New Players in HBO’s A Game of Thrones Announced

– August 23, 2009Posted in: Celebrities, Television

Oh wow, I'm busy for a few days and I look what I've missed:

"In the adaptation of the George R.R. Martin fantasy-book series, [Nikolaj] Coster-Waldau will play Jaime Lannister, one of the king's guards and a ruthless usurper of the previous king. The actor, most recently seen in Ron Moore's Fox pilot 'Virtuality,' is repped by WME, Impression and Independent Talent Group.

Another addition is Tamzin Merchant (Showtime's 'The Tudors'), who'll play Daenerys, an exiled teenage princess.

Also new to the cast: Richard Madden ('Hope Springs') as Stark's eldest son, Robb; Iain Glen ('Into the Storm') as Ser Jorah Mormont, a disgraced knight; Alfie Allen ('The Other Boleyn Girl') as Theon, Stark's young ward; Sophie Turner ('Doctor Who'), as Stark's eldest daughter, Sansa; Maisie Williams as Stark's young tomboy daughter, Arya." - The Hollywood Reporter

I always knew at least one actor/actress would spill over from The Tudors into A Game of Thrones; looks like I was right since Tamzin Merchant made it into the AGoT cast. She certainly looks the part, in my opinion. I never imagined Dany to be your stereotypical beautiful princess; I always imagined her to look beautiful in a weird, otherworld-y sort of way, and Merchant fits that description.

[EDIT (April 30, 2010): GRRM confirmed in an interview that Tamzin Merchant will no longer be playing Dany in the show.]

[EDIT: (May 25, 2010): GRRM has confirmed on his blog that Emilia Clarke will be taking on the role of Dany.]

Looks-wise, I'm not so happy with the actor starring as Theon. I always imagined Theon as a younger Jonathan Rhys Myers, and Alfie Allen certainly doesn't look like that. I guess I'll have to wait and see how he acts and how he looks with make-up and costume on, as GRRM seems pleased with the casting (check out his multiple entries with comments on the actors on his LJ).

Here's a list of all the currently confirmed cast members with links to web pages with pictures and/or info on them (mind you, a lot of these actors don't have a lot of pictures on the internet and I just worked around what I could find):

Sean Bean as Lord Eddard Stark
Peter Dinklage as Tyrion Lannister
Mark Addy as King Robert Baratheon I
Jack Gleeson as Joffrey Baratheon
Harry Lloyd as Viserys Targaryen
Kit Harington as Jon Snow
Richard Madden as Robb Stark
Nikolaj Coster-Waldau as Jaime Lannister
Tamzin Merchant as Daenerys "Dany" Targaryen [Merchant is gone; Emilia Clarke is replacing her.]
Iain Glen as Jorah Mormont
Alfie Allen as Theon Greyjoy
Sophie Turner as Sansa Stark
Maisie Williams as Arya Stark