George R.R. Martin's Blog, page 209

Hiya, kids, hiya, hiya.

Okay, you've managed to puzzle out two of the three castings I hinted at yesterday. Congratulations to whoever was first to come up with the right answer.

"The first never says a word in the books." No, not Ilyn Payne. (I told you he hadn't been cast yet). It's Lord Jon Arryn. Who is dead before the books begin. We do hear others quoting things he said, but never from Lord Arryn himself. But in the series, he will appear on screen in a flashback scene.

"The first f...

Just a brief note to confirm the other news in Mo Ryan's blog this morning.

Yes, there's been another recasting (and possibly a few more in the offing).

David and Dan and HBO have decided to reshoot the prologue sequence from the pilot. For the very best of reasons, I think: to make it better.

I've seen the pilot, or at least a rough cut thereof, and I thought the prologue sequence was quite good, actually. But this will be the opening scene of the entire series, the first introduction to th...

... and to confirm the story that Mo Ryan broke earlier today in her column, the role of Varys the Spider will be played by CONLETH HILL.



Born in Northern Ireland, in County Antrim, Hill has done his share of televison and film, but is probably best known for his work in the theatre, which ranges from serious drama to musical comedy, and everything in between, including roles in THE PRODUCERS, LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS, THE PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY, WAITING FOR GODOT, and A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM....

More casting news from Mo Ryan of the CHICAGO TRIBUNE:

http://featuresblogs.chicagotribune.com/

The Watcher. Hmmmm. Wonder if Mo is a Marvel Comics fan.

Her announcements are about roles other than those mentioned in my hints, FWIW, so don't confuse those.

Hiya kids, hiya, hiya, hiya.

This time we have two lords and a knight.

The first never says a word in the books. The second gave up one lordship and received another. The third birthed a monkey, a pimple, and a loon.

The first flew by night to find the truth. The second is a merry man from the god of war. The third was a supervillain, and once ambled amongst oak trees and hollies, where he might have come across a golden rose.

Who are they?

The ranks are filling out on HBO's GAME OF THRONES.

Ser Barristan Selmy, Barristan the Bold, the Lord Commander of the Kingsguard, will be played by Ulsterman IAN MCELHINNEY, Belfast born and bred.

Ser Barristan is a veteran of tournament and battle, and McElhinney a veteran of stage and screen who has been acting professionally since 1981. He was a pope on THE TUDORS, a captain on HORATIO HORNBLOWER, a priest, a doctor, a detective... though I believe this is his first turn as a knight. He's...

I've been looking over tapes of half a dozen actors auditioning for the part of Ser Ilyn Payne in the HBO series. The strangest auditions I've ever watched, since all the actors do is stand there and react silently to the lines being read at 'em.

No decision on Ser Ilyn yet, BTW. But soon, I think.

Meanwhile, though, the talented folks over at Dark Sword Miniatures are about to issue their own version of Ser Ilyn, sculpted by Jeff Grace. Here's a couple of peeks at the green:




More details on ...

No, no, not THAT long wait, sorry...

The somewhat shorter long wait was the one I meant.

The sixth and final issue of THE HARD CALL, our Wild Cards miniseries, is now on sale at your favoirte local comic book shop. Go out and snatch up your copy! Better yet, snatch up ten!!!



Scripted by Daniel Abraham (author of THE LONG PRICE QUARTET and the forthcoming fantasy epic THE DAGGER AND THE COIN, and creator of Jonathan Hive), with art by Eric Battle, THE HARD CALL is an original tale of the Wild C...

I can confirm another of the leaked castings.

The role of Jory Cassel, captain of guards and right hand man to Lord Eddard Stark, will be filled by Scottish actor JAMIE SIVES. Yes, ironic as it sounds, we will have a Jamie guarding Ned.



Jory is the nephew of Ser Rodrik Cassel, Winterfell's master-at-arms, and the son of one of Ned's companions who died at the Tower of Joy. Though young, he commands the escort of fifty guardsmen who accompany Ned to King's Landing.

Born in Edinburgh, Jamie Sive...

The big casting news I was hinting about yesterday broke even before I finished hinting, in THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER:

http://livefeed.hollywoodreporter.com/2010/07/game-of-thrones-casts-wire-veteran.html

So there you have it. Petyr Baelish, master of coin for the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros, will be played by the amazing Irish actor AIDAN GILLEN. (("Big news about a small digit," get it?))



Gillen is best known to American audiences for his superb turn on THE WIRE, where he played Tommy Carcetti, ...