

I don't know many obscure actors tough

that guy that played Brutus in Rome could be a decent choice