Game of Thrones filming in Girona, Spain, continues and the activity around the public theatre set has revealed the role Richard E. Grant will be taking in season 6.
Images courtesy of Teleprograma show the actor, confirmed as appearing in the new season, participating in a play-within-the-show. Recent leaks have shown many views of the set and revealed several new cast members, including Essie Davis as the troupe’s leading actress. Today’s newest batch of photos unveils Grant’s role, that of the company’s lead actor who plays the king.
Details and more photos below!
The character was described in a casting breakdown, as Grand Theatre Actor/Manager. He is a close match to the king of mummers Izembaro from the A Song of Ice and Fire novels. The character from the casting writeup is described as a “larger-than-life leader of a troupe of actors” who “specializes in portraying drunken aristocrats,” and is not particularly nice to his company members when off-stage.
Going by the casting info, this means Grant’s role is planned for three episodes.
Here are more images from the theatre performance filming today, including Richard E. Grant and Essie Davis.
There are several more photos at the source, so please stop by Teleprograma’s full gallery!
We also have a fan-taken shot of Maisie in her Braavos costume, walking with Essie Davis in her Cersei-like actress getup.
Elsewhere in Girona:
John Bradley and Hannah Murray sightings continue.
Meanwhile, David Benioff and D.B. Weiss also get their share of the love from fans.
Activity is stepping up also over by the stairs of Girona Cathedral, where a huge scene is planned for filming this week. For major spoilers, visit our other new post from today!
Croma a punt a les escales de la catedral #Girona diuen q hi pujarà Jaime Lannister? #jocdetrons #gameofthrones pic.twitter.com/mDx4Y9VqK9
— Les Rades Grises (@LesRadesGrises) September 11, 2015
Hodor
Haven’t we discussed all this earlier today in the other thread?
Not everyone has the time to read hundreds of comments.
Well that definitely rules him out as Randyll Tarly.
I just hope we find out who’s actually playing Randyll the Mandyll soon. ;_;
Apollo,
The Richard E. Grant news is… well… new
It looks like the actor playing Joffrey in the play will also be playing Tommen in the play.
Exciting, but darn. It seemed really unlikely but I was hoping Grant would be the Elder Brother and McShane would be Septon Meribald…
Sadface.
Jon Starkgaryen,
They can’t cast every septon in Westeros.
Jon Starkgaryen,
McShane is Lachlan, from what I understood. The article here said his character was related to the bandit group in Riverlands, so an actor of that caliber would surely play the leader, I guess.
It seems Los Siete Reinos know the endgames of Dany, Tyrion and Jaime in s6. Possibly even what the last scene of season 6 will be. They cannot disclose the information though.
Redstar,
Why do you think they know?
Gravemaster,
I said he shared a scene with the outlaw band. I didn’t say he was a member of it. Just saying. 🙂
Sue the Fury,
Do you know anything about Blackfish and Edmure? Anything?
Weird that they’ve cast such heavy hitters–Essie Davis, Richard E. Grant–in relatively minor, one-off roles (since it’s unlikely the theatre troupe will be featured beyond Season 6). On the other hand, McShane is also in a minor role.
The campy, cheap-looking costumes are awesome. Hats off to the new costume designer.
Redstar,
I very much doubt they know. You’re being duped lol
Well, I’d thought he’d be playing Tarly, but I was wrong. It isn’t the first time, and it certainly won’t be the last.
M,
Conversely, a comparatively brief but memorable part like this is the kind of guest role a lot of notable actors gravitate toward. They may not have time to do more.
I was so focused on Richard E. Grant in the pictures that I missed “Tyrion” in two of them. I’m hoping the character of the person playing “Tyrion” in the show is less of a creep than the book character playing “Tyrion” (Bobono).
Sean C., I had thought that a minor role might be more appealing given the constraints of their schedules, but it seems strange to me to get actors of that status and use them so sparingly. Maybe the parts were particularly attractive for the actors involved.
Excited for confirmation, but honestly a bit saddened to learn Richard E Grant will only be in three episodes! I was hoping for a season long arc at least, better yet a role that carries over to next season…. Alas, I guess three episodes is better than one.
mau,
Oh I know, I just really REALLY miss The Hound.
I love this aspect of S6. The show will have actors playing actors in a show about the show. I wonder if “Mercy” will break the 4th wall and target a member of the audience?
M,
I just hope it doesn’t become distracting in that spot-the-actor cameo way.
mau,
I haven’t heard anything so far. If I do hear/see anything, I’ll post it.
Maisie has another chance to play against one of the UKs most charismatic actors (already having held her own against Sean Bean and Charles Dance).
I can’t wait. I hope Maisie and Richard get at least one scene with just the two of them.
I think that GoT may have reached that tipping point of trendiness where every actor, even the most sought-after, wants at least a cameo in it, regardless of their usual fee. I’m old enough to remember this happening when the Batman TV show first came out in the ’60s. There was so much buzz that being in it was seen as a lark, and a feather in your cap even if you were already famous.
Jon Starkgaryen
Abso-freakin-lutely, I miss the hound more than I thought i would. His character ruled
Sue the Fury,
And anything at all about if/where the Walkers/wights will be filming this season? They’re supposed to have a mind blowing scene this season, but haven’t heard any spoilers on what it might be.
I that Kevin Eldon who plays Ned Stark?
OT
09/11/2001
On this day of remembrance, let us be grateful for loved ones, honor the fallen, and learn lessons from mistakes of the past.
We will never forget.
/OT
Hey, if ‘Mercy’s’ in that play, she could play Arya Stark – bloke in the third photo looks a bit of a Ned Stark, after all 🙂
Dammit! I was almost certain he was gonna be Randyll Tarly. I’m really, really intrigued by who Randyll will be now…
On another note, both Grant and Essie Davis in the troupe! There’s some really talented actors in there! The scenes should be really good.
Sean C.,
I would rather have a distinguished actor play a relatively small role than not appear at all. Izambaro always seemed like a role we might have a fairly big actor play because it helps the audience to get invested in that storyline as they already feel they know the actor and helps them to feel invested.
In pretty much all the story-lines there are big guest actors for this exact reason.
Gravemaster,
I’ve been eyeballing this guy for a bit, he has some Twitter connection to the actors, but the looks are harder to be sure of, based on the photos. My eyes suck, so I’m not great at matching a face. He does have the CV for the part though- this is the Ned role which was a larger and comedic part, more highlighted than the smaller troupe roles.
I thought that! We’re mutuals on Twitter so I’ve asked him.
JCDavis,
+1
So, they have a mole or more likely moles somehow involved with the Spanish production, who have information about Episode 9 and 10 scenes filmed there. I think it’s obvious for Dany and Tyrion, since they will still likely be in an Essos location, filmed in Spain. But I wonder how Jaime fits in here. He will be in KL early in the season, then likely go to Riverlands, filmed in Northern Ireland and possibly Iceland. He could be in KL again in Episode 9 and 10, but in that case, wouldn’t this information include Cersei, or other KL based characters as well ? So, I’m thinking Jaime will be yet in another location. The Reach and Dorne are probable, since we already know Spain will be used as a location for them.
Hodor’s Bastard,
Do u want GoT to break the 4th wall? Imo the show would suffer bc of it
Looks like they recycled Cersei’s walk of shame wig for Joffrey.
well we still don know who Randyll is. The Randyll actor is filming tomorrow in castillo de santa monica (Horn Hill) Right? Maybe people can get something.
And Aeron too i want to know who is the actor.
Something intesting, who Ross anderson will play in this troupe?? i tought he was Robert by his beard and big belly but no, as we can see, he is not ned, not jofrey, not Jaime, Not tyrion. who them?
I’ve been wondering the same thing.
igorcarvalho,
From watching the videos, it looks to me like the guys in red are acting as guards/extra types, and moving scenery and props around between scenes.
+1
It’s mind boggling that this troupe is garnering such actors, but their part in Winds is important to Arya’s story and probably continues into season 7. It would be logical that Arya enters Westeros hidden among the theatre group, for all we know they could all be FM, a perfect cover for traveling around Essos and Westeros.
Can’t believe Ms Davis is 45, I thought she was 29-30 from the set pictures.
Really need some Paparazzi with those major zoom lenses over at Castillo Florentina today through Tuesday to snap pictures of the Tarly family.
OT: I wonder if Prince Harry will accept the cameo offered by D&D
Yeah the chap walking along behind “Cersei” and Arya is another great English comedy actor; Kevin Eldon
Sorry to veer off topic, but I just read that George is gonna play a zombified version of himself on Z Nation, apparently being part of someone’s “collection” of undead celebrities.
http://www.ign.com/articles/2015/09/11/george-r-r-martin-to-cameo-on-z-nation
No…you misunderstand. Although I was reminiscing on the unique perspective of this element of S6, I was specifically wondering if “Mercy” would actually commit her murder as part of the play (to an audience member). She would be “breaking the 4th wall” to the audience attending the play. 🙂
Never really noticed how beautiful Hannah Murray is!
Mr Fixit,
During the premieres of season 5 the cast attended, I saw pictures of her and wondered who she was. Then I read someone mentioning it was Hannah Murray. I was floored. They do a great job of de-beautifying her for the show.
Well, my belief Grant would play with the Theatre Troupe trumped my wish for him to portray the Mad King!
Brains win over heart!
Redstar,
Where did you read the bit about Dany, Tyrion and Jaime? I only read they couldn’t tell what they know because spoilers were huge. They also said these spoilers will most definitely infuriate people.
Actually, doesn’ the Mercy chapter suggest that this won’t be true?
Irish Thrones has reported that Kit Harington is in Belfast. but has been filming at Titanic Studios. No confirmation that he’s been on the battle set yet.
Quote: Iwan Rheon and Kit Harrington at Lavery’s Bar, Belfast, Ireland tonight (sep 11th). Kit back in action at Titanic Studios earlier today.
lisa0527,
IrishThrones are goofy. WOTW’s sources are better.
Sue the Fury,
Great scoop as usual Sue, I thought that as well from the pictures a couple of days ago but they weren’t clear enough for a proper identification and there was nothing on his agency C.V.
Kevin Eldon is renowned for his comedic cameos and I remember him as far back as the mid 1990’s with the stuff he did with Lee and Herring, Simon Pegg and then Steve Coogan. He will be a wonderful addition if that is indeed him.
Caling it now. Arya is going to kill one of the actors: either Leading Actress or Izembaro will be a mark. The question is, will she be part of the play or just a helper? Because that would be a bit disappointing. Her costume here looks like a normal Braavos outfit…
Another possibility is that she IS one of the actors (as in, gets a face-change before joining the troupe). Perhaps Leading Actress is actually just one of Arya’s faces…? Or were they seen together on set? Maybe she’s the Sansa girl?
Well, sometimes they get it wrong. Think LSH. But this just sounds like a convo with Kit in a bar. So not so out there.
Well that’s disappointing 🙁
Does anyone have a link for the source of Redstar and coconut’s comments about the Los Siete Reinos people claiming they have huge spoilers they can’t reveal which will infuriate people?
The spoilers will “infuriate” people? Well, if Dany’s still stuck in Essos by 6×10 and no closer to going to Westeros, I’m guessing people will be infuriated. Also, if Jon comes back from the dead only to be struck down by Ramsay in that 6×09 battle, that would also fit the bill.
…In all seriousness, though, it sounds like another major death. Another Stark bites it, maybe?
Kit’s been seen by a bunch of people around Belfast this week, all over the city (and Saintfield). He’s definitely rehearsing/filming this week. We posted about it yesterday. Retweeted something today. At this point, I don’t get hugely excited by Harington sightings unless there’s some kind of plot or info attached to it- we know Jon’s not dead now, so it’s like, okay what’s next.
M,
If it’s something of those proportions, we’re better off not knowing.
coconut,
Link?
lisa0527,
It’s a pretty safe bet that Kit will have scenes with Iwan this season. They have been spotted together on several occasions.
LOL, speak for yourself. I’d always prefer to know, else I wouldn’t be on this site jonesing for spoilers. Also, if a Stark or some other big character were to die, I’d like to have some time to prepare myself.
I could see Sansa dying this season. The Boltons still being a force to be reckoned with as of 6×09 raises some serious alarm bells. It also sounds like Jon, with his involvement in the battle, is being positioned as the saviour of the North and Ramsay’s foe rather than Sansa (Snowbowl, etc. etc.). No doubt it will lead to innumerable thinkpieces about how Sansa’s just a spectator to the male characters’ storylines, LOL.
coconut,
wait, WHAT? Infuriate people, ohhhhhh for god sake what they done this time???
this kind of news bring me down for season 6. WHERE YOU READ IT?
lisa0527,
I just checked their twitter, but I saw nothing mentioning any conversation in a bar.
lisa0527,
Isn’t Irish Thrones the one that proclaimed LSH was coming back and leading an army?
On topic, I have to say, I haven’t read the Mercy chapter, so I’m surprised these actors are going to be in 3 episodes. This theater troupe is a big deal in Arya’s story, I take it?
Sue the Fury,
If I’m reading Lisa’s comment right, it’s not that Kit is in Belfast, it’s that he’s filming in the studio, not in Saintfield as reported. I think. I haven’t looked at Irish Thrones’ twitter.
Christine Marie,
No, I get it. Kit’s been here all week, I have no trouble believing he’s been in both locations. He was at Saintfield. So was the source of my info. And I’m sure Kit has other scenes to do too.
jentario,
IIRC, we are told in the Mercy chapter that Izembaro is an agent for the FM, much like the fishmonger who employs Arya/Cat of the Canals. So if they make him her mark, that’s a notable divergence.
M,
I hope not. Sansa needs to be the one who puts an end to Littlefinger’s schemes once and for all. He’s directly responsible for the destruction of her family and has done nothing but use her as a pawn in his grand game, nearly getting her killed by her aunt and subjecting her to unfathomable torment at the hands of Ramsay (whether he knew what Ramsay was or not isn’t important – he must still be held accountable IMHO).
I just re-read the Mercy chapter earlier this morning and didn’t see any reference to that! Then again, I’m one of those readers who didn’t pick up on R+L=J first time through…
iridium,
Last Arya chapter in ADwD…”The Ugly Little Girl”….last few paragraphs
Just me worried about this ´´Massive spoiler will infuriate people´´ ??
please SUE, you are the best, talk with this guys from LSR and try to know what it is.
Do not need to post here what it is, but juss tell us is really can infuriate us.
Hodor’s Bastard,
Ah, thank you!
Hopes for the play:
– the Hound better be in but his scar should be on the wrong side (which is the right side, book-wise)
This is amazing. Grant sounds absolutely perfect for that role, as does Essie Davis, another brilliant actress with a long and distinguished career, recent highlight being The Babadook, a rare horror film whose quality actually hinges on the performance of the lead actor (the actor in question being Ms. Davis). I can already tell these scenes will be a highlight of the upcoming season.
I don’t know what spoilers would “infuriate” fans, but really, the easiest thing is to think of what things fans would love–Dany setting out for Westeros, good things happening for the Starks, “good” or fan favourite characters triumphing, “bad” characters getting their comeuppance, etc.–and think of the opposite:
1. Dany is still in Essos by 6×10 with no signs of going anywhere.
2. Another major Stark dies and/or Jon loses the 6×09 battle (although I have trouble believing they’d bring him back only to off him).
3. “Good” or fan favourite characters die: Some or all of Brienne/Pod/Grey Worm/Bronn/the Hound/Jaime/Missandei/Sam/Gilly.
4. “Bad” characters triumph: Some or all of Euron/Cersei/Littlefinger/Ramsay/Roose/White Walkers end the season on top or in a comfortable position. Cersei burns down KL.
Combine some or all of these, and you’ve got one pissed-off fandom.
…The good news is that if Ramsay is still alive by 6×09–which seems likely, if there’s a Bolton faction to speak of by that point–then there’s no worry about Sansa getting married yet again anytime soon.
The thing is, those thinkpieces would kinda be right…
I’ve been one of the biggest defenders of the show and D&D, but if they kill off Sansa without her having really done anything important, I am seriously going to have to question their sanity…
I would like to think they know better than to just waste her for shock value.
M,
I can guarantee one thing this season: House Bolton is over. Ramsay is gonna kill Roose (and probably Walda), then die in battle against Jon, the Wildlings, and the Umbers.
This seems like a natural progression for Ramsay as a character. His relationship with his father has grown increasingly tense since Season 4. He’s growing more and more insecure about himself and his position as Roose’s heir, with Roose even somewhat taunting Ramsay with the idea that Walda could be carrying a son. The tension will only get worse after Sansa and Theon are found missing. It will come to a head at some point during the season and Ramsay will kill both Roose and Walda and assume control of House Bolton for himself.
Then the risen Jon will receive the Pink Letter, threatening to raid Castle Black and cut out Jon’s bastard heart and eat it if he doesn’t turn over Sansa. Jon will then rally the Wildlings and join with the Umbers, and the single greatest thing ever will happen…
SNOWBOWL 2016
Seriously, I think that’s gonna overtake Cleganebowl in the hype department at this rate.
Also, if Dany isn’t on a ship to Westeros by the end of the season, I really will be infuriated. They’ve dragged the Essos crap out for way too long in both the books and the show. It’s time to get moving.
mau,
I realllyyyy hope Tobias Menzies and Clive Russell come back. The Riverlands won’t be the same without them! Plus, GRRM said that he hoped Tobias Menzies wouldn’t be too busy with Outlander if the show finally returns to the Riverlands. Since the show is going back to the Riverlands, I hope we get Edmure and the Blackfish, for continuity, because their plotlines aren’t resolved yet. It’d be cool to see Roslyn Frey, too, even if they had to recast her.
I am loving all of this casting news, I’m really excited to see the whole mummers performance on the show. I think it’s going to be delightful, based on the actors and the tacky costumes and bad wigs. I imagine it will provide some much-needed comic relief; albeit dark, twisted humor, if it sticks to the Mercy chapter premise.
Thank you WOTW! All of this news makes me so excited about TWOW and Season 6, and the casting news plus re-reading ASOIAF really helps make the wait for TWOW and season 6 a lot more fun.
That Cersei looks like the “real” Cersei for me.
And since Bolton men would never follow Ramsay if they knew he’d killed Roose, he has to frame someone for the murders… Now, who could that or them be? Of course, framing a tragic incident is a possibility too, but it would serve Ramsay to have somebody else to blaime.
Hm, something infuriating involving Dany, Tyrion and Jaime? Well, I was always of the opinion that Tyrion will be Dany’s “betrayal for love” i.e he betrays her in order to save Jaime.
igorcarvalho,
I’m really curious about this too. How much more infuriated can people get, particularly after how upset people got after UUU last season. I wonder if it’s going to be a big event in TWOW or show-only. I’m soooo curious now, regardless. I just can’t bring myself to look away from the spoilers.
Richard E Grant is an incredible actor. I hope he isn’t underused.
Chríss,
Considering that even prominent guest stars are sometimes understandably underused, as the ensemble cast of this show is enormous, I’d bet that Grant will be criminally underused in your eyes. After all, he is only in three episodes, supporting a single, isolated main character —if Izembaro has more than ten-to-twenty minutes of screentime I’d be shocked. However, hopefully Grant still has his opportunity to shine in that brief time. Other actors have done much with a single scene in the show, sometimes.
I dont understand why everybody assumes that Roose will be an easy victim to Ramsay! Roose is a player, Ramsay is just a plaything,dangerous but more disposable than his father
Do we know which 3 eps Grant and the others from the group have?
Tyrion Pimpslap,
I read it at the comments section in L7R, from one of its moderators. It’s in spanish though.
http://lossietereinos.com/impactantes-novedades-sobre-desembarco-del-rey-y-el-norte-en-la-6a-temporada-spoilers-muy-grandes/http://
1. I agree with your take on the Boltons. It seems like D&D have been comparing Ramsay and Jon in talking heads segments and such. I could see the culmination of that being Ramsay vs. Jon in a big battle.
2. I could see the Pink Letter being put over to Season 6. As in the books, the “bride” would be AWOL, meaning Sansa would scamper off to wherever with neither side knowing where she wound up (the Riverlands?).
3. I think the single most infuriating potential development for fans, aside from a Stark or Tyrion dying, would be Dany being no closer to Westeros at the end of 6×10.
Yeah, it may be like the Harry Potter films, which became a spot-the-actor game by the second one. Why not, although I hope they’re not blowing the budget on casting such superlative actors in a handful of scenes!
Still holding out hope for Ian McShane somehow delivering Septon Maribald’s speech, even if he doesn’t play the Septon…
Interesting! If they know the “endgame” spoilers for S6 for these three, they must be filming in Spain, in one of the locations filmed in Spain (not a studio set). The three can’t be connected at this stage (Jaime?), so they have separate S6 endgames, they must be filmed not in studio in Ireland, but on location.
But these spoilers that will “infuriate” people need not be connected to Daenerys, Jaime, Tyrion? Or am I missing something? I fully expect some spoilers to come out of S6 that will cause regular meltdowns in the fandom, as they demolish a few long-held fandom “canons”! 😀
If Dany and Tyrion are still in Mereen at the end of the season that would infuriate me.
Kay,
No, I didn’t read anything about it being related to Dany, Tyrion and Jaime. That’s why I asked Redstar earlier.
coconut,
Can you remember what it was about? What was the context and what it was in response to?
coconut,
Thanks. I looked over the comments you linked to, and I don’t know Spanish at all! but what I could gather is that one of the mods there said something like:
“we have some others that we cannot tell because they are already… brutal”
“what you will see onscreen you will certainly piss (?)….”
So some very major spoilers that are seemingly “brutal”. Perhaps could refer to some unexpected deaths? More bad news? (I expect the season to be overall dark).
I think that Redstar was referring to completely different spoilers about what the end points will be in S6 for Daenerys, Tyrion, Jaime. Those must be filmed on location in Spain for LSR to know about them, I think.
Tyrion Pimpslap,
Nah, not important. Someone said he/she pitied the guys at L7R because they had to be spoiled in oder to keep the site updated with news. So the moderator answered saying he knew even bigger spoilers that he couldn’t talk about and that those would piss people off.
Kay,
In that context, “brutal” means more like huge, thrilling spoilers rather than savage or violent. Doesn’t necessarily have a bad connotation.
In other news, it seems like Girona will be Oldtown after all. Hehe
Lol that’s how I used to imagine her too.
Talvivaara,
I dunno. Bolton men just might be slimy enough to follow Ramsay anyway (they were slimy enough to turn their cloaks at the Red Wedding after all)… but it would also be pretty easy to just say that Roose and Walda were killed by assassins sent by Jon Snow or the Umbers or something, and most people probably won’t question him too much about it.
M,
I discussed it with some folks in the comments of the report about Snowbowl a few days ago, and I now think Brienne will find Sansa and Theon and escort them to Castle Black. They hung that gun on the wall when Ramsay told Sansa about Jon being the new Lord Commander, and I think Gwendoline Christie mentioned that Brienne would see the candle in the tower after finishing up with Stannis, so she’ll probably go searching and find them.
It’s very important that she go to Castle Black for a few reasons. One is that Sansa being at Castle Black would raise the stakes considerably if Jon gets the Pink Letter (which I’m 99% sure will make it into the show after all). She’ll also very likely mention that Bran and Rickon are alive. Jon of course already knows this (but has kept it to himself), but it will force them to talk about it regardless. Then I think Jon will send Davos to find him like in the books, and that will get the ball rolling on reintroducing Rickon and the Umbers.
This shit is gonna be epic. 2016 can’t come soon enough. The North remembers, baby!
coconut,
Unless Sam and Gilly make a stop in Braavos…
Sansa and Melisandre crossing paths intrigues me greatly, especially if Mel attempts to ‘mentor’ her in some capacity.