Today was a huge day for Game of Thrones filming, according to our sources. Portions of a major scene were filmed in Ballintoy, Northern Ireland, and reports say that one of the sixth season’s new stars was front and center.
Sources report that Danish actor Pilou Asbæk will be playing the role of Euron Greyjoy. The actor was spotted shooting today with the cast around Ballintoy Harbour, in a scene that involved a crowd cheering for Euron.
Asbæk starred in the successful Danish series Borgen as Kasper Juul, along with GoT guest star Birgitte Hjort Sørensen. He appeared as Paolo Orsini on The Borgias, and is playing Pontius Pilate in the newest version of Ben-Hur.
UPDATE: It’s official! HBO has confirmed that Pilou Asbæk has been cast in season 6 of Game of Thrones as Euron Greyjoy.
As for the scene being filmed, spoilers below!
Sources say that the Kingsmoot was at least partially filmed today. The scene was very visible from the cliff paths nearby. Yara was present for the scene, as expected. There was no Victarion, as we’ve also been predicting for some time.
Our source did see someone who appeared to be Aeron, playing the Drowned Priest’s role in leading the Kingsmoot and speaking often. They didn’t think it was the same actor from season 2 who appeared as a Drowned Priest, or anyone they recognized but it was difficult to tell for certain in this case.
The filming at Ballintoy Harbour will continue for the rest of the week, so hopefully there will be more sightings, confirmations and details to come!
HODOR!
Wow ! Great scoop.. such an anticipated role, hopefully will live up to expectations.
crowd cheering
I know what you mean there
KINGSMOOT HYPE
Hodor!
He was great on Borgen
Yes!!!!
Haha it’s about time! Fucking Crow’s Eye!!! And he kinda looks like he could be related to Alfie Allen in that pic.
WHAT IS UNCAST MAY NEVER DIE. OR SOMETHING HYPE.
Great, great job, Sue & Co! Can’t wait to see this guy in action. Between him and Birgitte Hyort Sorensen, it’s clear the show has some high-level Borgen fans.
Doesn’t look the part imo.. but maybe I was just too hopefull that they would pick Mark Ryder (even though the chances of that were zero).
I did expect Euron to have black hair though..
I can’t breathe.
davy,
They’ve cast the Greyjoys as more fair-haired here. Black hair would’ve been nice, but I think he’ll fit in nicely.
I thought that was a picture of Finn at first. Yay Euron has been cast!
He doesn’t necessarily look like how I pictured Euron, but he could be Alfie’s older brother, and I imagine he could look menacing enough, so I’m good for now.
Me too I thought it was Ser Loras. Hope they change his haircut a bit or some might think he’s a secret Tyrell ;-).
He looks a bit young, only 4 years older than Alfie Allen.
He’s nowhere near as sexy as I imaged Euron. I imagined Richard Armitage.
Yes!! I can’t wait to see him in the suit and makeup!
I like the idea of a good actor rather than big star for Euron. After Karsi I’m not second guessing them. Great scoop.
I don’t know about you guys but I’m so happy we’re getting more Yara.
: )
Great scoop! This is the news that I have been waiting for. Glad to have confirmation that the Kingsmoot (or some adaptation of it) is in. It should be fabulous on screen.
What about Alfie and the information (from his Instagram account) that he was in/near Ballintoy Harbour? Does Theon get back to Pyke?
I can see it. If you google pics of him, he can get those crazy Theon eyes. Seems a little young, though. Whatevs, trust in Nina.
????
Finally!
Euron! Euron! Euron!
Thank god it is not McShane. He was all kinds of wrong for Euron!
Great little scoop! I actually quite like the look of him. I did see some people saying that casting a relative unknown for Euron might be a good idea, because a big name would kind of overshadow the role. I agree, and this guy has an impressive resume.
The last Borgen actor on the show was fantastic, and if Pilou is only 80% as good as Birgitte we’re in for a treat. Naturally of course I hope he is even better.
He’s Danish, which means he’s close enough to Mads for me. 🙂
Kasper Juul! Excellent actor.
But isn’t he too young to play Balon’s brother?
Balon Greyjoy – Patrick Malahide – Born 1945
Euron Greyjoy – Pilou Asbæk – Born 1982
I’d hit that crazy pirate action.
The first storm and the last, has finally arrived
By the trident of the Drowned God, this is good news!
Here he is on a boat:
http://ahijacking.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/pilou2-960×400.jpg
I do wonder how they’ll age him up. He’s in his early 30s, and really doesn’t look much older than Theon and Yara. Maybe he’ll be a Greyjoy cousin?
Saw some other of of him. I think he’s too young to play Euron and he doesn’t really look the part :/ haven’t seen him in my thing so I don’t know much about his acting skills, but at the moment I’m disappointed
Pretty decent physical resemblance to Alfie. I haven’t seen him in anything, so I can’t comment on his suitability, but this show’s casting department is reliable.
Heh, after all the speculation about whether this was McShane’s part and the age of the part, I’d say this casting verges on the opposite problem; he’s on the young side for the role.
I actually said something similar when Pedro Pascal was cast as Oberyn. But after I saw his first scene, I completely shut my mouth lol.
Thanks for the news!!!
Going through pictures of him on google, he appears to be quite the chameleon with his look. He definitely has an intensity about him which comes through his eyes, for me…or I guess it will be eye.
While I, too, imagined Euron as incredibly sexy, I wasn’t one who thought Pedro sexy enough to be Oberyn, at least not just by looking at him, and then I saw his performance, and all that went out the window.
The fact he was in Borgen, which I’m going to have to seek out and watch, bodes quite well, I think.
At first I thought wow Finn is looking rougher these days! XD
Alex Stroup,
Here we go with the Oberyn shit again . This fandom just never fucking learns for some reason . Always whining because their favorite actor wasn’t cast like the casting directors have to go by their direction or something .
Amazing scoop!
Darkstar,
Pascal also seemed way too young for Oberyn. That turned out well!
I expected them to cast someone less fair for some reason…even though Yara and Theon in the show are fair-haired. Beyond colouring, he doesn’t look how I would expect. He looks like the offspring of Jeremy Renner and Joshua Jackson. A Pacey clone doesn’t exactly strike fear into the heart, you know?
It’s fairly unusual that we get one of the (non-Dornish) Westeros great house member characters (as opposed to the Essosi or the wildlings) being played by a non-Brit. It happens, of course–paging Jaime and Tyrion–but it’s unusual. This guy must be something special…or else all the qualified Brit actors in the relevant age bracket were uninterested or unavailable, I guess.
Has anyone seen this guy in anything?
Excellent news! Only 8 months to go!!!
Pilou was great in The Borgias….I have total faith that he’ll play Euron perfectly.
Why are people so focused on appearance. Acting ability is 20 times more important than the appearance. Wigs, and make up can be used if they have too.
He does look like Alfie….
…but he doesn’t look like Michiel Huisman at all. ;P
The Mikkelson/Armitage dream is dead boys, but oh well.
This guy really really looks like Alfie and Patrick, so a great casting in that department. My one worry is that he looks a bit too friendly and not menacing enough for Euron, but then again I haven’t seen him in anything. I expect he should have on par the impact of Pedro Pascal as Oberyn this coming season.
Uncanny resemblance to Joshua Jackson from Fringe.
im ok with the choice. he looks great to the role.
AND we need to see him with the make up. long hair, maybe blue lips..
not with this Loras hair. haha.
im really ok with this guy.
Nymeria Warrior Queen,
His eyes remind of Joshua Jackson… Similar overall look actually.
I’ve seen him in Borgen… He’s a solid actor! There shouldn’t be any worries.
YES!!!! I absolutely love this actor!!!! I wouldn’t have thought it, but I think this is fantastic!!!! 😀
If Aeron is in (my favourite of the brothers despite myself, wtf), I can’t see how they CAN’T have Victarion. <3
Euron = Garlan Tyrell CONFIRMED
WOW! Thanks WotW, I really like this casting!
aurane waters,
Me too. Or if they wanted someone a bit younger, Eoin Macken. There goes my dream of sexy Euron 🙁
Mr Fixit,
I just wrote the same thing! XD
‘
I noticed it a few years ago when I watched Borgen…. They could be related!
He got picked because he looks like theon. Great casting and sounds like he can act too? McShane is howland reed I can feel it!!!!!
igorcarvalho,
Oh shit. I hope they don’t go for blue lips. I hadn’t even thought about it but… god no. Considering previous decisions (Daario, for example), I imagine they won’t.
Wasn’t the source close enough, by any chance, to notice Euron’s lip colour? Or his overall getup, actually. That’s a good question! What was he wearing? Did he have a wig?
…. Interesting.
I’ll keep an open mind but not really who I was expecting (never a fan of Mikellsen for what it’s worth and didn’t think Armitage was a realistic option).
Incidentally, here he is (on the right) in period costume on the Borgias- https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BI7rDptCUAAluKv.jpg
Doesn’t matter if the casting department got like 95% of the actors right for the roles,we know better right guys ?/sarcasm .
davy,
Yeah, and I pictured Daenerys to have white/blonde hair. Too bad Emilia Clarke doesn’t and there’s nothing that can ever be done to change that. -_-
Wonderful, awesome scoop. :clap: I am so very happy that this casting has taken all by surprise. I am all anticipation! Also, the family resemblance to Yara and Theon is undeniable.
I wonder if Theon will be back for the Kingsmoot? And if he is, do Sansa and he part ways? Confused about Theon. Happy about more Yara.
Ok, so… McShane for Daddy Tarly?
He totally looks like Alfie here. I like it.
http://www.seoghoer.dk/nyheder/pilou-asbaeks-pinlige-toej-kiks
That was my first thought as well. I do see a resemblance to Alfie Allen; they both have fairly wide-set eyes.
I really fear that they’ve cast him too young. Pilou is only four years older than Alfie, and they are supposed to be uncle and nephew on the show? How will this work? This guy could have been a decent Rodrik/Maron in a prequel though!
After all Rome (3 actors) it is now Borgen (2, so far), hmm?
Oh man, I really did laugh out loud.at this. ????
Pigeon,
I expect they’re just going to have a priest figure officiating the Kingsmoot, if Aeron is in (his name may or may not be given).
I like that they’re casting a Euron who looks like a family member (or at least like he could be related to Alfie)!
Haven’t seen any of his work but look forward to seeing his Euron!
http://a.bimg.dk/node-images/743/6/620x/6743641-saxo-photo.jpeg
Ok maybe i overreacted a bit seeing there are mostly positive or optimistic comments on here but based on the first couple comments i thought this is going to end up another casting debacle like the one for Oberyn and countless others .
Hodoreo,
As you yourself said, Euron is Theon’s uncle, not his father. An uncle could be even younger than his nephew and it’d still make perfect sense! I know a few of people like that myself.
In terms of Euron as a character on his own terms, the actor will of course have make-up on. Remember: Pedro Pascal also looks and acts younger than he did as Oberyn…. and oh, did people complain! Until they saw him act, of course.
Luka Nieto,
I bet they won’t. Just like Jaqen and Da’ario’s hair, what sounds interesting in print, would look ridiculous on film.
Luka Nieto,
I don’t see the problem with that, the warlocks were also depicted that way, and they have something in common, the addiction to shade of the evening, which turns their lips blue in return along with brain damage caused by the drugs effects and hallucinations. I think if they depict it it will define even better his madness.
But that’s just my opinion.
Luka Nieto,
Despite being older than Victarion, isn’t he supposed to look disconcertingly younger than he is? (Possibly due to magic?) I never knew what age they would cast because of that other than he could not be near 60 etc…
i really like this guy. he has the look of the geyjoy actors and his voice is really good. I think he will be awsome as Euron.
Darquemode,
I first noticed him on Eurovision Song Contest of all places! He was one of the hosts this year.
It doesn’t sound as if Alfie Allen’s there for the scene.
Sue, any idea if they saw a set that resembled Naggas bones? Always thought that was a cool backdrop. Maybe they could just use CGI for it. Thanks for the update!
I see they went with a Danish actor, interesting.
Is that the guy at the end of one the episodes they showed yara on a ship about how she going to save theon and there’s a quick shot of a guy with a scar across his eye and everyone was like maybe that’s a hint at euron
Mr Fixit,
Never watched Eurovision Song contest… Maybe because I live in the US? XD
I have heard of it though..
Yeah, not what I had pictured, but certainly keeps to more of the show looks of his sister and brother.
Here’s to hoping they don’t write any cringe for him, “You want a good kraken, but you need the hard geoduck”.
Not sure if it’s just that twizzle of hair but the resemblance to Theon is uncanny.
I can also see a slight madness in his eyes – he’ll do great I’m sure.
My question is around accents. His will – I assume – not be the Northern tinted English of Balon and Theon. I guess they get around that by saying he has spent his life travelling the world….
Oh snap….. not remotely what I pictured. COOL!
He is HOT. He looks like Alfie. He has acting cred that includes period and boat stuff. Looks a bit older/weathered than his age. He looks like Yara’s worst nightmare… and someone that might turn Dany’s head.
NINA I LOVE YOU!
The actor looks sufficiently wild for the role – tried to watch the Borgia’s but…nope. He does seem sort of young to be Euron but reserving judgment for now.
Also – I have been predicting that around half of S6 will be “catchup” scenes, either flashbacks, visions or scenes (like moot) that were skipped in earlier seasons but were in the books. So seems like there are sullied and unsullied yet.
He was co-host of the Eurovision Song Contest 2014 in Copenhagen!
sjwenings,
Totally agree!
OMG, Can’t wait for season 6!
Joe,
In which world was the casting of Oberyn a debacle? And countless others? I hope you’re joking.
As for Pilou Asbæk, I agree with some here that he looks a bit young for the role, but that doesn’t mean much, they can make him look older and they probably will. What I find way more important is that he looks like he could actually be related to Alfie Allen, not by that much but enough to be Theons uncle.
mau,
YEEES! :))
John,
Third Borgen actor : Asbæk (Euron), Sørensen (Karsi) & Dar Salem (Qotho)
In it just me or do I see the monkey grin of Asher Forrester…
I couldn’t be happier with this announcement!! great job WOTW ! I always pictured the Crows eye with dark hair,but I’m not complaining,this guy looks like Alfie Allens much older meaner brother!!
Bob,
Because as a human species, our first filter is visual. We have to believe something is whatever within a split second of viewing it, even before tactile or verbal investigation. The visceral reactions on this one thread alone show that. I do not mean any of this as ill mannered sarcasm. I was *forced* to sit through lesson after lesson on this topic during studies in college.
Abyss,
He means the reaction to the casting. It was a decable. “He is too young.” “He doesn’t have a widow’s peak.” “I imagined *famous actor* in the role!”. Does anybody remember that now? Of course not. Because Pascal knocked it out of the park.
What a coincidence – I just saw A Hijacking (starring Pilou Asbæk). He didn’t exactly scream Euron to me, perhaps because he was playing a helpless victim in that movie, but I’m sure Nina knows what she’s doing. Just remember all the times we doubted her and were wrong. What we really need to see is him in costume.
(A Hijacking was a great film, by the way)
Luka Nieto,
You’re right, I misread it., it’s late here. 😉
And I was wondering who was he reminding me of!
Abyss,
No, unfortunately, he is not joking. If you google “Oberyn casting controversy” you will see it happened.
IF I can work a link in here, then you can check this out for starters…
http://www.wetpaint.com/season-4-oberyn-martell-controversy-599211/http://www.wetpaint.com/season-4-oberyn-martell-controversy-599211/
I’m so confused. Who is McShane playing???
Also, why hasn’t HBO announced anything if he’s already filming?
Dude reminds me of Michael Shannon in that picture.
He’s not James Purefoy but tbh I never expected him to be cast. I shall reserve my judgement till a see an official picture or scene of him in action as Euron.
Excited that the Crows Eye is finally appearing on screen though 🙂
Luka Nieto,
Exactly. And just like Pascal not that many of us will be familiar with Pilou Asbæk. You have to trust casting directors and producers with castings, and Nina Gold has a fantastic record.
He might be a little young, but I’d rather have a slightly young actor than an actor who was the right age/look, but was just an awful actor.
Talking of Danish actors, can they just get Sofie Grabol of The Killing in there somewhere? GRRM write a part for her.
EURON! CROW’S EYE! EURON KING! The first storm and the last is finally in the hizzle, baby! Definitely not who I expected to play him, but I am 100% down with whoever they pick. In Nina Gold we trust. And really, I’m just glad to finally know as it suspense was killing me!
WHAT IS DEAD MAY NEVER DIE!
Boromir,
Randyll Tarly or Maester Marwyn.
McShane was a little old for Euron, and I never quite saw him in the role. I can for Pilou Asbæk.
Oh I remember it very well. 😉 It taught me a lot about the ASoIaF fandom. 😀
To a certain extent, sexiness is in the eye of the beholder, but I think he’s pretty attractive. I mentally pictured someone with darker features for Euron, but the TV Greyjoys are all pretty fair, so it makes sense that TV Euron would be as well. I’m more concerned with his acting ability than his face, but it seems like the reports are good.
I agree. It seems like D&D will be doubling back to cover things they skipped over in AFFC/ADWD: Arya’s “blind” training, Greyjoy stuff, Northern politics, etc. etc.
Boromir
Maybe Marwan or Merbald. Or Howland Reed somehow.
Jeb,
Nina Gold’s record isn’t flawless though, especially when it comes to Greyjoy’s. I still don’t like Gemma Whelan as Asha Greyjoy, she doesn’t fit the character at all.
Maybe with this casting they are going for a different take on Euron. Rather like the High Sparrow as played by Pryce has a genial outer layer. Euron could be more a charismatic adventurer in appearance rather than obviously dodgy.
I can see that. And if he has a percentage of his unhinged, authoritative presence then we’re all good.
Gemma Whelan doesen’t fit Asha Greyjoy, because she is Yara Greyjoy.
Jon Snow is a year older than his aunt, Daenerys. 😉
As for the casting, he sure looks like he could be Alfie’s uncle! They’ll have to make him up a bit before he’ll really be Euron, but looks-wise, I’m pretty pleased with this. Never seen him act, but people seem to be saying he’s good, so I’ll trust them.
I actually kind of like that they’re not getting a big name for him. Now people will focus on Euron as a character rather than the big-name actor playing him.
mau,
It’s still the same character despite the unnecessary stupid name change.
Darquemode,
I knew the name Joshua Jackson, but I couldn’t picture him. Having just looked him up, I can see what you mean. I think Pilou’s (I’m using his first name since I don’t know how to make the a and e go together properly to use his last name) eyes have a greater hint of danger to them, though, which for Euron, is great.
There are also a couple of the links folks posted here to pictures of him which definitely work for me in terms of seeing him as Euron.
Oh, and Pigeon, it may just be the two of us, but although I was not a fan of the iron Islands in the books, Aeron was my favorite of the 4 Greyjoy brothers, too!
Al Swearengen,
Gemma rocks. Gemma IS the rock.
Who do I dislike that Nina picked….. the closet I can think is actually of all people Sean Bean. He was just so… defeated from the beginning, I never felt he was formidable or lively enough.
But he was still excellent, so I dunno…
Catherine
Al Swearengen,
I didn’t say flawless. It is, however, a pretty good record. She must have a 95% success rate at least, which is incredible really. You have to accept that mistakes are going to made, or that sometimes they change characters personality. When they do do this, as with Yara/Asha it isn’t going to be Nina who pushed for it. Plus every actor is going to be hated by at least fan, even the favourites like Pascal and Dinklage.
You have to hope that every decision made is with the best of intentions. Besides the show isn’t called “A Song of Ice and Fire”, it’s “Game of Thrones”, and if I want to see a different version of a characters all I have to do is read the books.
Let’s hope that our Euron will be as good, if not better, than the book version.
Edit: Lady Wolfsbane, comment exemplifies this. What is important is that most of the actor’s evoke some sort of emotional response in each viewer. You obviously hope that most viewers love them, but the problem doesn’t arise from viewers hating one or two actors, it is when they are indifferent to most of them.
Well done to Pilou! Admittedly I had never heard of him but I am sure he is an excellent actor (the casting team have done a stellar job with all the big characters). And he looks like he can pull off a variety of looks.
I never understand why people want “big” actors or actors who have played similar roles in the past. Actors most often like to play a variety of roles and would not want to be typecast. And “big” actors are not going to want a role of what is a secondary character at most. Game of Thrones already has it’s star actors who will continue to be the main cast until their characters die.
Also people are being rather shallow about looks (but this doesn’t surprise me as I have seen rude things written about most of the cast members’ appearances which is totally unjustified and usually a lot of shite). Just because it’s in the books doesn’t mean it has to be on screen. Are people distracted and bothered about lack of Targ purple eyes, Daario not having a blue beard, Tyrion still has his nose and that the Lannister twins have different hair colour, eye colours and accents? No! (or so I hope anyway!)
On a positive note I really hope that Yara gets more screentime this season. I really like her chapters in the books and I thought Gemma Whelen was excellent in the small number of scenes she has had so will hopefully get a bigger chance. I am expecting the Greyjoys to replace what screentime Dragonstone would have gotten.
Wrong Danish actor…
Also, he looks like Bryn Terfel had a lovechild with Mad-Eye Moody. Isn’t Euron supposed to be hot?
I hope they cast Vic!!
So much for the Daario = Euron theory.
Jeb,
I like your attitude, very glass half full approach 😉
I am intrigued by this casting, it’s very left field. Hopefully Pilou Asbæk turns out to be another Pedro Pascal.
YES! His is absolutely working for me. 🙂
Definitely has a Greyjoy look about him. Looks like he can bring some intensity!
M,
Bullshit. The main characters of GoT (Dany, Jon, Cersei, Tyrion, Sansa, Theon…) are out of published material, and those storylines will go beyond AFFC/ADWD. Don’t think that season 6 will be just about flashbacks and a bunch of secondary storylines of lesser characters.
Euron will be introduced early in the season and then will join the story with whatever material he has in Winds.
Interesting choice, he was very, very good as the lunatic army captain in 1864. If he brings some of that intensity to the role, he could do very well.
LordDavos,
Yes I’m not the only one’!!!!!!! Where in the does it say in TOJ chapter how old Howland Reed was? He could have been 30 years older than Ned. McShane Reed hype
Rickard Stark
Lady Wolfsbane,
My only casting complaint in the entire show was Charlotte Hope as Myranda. She was a one-note and sometimes cartoony villainess. In defense of Hope, some blame goes to how the part was written, and in defense of Gold she might have originally just been cast for the Theon seduction scene, not knowing her part would later by expanded. But a major role like this? Not only has Gold never dropped the ball, but she basically never DOESN’T hit it out of the park. Classic example of ‘we were wrong’ – Ciaran Hinds. I was upset about that one, b/c he was so different from the Mance of the books, one of my favorite characters. But it turned out, for what they had planned for the character (very different characterization, no
) Hinds was perfect, and he was incredible in his scenes in 4.10 and 5.01.
Al Swearengen,
I don’t mind Gemma Whelan. I don’t recall book Asha as being a glamour girl though she did have charm but different strokes for different folks.
Darquemode,
You haven’t missed anything by not watching Boreovision.
Thank you, you just won the thread ! =D
Laura,
As long as those who pick up stories WotW break credit WotW, I think it’s awesome, and from what I’ve seen Vanity Fair always credits WotW. If every site who uses the information they get from this place would do the same, that would be awesome-er.
Michael Shannon would’ve been an INSANE get for GOT, but he’s too busy being Doomsday in the new Superman flick
Ser Matt the Sullen,
Wat?
At first glance I was like “is that Ewan Mcgregor” a bit of Obi-Wan would be great, looking forward to seeing what this bloke does with the role
Lady Wolfsbane,
I hate show Ramsey everyone else loves him we all different
Too young.
Roose On The Loose,
I saw a picture of him smiling, and I could definitely see some Ewan McGregor in it.
Oooooo…Euron with a light-saber?!? 😉
Great I was just about to go to sleep when my phone buzzed…..
saw a notification from my mail: WotW: Euron Cast.
no way I could get back to sleep after that.
I must say I do approve 🙂 those eyes are kinda telling one to beware around this fellow. I think he will do a nice job as Euron.
(is now finally trying to get back to sleep in the vain hope not to be hunted by those eyes)
Al Swearengen,
Well, some of the repetitive moaning about the same things does annoy me. Criticising is fine, but going on and one about the same things gets on my nerves.
New castings should be about hope, and wanting the new actor to do well. It’s really good that this thread is quite up-beat.Maybe people have learnt the lesson of Pascal. Having said that I’m not going on Westeros to see what they’re thinking.
This is why I love WotW. Great Scoops, Great Community.
Very likely. Perhaps I’ll just stick to my theory on giving the right-hand adventures to Jorah/JonCon and basically making Jorictarionnington.
*lifts a jug of seawater in solemn salute*
Holy shit! No wonder this site was giving me all kinds of server errors today! Turns out it was a casting issue LOL
Nice scoop. He does resemble Alfie Allen as some have said already so #FamilyResemblance achieved.
Jeb,
Fans of the show left westeors.org. When you compare discussion about the show now and in previous years, you will see that everything is empty and lonely.
Laura,
I haven’t seen that one, but I do remember seeing a place which cited…I want to say it was Sue’s reddit…one of the places connected to/part of this site, but with a different name. I figured it was because that way they could circumvent actually having to use the name Watchers on the Wall. I also remember another instance of the same site citing WotW directly, but saying something like “take it with a grain of salt.” My thoughts went along the lines of…”really? You’re going to cite it, but then say something back-handed like that? That’s pretty sad.”
Roose On The Loose,
Yes, reminds me very much Ewan McGregor as Obi-Wan in Revenge of the Sith in the picture above.
Tormund’s Woman,
To be honest it probably wasn’t that. We’re switching to a new server, probably overnight. Sorry for glitches!
Nina’s going with her tried and true method of casting exceptional young (not to much in this case) talent to boost their careers. I recognize him from Borgias, loved that show, wish it was still on. I wonder if he will play a younger half brother to Balon, a nephew or older half brother to Yara who left home and birthright in search of adventure.
I didn’t mean to imply that Season 6 would only be doubling back, but there’s a good amount of evidence to support the contention that D&D will be dipping back into AFFC/ADWD to cover things that they skipped over:
-Bran will be having visions (ADWD)
-there will be a Kingsmoot (AFFC)
-the Riverlands will be featured (AFFC)
-there is some sort of Elder Brother-sounding character cast (AFFC)
-Rory McCann is back
-the Northern lords are getting involved in the action (ADWD, kind of)
-Arya has just been blinded (ADWD)
-Jaime might be headed to the Riverlands, since NCW is heading to Iceland to film something he can’t talk about (AFFC/ADWD)
-Euron has been cast and will have a prominent role in Season 6 (AFFC)
-Tyrion is stuck trying to contain the chaos in Meereen after Dany’s departure, just as Barristan was (ADWD)
I have no doubt that Season 6 will cover some TWOW ground. With some characters–Jon, Dany, Sam, etc.–I don’t see how they can avoid it. However, all indications are that a substantial chunk of Season 6 will be devoted to covering parts of AFFC and ADWD not previously shown. How substantial that chunk is remains to be seen.
mau,
That was basically my point. It’s a shame really, because that site could have been a great forum for both the book purists and the show fans, but the owners just allowed the purists to destroy it.
Everyone’s opinion should be listened to and respected. Some of the things I saw on their mid season were absolutely appalling. They’re just (fairly inconsequential) books and a TV show. None of this really matters, apart from the opportunity to discuss and interact with lots of people about something we enjoy. How it can be fun to “rant and rave” for hundreds of pages is beyond me.
Rant and Rave Euron edition maybe?
And then adds her super smug commentary.
Sue the Fury,
I was just worried the site might be down somehow. Super happy to see it up and with good casting news no less.
Also: Good luck with the server switch! Fingers crossed and toes too.
Chilli,
That was my thought… there’s NO WAY I could buy him being Balon’s brother. An older brother of Theon’s that’s mysteriously survived the rebellion? Sure.
Sue, did the people who spotted Pilou in Ballintoy Harbour see whether he wears an eyepatch or not?
http://vignette3.wikia.nocookie.net/the-borgias/images/d/dd/001_Siblings_episode_still_of_Cesare_Borgia_and_Rodrigo_Borgia.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20130410130514
Just imagine him with a longer beard and perhaps a bit of makeup to make him look older. If he died his hair dark it would be a bonus, but I’m not counting on it. I think he’ll do well.
Ewan McGregor…. mmmm
What were we talking about again?
Moles town bastard,
Actually I’m not very fond of “Ramsey” as compared to the book version, I’d rather have had more creepy, less crazy. But Iwan does a great crazy…
Actually – there’s too much crazy in GoT for me, now that I think about it. Lysa should have been MORE crazy. Cercei too (although here’s hoping that’s coming). But way LESS from Selyse, and stupid Myranda And even Elia seemed wacko…
But that’s really not the case. If they do the Kingsmoot (which it appears that they are), then that will be all of Crows that this will do: the rest of Euron’s stuff will be the issues of the Iron Born attacking the Reach, which seems to be coming up in Winter. The rest of the Iron Born stuff from Crows is almost certainly being cut. After all, that was to tell Asha’s (Yara’s) story about trying to kill the Pirate Princess and become the Pirate Queen, and failing miserably. That was S5’s story, and there is no indication that they are elevating Yara to a principle character. That also means that this probably will be a short scene: none of the characters involved are principle characters, after all.
There are indications that Jaime might be doing Riverland stuff. However, that in itself does not mean Crows material: it could well be Winter material that is going to be covered. At this point, I would think that the more probable outcome. (Indeed, I still think it most probable that he’ll be doing something stemming from his daughter’s death: that could well be in the Riverlands, but it will mean post-Crows material.)
Arya will do one Dragons chapter with her blindness, but she’s already done one Winter chapter by killing Trant. So, most of her S6 stuff will be Winter stuff. Sansa blew past her Crows material in Season 4. And that means that all of the Jon’s, Daeny’s, Tyrion’s, Bran’s, Sansa’s, Theon’s and Cersei’s S6 material will be post-Crows/Dragons (most of them were not in the book). Brienne will be doing post-Crows/Dragons stuff, too, and probably tagging along on more important characters’ plot lines again.
So, as it stands, the evidence says that we’ll get stuff from one Crows chapter (the Kingsmoot). But it’s not yet pointing to anything more than that.
he with long hair and beard:
http://vignette2.wikia.nocookie.net/the-borgias/images/4/44/Paolo_Orsini_infobox_250px.png/revision/latest?cb=20130528025026
They HAVE to put on him a long hair. i will not forgive they if they dont put it. They arealdy don t put long hair on Roose, Ramsay, Joffrey, Oberyn.
this time they HAVE to F**** put it. haha =)
Chekhov’sOlly,
That’s Francois Arnaud who played Cesare,it’s not this guy,although i’m not sure if you were thinking that’s him or that’s how you want Euron to look in the show .
igorcarvalho,
Yeah. Roose, Ramsay, Joffrey, Oberyn. Perfect examples of how horrible the characters turned out because of not wearing a wig!
That sarcastic remark said, I do also think he may look better with longer hair. I’m also sure any vague image of the character I have in my head will be suplanted by the show’s version when it airs, just as it happened with Oberyn. As for Roose… after watching the show version, book-Roose reads like way too much of a cartoony villain. The scenes Arya witnesses in aCoK are ridiculous. No wonder there are crackpot theories about him being a vampire…
Ramsay could’ve been better with longer hair, though. Crazy long and unkempt hair for crazy Ramsay; it fits.
Pigeon,
Okay – that face will get your attention.
M,
In most of those cases it seems more like they’re getting in quick versions of key backstory and then proceeding into whatever the TWOW plot for those characters are.
Jeb,
Remember that crazy rumor going around how they originally wants Lily Allen to play Yara, but she turned it down because Alfie’s her brother and she didn’t want to be felt up by him? Everyone said D&D were sickos them Alfie came out and said the whole story was bogus and his sister was trolling everyone.
igorcarvalho,
Do you have a long hair fetish or what,why does it matter whether he has long hair or not,that’s the least thought that comes to my mind when it comes to caring or not about a character .
Luka Nieto,
Indeed, hair length can be whatever. It is extremely unusual that hair style is particularly important to a character. And just because someone pictured it one way means nothing: for every person who pictures hair one way, a dozen other people picture it a dozen other ways!
(I have no mental image of Euron, as I don’t even remember him being in the book, so it’s all the same to me; he looks like he could play a viking, I suppose, and that is always sort of how I pictured the Iron Born.)
Awesome to get solid confirmation that the expanded Greyjoy arc is in. And the guy looks Eurony.
Initial thoughts are that I’m not over the moon. They’ve aged him down massively. Plus the guy doesn’t look at all intimidating nor handsome (not saying he’s ugly!) enough for the character. Plus he’s quite round-faced whereas I imagine Euron to have sharper features. Also, can he do the appropriate accent?
Will give him a fair crack of the whip though. If he can the nail the accent and pull of the menacing side then we could be in business. Plus I sense he’s posssibly one of those characters who’s personality can make them more attractive so that could work in his favour.
Can’t grumble too much as last season it didn’t look like we were getting him at all. Will hope for the best as I did with last season! Got a much better vibe about him than the SS but not as much as Pryce.
What accent in particular should he have? I have not noticed the Iron Born speaking with a particular accent. (Of course, Theon should not have an “Iron Born Accent” after so long in Winterfell, and none of the others have been on long enough.)
Oddly, for all that I pictured them as Vikings, I never imagine them with Swedish accents!
Wimsey,
Everyone has a “particular accent.” That said, you’re right: among the Iron Islanders, only Yara and Balon have had lots of lines, as Theon doesn’t really count (though, to my Spaniard ears, the Iron Islanders and the Northeners sound the same.) There’s also Theon’s few underlings in Winterfell, including Dagmar, and the priest who baptised him, I guess. I’m not sure what their accents are, specifically. As long as this guy can do a vaguely British accent, I’m sure it’ll be fine… for most of us, anyway.
“HBO has declined to confirm all castings this year, so we can’t call this casting official at this time.”
Is this really true?
Even when Max von Sydow gets listed in the show on IMDB?
Boojam,
I suppose EW exclusives are an exception.
Boojam,
Anyone can edit IMDB, so you really shouldn’t have it in such a high steem of trustworthiness. That said, von Sydow and McShane were Entertainment Weekly exclusives that HBO gave to James Hibberd. That text was refering to every other casting news.
And if it is different, well, then supposedly he spent a lot of time abroad. People’s accents change because of that. At any rate, Joe and Jane Public won’t particularly care.
im really happy to get our euron. now we need who is R. tarly and possible Khal Jaqho.
the sad thing is i dont remember to see pedro pascal as oberyn until the first trailer come out. So we maybe see pilou as euron just next year.
Wimsey,
Couldn’t disagree more. If he showed up with a thick Danish accent, which is closer to what wildlings have been shown to talk like in the show (most have Nordic accents, though the Thenns’ are Eastern-European or Slavic), I’m sure “Joe and Jane public” will be at least mildly confused about who he hell Euron is supposed to be and what is his relation to the other Greyjoys. A shared accent is just as relevant as a shared fashion; it’s just one of the great ways in which a visual medium can avoid long explanations and go right into it.
That said, I’ve looked Asbæk up and his English is wonderful. I’m sure he can accomodate his slight accent a bit for the role.
Possibly. However, I’m pretty good with accents, and I haven’t really noticed the similarities like that on the show. (Most shows do not even bother with such things; of course, in the US, English or Scottish accents are used as catch-alls for nearly all other accents, for reasons I’ve never quite understood….)
Of course, for some reason, I’m now picturing a Capt. Jack Sparrow take on Euron, so I’m thinking Keith Richard accent….. (“What did he just say?”)
Wimsey,
Oh come on. I’m a Spaniard and even I noticed it! Wildlings have Nordic accents (or Slavic / Eastern European if they’re Thenns), anyone from the Riverlands and up has either a Northern English accent or other British accents (Littlefinger is increasingly Irish!). The southeners have a Southern English accent, except for the Dornish, who have a Hispanic accent. I know many actors don’t nail their accents perfectly and in some cases families don’t share a specific regional accent when they obviously should, such as the Lannisters, but the show does make a distinction, in broad terms.
If Euron appeared and talked like Tormund, people would notice.
Luka Nieto,
*I meant Scandinavian, not Nordic.
He looks more like Theon’s big brother or cousin, not somebody that is only a few years younger than his father, Balon.
Wimsey,
No offense Wimsey but you need to either reread Feast or do a wiki skimming of the IronBorn chapters.
If you mean raid MORE than he already did, then you may be right but that’s splitting the hairs, just so you can be technically all correct and all the rest of us wrong. It’s a bad way to carry a conversation. Plus no one guarantees that Euron won’t be kicked out of the Reach’s shores without even raiding MORE of the Reach.
NewJeffCT,
Does it change anything at all if he’s decades younger than Balon instead of just a few years? It’s not like the show has stated Euron’s age… or said his name at all, actually. And if we’re going for book purity, isn’t Euron supposed to look eerily young? Doesn’t Victarion remark on it when they meet again, that he hasn’t aged a day?
Wimsey, I pictured the Ironborn as a Viking type culture when I read the books too. When I saw that first pic of Pilou my first thought was how come they never cast him in “Vikings” opposite Travis Fimmel? He’d have been perfect for that show.
I loved Pedro’s interpretation of Oberyn. Sure wish he’d been around longer.
Boojam,
Yeah, I should amend that to be specific. They did confirm von Sydow was the Three-Eyed Raven but beyond that, they’ve been refusing to confirm any of the potential castings people bring to them. Hell, even McShane’s role is still unknown. Everything’s very tight this year. I suppose all the leaks have maybe made them unwilling to bend a little.
Gravemaster,
The IMDB picture looks SO much like Asher it’s ridiculous http://www.imdb.com/media/rm2107474944/nm1561982/
Jerome,
<a href="#comment-
Luka Nieto:
Hodoreo,
An uncle could be even younger than his nephew and it’d still make perfect sense! I know a few of people like that myself.
Although the age difference (1982 v 1945) does look weird on paper, Patrick Malahide doesn’t look 70 to me. He looks more like a bitter, hard-living late 50s. Yeah sure, they could make Euron a cousin or something, but Luke Neito is right. My brother is older than my father’s youngest brother, and my oldest maternal cousin is of an age with my mum’s youngest sister. I actually think it would lend an extra dimension to the dynamic with Yara, in that it would be extra insulting to have to deal with a cocky uncle
Personally I think he looks fantastic: he’s a better looking, slightly older version of Alfie. And having seen him on Borgen, I can confirm he’s a great actor.
Wimsey,
I can even see him sporting a shaved head.
Aryamad,
A member of a noble family who’s been in exile for a few years now comes back to become the new lord of his house (in one of the options at least).
That and his appearance is one hell of a coincidence!
I don’t have a problem with the age; the show has never established much about Balon and his brothers, so who’s to say Euron couldn’t be a great deal younger?
Amazing scoop there WOTW! Damn! And I can definitely see this guy being Euron, he looks the part (pretty much) and I’m not surprised at all that they would cast a relatively unknown actor instead of a well known one a la Mads Mikkleson (Mikkelson? however it’s spelled). GoT rarely hires big name actors, and I hope and expect they continue to keep on going with that policy.
A lot younger than I pictured Euron to be but I have faith in the casting. He does look a fair bit like Alfie.
Wimsey,
Well so he sounds a little like other Iron Islanders! The main characters we’ve heard from the Iron Islands have so far used either RP ( Balon and Yara) or a spattering of more working class British accents perhaps with a sprinkling of Cornish ( all the raiders,Dagmar,etc). It kind of makes sense for the Greyjoys to have RP as they are a noble house and Alfie does a decent Northern/Yorkshire laced accent ( he’s from London and from what I’ve heard from him in interviews speaks with pretty much an RP accent too) which perfectly represents his character’s move from the Greyjoys household to the north.
I guess if our new Euron can do RP ( which pretty much every actor worth their salt can) then it can’t get that bad. His fellow Dane NCW pulls of a decent RP/slightly heightened RP accent so hopefully the new boy can.
Still a bit odd that he’s only a few years older than Alfie and is actually younger than Gemma Whelan and yet is playing their uncle! Hope they age him up with make up/styling.
TheTouchOfFrost,
Did you not understand the concept that uncles or aunts can be younger than their nephews is a thing in the real world or what ? Don’t mean to be rude but it was literally said by some posters in this same article if you actually bothered to read .
Joe,
Chill on the aggression. Euron commanded ships that attacked Lannisport during the Greyjoy Rebellion when Theon and Yara were still chlidren. So he’s obviously markedly older and it wouldn’t fit with the timeline of the show.
TheTouchOfFrost,
Here’s another thing that you may have missed,they NEVER mentioned Euron’s name in the show therefore those uncles can be different persons,crazy concept right ?
For as much fun as people have putting forward big-name actors to play new characters on Game of Thrones, it’s always a thrill when actor seemingly comes out of nowhere to secure a major role. I remember when people like Pedro Pascal, Michael McElhatton, Gwendoline Christie, and Tom Wlaschiha (among many, many others I could name) were first cast, I didn’t recognize them at all. I immediately went racing to IMDB to check if they had worked on any projects I would be familiar with. Now, I count them among my favorite working actors. Hopefully, Pilou Asbaek will join that company. I had never heard of him before today, but I certainly have now!
Based on both resume and his capacity to pull off a wild-eyed smile tinged with madness, Asbaek looks like a strong choice to play Euron Greyjoy. His resemblance to Alfie Allen is uncanny. I doubt that was deciding factor that helped him win the part, but it certainly doesn’t hurt.
Furthermore, while Asbaek may look young to some, he fits perfectly within the 40-50 year-old range that the casting call specified for Euron (he’s 43). Balon’s long gray hair and generally haggard appearance may have been misleading in that respect. Years of stewing bitterly in his freezing seaside castle did the would-be King no favors. Patrick Malahide is 70, but I think we were meant to believe that Balon is significantly younger than that. Euron should be more charismatic, vital, and stronger than his brother in pretty much every respect – except perhaps his grip on reality.
I can’t remember where exactly, but wasn’t Euron mentioned as looking unusually young for his age?
I mean, the guy does dabble in blood magic, consorts with the Warlocks, and god knows what else… it’s not unfeasible that he’s found a way to slow aging somehow.
Joe,
Stupid concept more like. We could go back to the over-used Chekov’s gun thing again. Why mention Theon’s uncles if we’re not going to see one of them? It’s changing things that don’t need changing. Just make him look and act older instead of some contrived rubbish about why Theon and Yara are the same age as their uncle.
Jared,
Nope, he’s only 33. But he’ll be awesome. ✨
Darkstar,
Ah, you’re right. Well, a little make-up and wind-blasting should take of that 😉
TheTouchOfFrost,
Ok so you’re one of those guys who just don’t like to admit when they are wrong and keep grasping at straws for the sake of arguing,i think i’m done with you .
Joe,
Ahhh so you’re one of those guys who thinks that a discussion has to end with someone being right or wrong? Off you go then. The fact you started with personal insults instead of addressing points mean I’m not really going to miss conversing with you.
Joe,
Oh shut up. That’s all you seem to be saying in this comment section and I’ve seen one or maybe two comments that people seemed genuinely displeased about this casting. Everyone has complete faith from what I’ve seen.
Joe,
http://onwardstate.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/relax.jpg
if you haven’t seen “Narcos”, he’s quite enjoyable in it. He doesn’t have the flamboyant character like Oberyn to play, but its undeniably Pascal and all the things that we liked about him. The show’s pretty good, too, though I’m only 4 episodes in.
Benioff was asked recently what he wants GoT’s legacy to be, and he said something about how in ten years, he’d like it if people were saying how many careers the show launched, the way American Graffiti or a John Hughes movie did.
Tormund’s Woman,
I expect that they will dive right into whatever Euron is doing in Winter. Nothing that Victarion did in Crows was of any real consequence, after all. The real question we should be asking is: who’s storyline is going to feature Euron? Sam is not major enough. I could see it possibly being Cersei. However, whatever raping/pillaging/Viking fun Euron is having in Winter should be adequate. (And, let’s face it: it probably will be more of the same because, well, that’s Viking for you.)
And, no, you cannot pay me enough to read Crows again! 😀 (The three Arya chapters are the only ones that will matter in the end, anyway, so why bother? 😉 )
It occurs to me that what they have used much more than accents are styles of dress on the show. The Iron Born do have distinctive styles (as do the Northmen, the Dornish, the Kings Landing people, etc.) So, they probably can go that route for Euron. But, let’s face it: Pirate King, on boat, kills & rapes for pleasure, etc.; the audience will have no problem figuring out who/what he is.
But, honestly, I do not think that the accents have been that consistent. Sure, Tormund has a Nordic accent: but neither Ygritte nor Mance sounded like that. I seem to remember thinking that the Warg who’s eagle attacked Jon sounded quite London.
For people who don’t know this guy,have no fear,he’s awesome.Even in a bad movie like Lucy he had an electric performance,I’m optimistic acting wise,he is up to the job.I’m curious how they’ll handle the costumes,hair,make-up and all that.
Ser Gerold Dayne,
Yeah, “Lucy” was pretty terrible, but I can’t remember who he plays in it.
I’ve seen book-lovers get a lot of shit from commenters on this site, honestly. I wish everyone could be respectful of everyone else’s opinions.
I’ve never seen this actor before, but I’m excited to see him portray Euron!!! Nervous, but excited. I hope Damphair will join the Greyjoy family reunion.
Ya Tyrion talked about Theons uncles plural in season 1 so would be a Trystan type retcon to only include 1
I think it’d be pretty great if Euron appears, smiles menacingly, and out comes a remarkably strong Jamaican accent.
Sullied by Knight,
Eh?
igorcarvalho,
I just pictured them all with mullets. Thanks for that!!!
K Noelle,
I am a book lover that has taken a lot of shyte from a consistently large handful on this site. They like to throw the phrase “book purist” around like it’s a pejorative. Oh, and the quickly flung “troll” that I have been called. To get real technical, the books came first and a long ass time ago (25ish years now in print). The show only exists because of those heavy ass brick tomes.
I am definitely in the camp of this could be a great bit of casting. I much prefer the idea of picking not-so-well-knowners over a big name actor. Lets you start with a fresh mind. This season, fingers tightly crossed, will be the beginning of wrapping up loose ends. Time for a little revenge gratification 🙂
Pigeon,
Hahahahaha. I will always picture them with mullets from now on out. Thanks! 🙂
I’ve always thought of the book Greyjoys as being more like vikings than pirates, so choosing a Danish actor seems a comfortable choice. Happy with that.
Judibatt,
The book readers get shyte here when their attitude is “the book can do no wrong and the show can do no right”, itself a ludicrous statement since there are pros and cons to each approach, and often that’s dictated by the requirements of books vs. dramatizations. Also, I’ve never heard a show lover attack GRRM beyond gentle ribbing at his pace of writing. Book lovers, however, will not hesitate to call D&D “dumb and dumber”, and that HBO needs to “fire them” as someone said the other day here. And let’s not forget the always lovely “retard” label that the book lovers stick on the show runners.
Judibatt,
Oh I know it did happen, that’s exactly why the comment triggered something in me. 😉 But hey, as I sad, I misread anyway.
Yes, but I was responding to THIS part of your previous comment:
The whole point of my comment was that
See, if you’d have paid MORE attention when reading the dashed book we would not be in this situation!
They’ll show it anyway probably, just as a way to get the Reach’s coastline /Oldtown and Sam under attack. Perhaps that is how we’ll meet Randyll Tarly, as poster Angela (as well as myself) think will happen. We both hope that Randyll Tarly will not lose though to the Ironborn, and thus maybe introduce him as a fine army commander.
As you see we seem to be attached to his book reputation.
I was super nice. I specifically said an option would be skimming the wiki. For shame Wimsey. For shame.
Ravyn,
Then I think a better term for both sides of this page (get it) would be something along the lines of extremist, or zealot or agitator because from both sides, when it happens, the argument quickly turns into a situation just to agitate. I believe a book reader just recently noted that you couldn’t pay them to re-read one of the books. I complained the whole way through until I did a few small rereads and realized that this book held a shit tonne of info. THERE IS A THING CALLED AN EDITOR GRRM!!!!
A book purist is more along the lines of someone who has spent years combing through the details of this make believe world so much that when it is seen acted out and basic details are wrong for no explainable reason, then it’s like brushing a cats fur backward after cold bath.
Ravyn,
He was the guy that got her into that,he gave her the briefcase to make the exchange for him.Don’t remember all the details,bad movie,but I liked him.Also saw him in Borgen and Borgias.I’ll probably watch some danish movie with him too so i can get a better ideea bet he seems solid.
Completely agree. And I’ve gotten tons of shit from the people on this site for remarking on things that slightly bothered me about S5. I love the books and the show, just for the record. 🙂 Why can’t I enjoy both? They’re both great.
Loved the Borgias, but I dont remember his character in it. He had a small part to play in that show, so it’s not a negative towards the actor as far as him not being memorable. It’s also been a couple of years since I watched it. I can see the Euron gaze if I imagine him with the eye patch. He also fits the Ironborn skin type, dirty blond hair, similar to Alfie Allens. Great news
How can anyone not re-read AFFC?I used to hate all those Brienne chapters but compared to the show Brienne I love them now.And that’s coming from a fan of the show that only found out about the books because of the show.
Asher, to me, looks like Grenn from the Nights Watch.
Hi-Fi,
Me too D&D just didn’t use her well, she’s a good actress. It’s going to be interesting to see her carry her own storyline (even if it’s just Bran-level screentime).
Unless they find a way to stick Theon there, which would be disappointing IMO.
Jared,
Asbaek is 33, not 43.
TheTouchOfFrost,
That mention was in Season 1, when they were keeping their options open, for starters. And more to the point, the mere fact that Theon has multiple uncles doesn’t creative any sort of narrative requirement that we meet all of them. There may be other Greyjoy brothers who are not big players in the succession story; or maybe they died in the intervening period.
Darjan,
Yeah I definitely see Grenn in Asher too.
While there are a few Sullied who are regulars who didn’t seem to like the books, my impression is most of us did like them to varying degrees. I loved the first 3, and parts of 4 and 5. I preferred ADWD over AFFC. The Iron Islands were really hard for me to get through, but that was due in part, I think, to wanting to get to other characters in whom I was more interested. The purist label does get thrown around too easily, imo, as does the “D&D apologist”-type labels. I do tend to be more forgiving of D&D given they’re doing an adaptation and have far less time than Martin has/had to craft their work.
I look at the “purists” as the “overly rigid ones,” and those who brutally bash Martin as kind of ungrateful, because everything else aside, he did create this world, and without what he created, the show wouldn’t exist.
It’s really weird for me everytime I see people hating the books or hating the show with a passion.I can understand if you watch a couple of episodes and just hate it and drop it or you read some chapters and you stop.But the big hate always comes from people who read all the books or watched all the show.How can you watch something that you don’t like is beyond me.If I start yo watch something and it sucks for me I just don’t watch it.
Pay me $5 a quote to make it worth my time, and I could earn $1000 just from mau quotes alone within a day. Heck, I could make a few hundred bucks off one thread.
And literally no one thinks the show gets everything wrong, so you are strawmanning as usual.
I am game for that scenario.
This and the possbility of
Get prepared.
Then read up on some of the comments on one of yesterday’s threads, or the one from that person in French last week. And not just a comment here and there, but endless (and repetitive) comments about how everything on the show sucks and D&D need to be fired, etc. It’s not straw man argument when the evidence is right on this site, dude.
Karsi and Euron were lovers on Borgen! I think Pilou will be fine–a long, dark, stringy wig, an eye-patch, and a few scars will go a long way. He’s a good actor, so he can supply the rest. The resemblance to Alfie is a real plus, and with above-mentioned wig and accoutrements will probably suffice to make this Euron plausible as Balon’s baby brother.
As to Ian McShane, I think he’d be wasted as Elder Brother, but Randall Tarly–IM’s got the presence and swagger and menace needed for Randall.
I almost think Nina Gold can do no wrong. No only did she use this book fan’s choices for both Tyrion and Ned, but she’s brought us many obscure actors who have knocked our socks off. The only character of any importance whose actor disappointed me was Shae. I didn’t care for Talisa either. Perhaps Nina’s genius is confirmed by her brilliant choices for most of the children. She chose Maisie, Sophie, Isaac, Jack Gleeson with practically no experience or track record to go on, and they have proved themselves in their roles and now have bright futures, if they want to persevere in show business.
Pigeon,
Oh, sorry. I thought you were the person who posted the link to a rather intense pic of Pilou (which just might give me nightmares). 🙂
Personally I don’t think McShane is really right for Meribald or Tarly. Meribald is a big former soldier, a likeable priest. Tarly is a rigid, physical military type and young enough to be Sam’s father. McShane is medium height and 72. He could play Tarly’s nastiness well enough but Marwan would make more use of his mysteriousness. Besides Tarly will be in several scenes, you’d think, whereas when McShane was announced his part was said to be small.
Boromir,
I think Ian McShane will play Marwyn the Mage
LordDavos,
Quite agree. Ian McShane would make a great Marwyn the Mage.
Ratj620,
First of all kid you aren’t anyone to tell me to “shut up” or not and second of all maybe you missed the comment that said that i have overreacted at first .
Ironborn,
I am relaxed,how are you ?
My Kasper Juul! He also does the cruel part, his character in 1864 was a full blown psychopath. Personally, I think they could cast the whole thing with the Borgen cast, I mentioned Sidse Babett Knudsen as the possible “The Mother” from casting calls.
No need to worry about English, here, either. Pilou Asbæk hosted Eurovision Song Contest in 2014. That’s 7 hours of live broadcast in English, and EBU has high demands on the language skills.
Does anybody know how the crowd pronounced his name in the chant? YOU-ron, EO-ron, OY-ron, Urine or something else entirely?
Sullied by Knight,
Oh yes, indeed it was. 😛 Sorry, not too quick on the uptake tonight! (but I thought it would be a nice contrast to his rather teddy-bearish studio shot)
Yeah, I don’t really care… the ironborn were interesting to me in relation to Asha, which is a very cool character. Instead Yara is pretty bland. I guess bringing in a certain horn might make it a little fascinating…. maybe.
Isn’t he a little young to be Euron? Balon was about 70, isn’t he his brother?
I think they were actually yelling their support, “You’re on!!!”, and someone thought that was his name. It’s actually Carl.
Really though, I’ve always thought it was Yer-onn, but it’s a somewhat uncomfortable name to speak loudly.
Joey,
It’s been mentioned before, but in the books, Euron’s brother notices how young he looks and how he hasn’t aged since last he saw him.
Sean C.,
Yeah, that was my error. I noticed it immediately after Darkstar called me out on it, by which point time had run out to edit my comment. After a long day of studying for boards, I looked up Asbaek’s birthdate quickly, and my brain read 1982 as 1972. It happens. Sorry if I gave anyone the wrong information.
Point being, Asbaek may be young, but he can easily play a version of Euron that fits the age range required for the character. If necessary, a few touches of make-up can add enough lines and weathering to bridge the difference. If he delivers a sufficiently charismatic performance, no one should notice or care about the discrepancy.
Maybe he’ll be a Greyjoy cousin?
Yeah, if they care about fan bitching about character ages (tough usually they don’t, see Marg, Tommen, Little Sam) they probably make him a nephew of Balon instead of a brother. Or age him up via make-up.
Meanwhile, the chances of McShane’s character being
are increasing. This is getting exciting.
davy,
That’s fixable though.
Joey,
I saw him as 55-60ish. And Euron is supposed to both be younger and appear as though he hasn’t aged a day.
Another Dane! By this rate there will only be vikings left in the cast by season 7.
Yeah, the accents are not consistent, see Davos = southerner with a Geordie accent. I just smile and suspend disbelief. Maisie Williams is audibly Bristolian. I have a mild accent similar to that. When Arya said to Brienne, “You’re not a northerner!” I thought “And neither are you, hon”. 😀
In a word: YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAA…
Re: fans weighing in on this thread to complain about Pilou Asbaek lacking the requisite “sexiness”…Without making any assumptions as to the sexuality or sex of those posters, I will say that if you’re a straight man, you have no business whatsoever weighing in on the sexual attractiveness of any given man, since you have no notion what constitutes sexual attractiveness in a man. If you’re a straight guy, you have no business evaluating Pilou Asbaek’s sexiness. Leave that to the professionals, i.e. people who are actually attracted to men and therefore capable of weighing in on their sexiness. (And sexiness often has very little to do with physical beauty, for the record.)
And as someone who is attracted to men, I will say that I find this actor sexy at first glance. Joshua Jackson lookalike with a sexy accent and great hair? Sign me the fuck up. I am down for that.
1. I listed many, many things suggesting we’re plunging back into AFFC/ADWD territory, quite a longer list than you seem to have addressed. For starters, the Hound is coming back, and if there is an Elder Brother type, I’m guessing there will be another big-ish character interacting with the Hound (maybe Brienne, maybe someone else) to bring him back into the story. Just like GRRM uses his POVs to “travel,” D&D use the major characters moving around to interact with the more minor ones and bring them into the narrative. I expect the same will happen with hte Hound.
2. With respect to the Kingsmoot, you have no basis to claim it will be “only” a short scene. They could plunge us into the Kingsmoot scene with no preamble and no explanation; I doubt it. You’re also assuming the show will jump straight to the invasion of the Reach. There’s reason to think that the invasion of the Reach will be featured, but it could very well be at the end of the season with a lot of setup to pack the appropriate climactic punch.
3. It’s true that Jaime heading to the Riverlands isn’t necessarily AFFC material. However, given that other storylines are doubling back (Kingsmoot, Arya’s blinding), it’s reasonable to assume that at least some of Jaime’s Season 6 arc will be devoted to retracing his AFFC steps to get him where he needs to be to head into his TWOW material.
4. Sansa could be stuck with more filler, since she’s not where she is in the books as of the beginning of TWOW. Tyrion also appears to have been saddled with Barristan’s ADWD material (trying to keep order in Meereen after Dany’s disappearance). Bran will be covering at least some ground covered in ADWD (tutelage, visions), as will Arya (blindness). They could easily stretch both Bran and Arya’s material to pad the season.
5. You’re assuming that “out of book material” automatically means “into TWOW.” Sansa’s Season 5 arc, when she effectively ran out of book so was stuck with a filler arc, proved that wasn’t the case. The news that the series will be at least eight seasons appears to be reflected in the information we’ve heard about Season 6. D&D are putting on the brakes and retracing their steps rather than barreling ahead. I expect to see a lot of “leftover” material from AFFC and ADWD used in Season 6.
6. The story from all indications will be increasingly fragmented:
a. Dorne, the Iron Islands, and the Riverlands are back.
b. There are four separate Essos stories (Arya in Braavos, Dany with the Dothraki, Jorah and Daario en route, Tyrion in Meereen).
c. The Reach will be introduced.
As a result of this, the time available for each individual player will be reduced. That means that there’s going to be less screentime to cover that character’s arc. If that character’s arc requires some “catching up” from AFFC/ADWD, the amount of time available for TWOW material shrinks (and that’s assuming that it’s all canon material, as opposed to filler). This means that there will be less room for the writers to get into TWOW territory.
…Now, lest all this leave you with the wrong impression, I should say that I very much hope that we’re thoroughly spoiled with TWOW material in Season 6. However, given what we’re hearing and seeing regarding Season 6 production, it looks like there will be a lot of patching up the story with bits and pieces left over from AFFC and ADWD.
Dornish Pastie,
We can hope!!
Marwyn could have a small role this year with a chance to recur the following year in a bigger role if he hooks up with Dany. Although that’s not really D&D’s style to add a character this year to play a bigger role the following… Maybe they made it a one-season role?
Maybe he is the outlaw leader Lachlan?
It seems like a smaller part but if he plays a big role in a lead character’s arc than it may fit McShane’s”small screen time… key importance” role description…
Seems wrong for Elder Brother/ Meribald to me, but never know I guess….
Tarly seems like too large a role to fit the description of “small screen time… key importance” to me, but maybe?
Do you know what all of us missed in last season’s finale? When Sansa and Theon jumped off the wall, below was LF’s magic carpet waiting to catch them. How else can Theon (aka Reek) find his way to get in on a Kingsmoot?
What if….. Theon introduces Sansa as….. Lady Stone? Opens the floor for a wise crack to include another part of a name so many want to hear on the show. Yara (Asha) would be the ideal person to deliver it too.
Oven-foil makes great hats, btw. Recommended.
Congratz to a fellow Dane! Pilou is absolutely fantastic and can play intensely menacing quite well. Watch him in the thriller Fasandræberne and you’ll believe he can play Euron.
I have 110% faith in Nina!!
What matters is he acts the part, and as someone who watched The Borgias, I have outmost faith in him. Resambling his bok version has 0 importance, as most viewers, have never, nor will ever read the books.
That was GRRM who absolutely wanted Sean Bean, not Nina Gold. Same with Peter Dinklage.
(And I personally think that was a good choice. It’s normal Ned Stark looks defeated, he lost his father, brother and sister. And he has to lie to everyone about Jon, even to his wife. And I don’t think he liked being Hand of the king so far from his wife and other kids and from his home.)
The third guy who played the Mountain and the one who played Jojen Reed are only 2 years apart.
Just saying.
The Tattered Prince,
The thing is people use book ages. Like those where never changed before!
Balon’s actor can easly pass for someone in his mid-late 50’s. So Euron does not have to be 4 years younger, he can easly be 10.(wich is fairly common, my brother, for example is 20 years older, then me! And I have a nephew who is only 6 years younger then me!)
Pilou can easly pass for someone in his late 30’s-early 40’s, that way, Euron would have been around 20, during the Greyjoy rebellion, wich seams preat resonable.
The problem here is people, thinking of book timeline. That does not matter in the show at all.
I had never even considered him as Euron, I thought he was excellent in Borgen but had pictured Euron in my head as being older.
He is just like the love-child of Joshua Jackson and that Jackson Avery dude from Grey’s Anatomy but he has the that fantastic wildness in his eyes that I think bodes well!
Great news!
I imagined Euron to be more bad-ass looking than this chubby faced looking fella.
Well ANOTHER misscast to add to the list.
Daeryssa,
And remenber, make-up, costumes, lighting, can make a huge impact.
I personally, don’t think we need a older Euron, but i’m confident, he’ll be, at least, older then in that picture.
Ser Dosser,
Have you seen more pictures of him? he is not ”chubby” at all.
But i expected no less, after all people, whined when Pedro was cast as Oberyn…..
‘Our source did see someone who appeared to be Aeron, playing the Drowned Priest’s role in leading the Kingsmoot and speaking often.’ – YEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSS!!!!!!!
Damphairintheshowplease!,
Not confirmed, could be some random priest.
Having false expectation, is the quickest way too dissapointment.
Ok not chubby but he looks like a perfect fit for a “Dawsons creek” spin-off or some other teeny series, he does not look like a bad-ass pirate.
Mihnea,
Oh exactly, I am really happy with this news, just saying that he had never entered my mind as being a potential Euron before now!
Fantastic start to the day!
Ser Dosser,
Of course he does not, thats a picture of him at an event, or on the streats…
Look at pictures of Charles Dance, he looks like a nice grandpa.
Look at Lena Headey she looks nothing like a mad queen.
Look at Iwan Rheon, he looks like the nicest guy on earth.
This is called acting.
Mihnea,
Pilou doesn’t have to look his real age. Google “1864 pilou”. With some make-up he could pass for a 50-year-old.
I’m still not sure about him. Sure he looks a lot like Theon, especially the eyes so he definitely looks like A Greyjoy, but I’d see him more as Victarion (but he’s obviously not in the show so whatever). He looks a bit young, his head looks too fat and in general he looks chunky. He looks physically strong not exactly cunning, calculating or ruthless..
I guess I just have to trust the casting team, I’m sure his performance will make up for his looks. At least they didn’t cut the Greyjoys out completely, it’s all I ever asked for.
He looks like Theon and Robb’s lovechild :O
The Tattered Prince,
I agree! I was just saying to people who think he looks to young, that it does not matter.
I know that make-up and costumes do wonders!
and personally? I could not care less about his age. Just like i never cared about Pedro not being older, or having longer hair. In the end everything was fenomenal, and can confidently say, that Oberyn in the show was much, much better then in the books.
Dornish Pastie,
If the character becomes important in TWOW, as it seems to be the case considering Sam’s last chapter in AFFC, the description of McShane’s role as a brief but crucial role would make a lot of sense. So I can see McShane as Marwyn!
Have you seen him in Borgen? That’s the only show I’ve seen him in and never once in it did he appear to be physically strong or chunky, instead he was exactly what you’re talking about – he was calculating & ruthless. Fair enough it’s a political drama so not the same as this but he played the role very well, for all his good looks you still thought he was a slimeball player who would double cross you without a second thought.
Luka Nieto,
I too am thinking Marwin, or maybe Marybald/elder brother combo.
Daeryssa,
Is Borgen good? Would love to see Pilou’s acting!
And I fully agree with you, he looks cunning, and ruthless.
I really don’t get all this “I expected him to be sexier, to have dark hair, to have a widows peak, to have a thinner face” crap. Firstly -if you find someone who sexually abused their kid brother sexy then that’s seriously messed up. Secondly, Euron does not need to have black hair, widows peak or an eye patch to be effective. I mean come on- it was cheesy enough in the books, there’s no way (I hope) that they will put an eyepatch on the guy, it would inhibit his acting skills for one thing and they may as well put a damn parrot on his shoulder and give him a peg leg.
Another point- we do not even know that “Euron” will be on the show do we? He could be playing an adapted version of Euron/ Victarion or a combination of both for all we know. Its all supposition at this point.
In any case- he looks the part to me and I look forward to seeing what he’ll do with whatever character he’s playing.
Paul,
Giving him an eye-patch, and blue lips, will turn him in a joke, like Jack sparrow.
The only purpose of the eye-patch is to show Euron has 2 different eye colors, something you will NEVER notice on TV, just like Dany’s eyes. Its a pointless complication, that does not bring enough to the story, to warrant all the trouble.
Mihnea,
Don’t bother. Only a profoundly misguided person would call someone miscast without having seen a single nanosecond of the role.
Mr Fixit,
Oh i know… Just wanted to reply, so people don’t think, this the general opinion around here.
This is what drove me away from Westeros.org, the lack of a place where people who, love the show, can peacefully talk with one another, without the constant rage, rant and hatred.
While there I stoped posting, here I’m determined to keep posting, disscuss about the show, with like-minded people and have fun 🙂
Mihnea,
Totally agree- I have faith that the showrunners won’t do this to the guy. None of the Ironborn look like stereotypical pirates after all and Pedro Pascal (and numerous others) prove that the actors don’t need to resemble the book characters to be effective.
Yeah, this about sums it up for me. Haven’t seen Borgen but I did watch the Borgias, and didn’t notice him in it. I think he looks too “cuddly bear” and not exotic enough but apparently they went for someone who resembles Alfie Allen and is a *lot* younger (and, most likely, cheaper) than most of our fancasting picks. RIP dreams of Mads Mikkelsen!
HA!! Just spit water all over my laptop, thanks!!
I think Sidse Babett Knudsen has one of the most authentic English sounding accents from a non-Briton that I have heard. Actually when I heard her using it in “Borgen” she was of course playing a Dane but in one scene her character had to use English to interact with people who didn’t speak Danish and (to me anyway) she had no trace of a foreign accent. I’ve been impressed with the skills of several Scandinavian actors (and actors from other parts of Europe) since BBC4 started showing (mainland) European drama series. Following the success of “Borgen” I think SBK has a pretty full working diary though.
Ser Dosser,
Give him a chance Ser D! If you dislike him when watching season 6 fair enough (though if you feel there are so many miscasts you may prefer to miss it).
I knew the show before the books, so only “fancast” people in my mind for certain roles since I caught up but I don’t think any actor I have thought of in connection with a particular part has ever been cast in that part. I know it was a smaller part than Euron but I hadn’t thought of Elizabeth Cadwallader as Lollys and she is thinner and possibly prettier than book Lollys but I thought she did well with her small part.
It’s pretty good, I only watched until about halfway through the second series however where I felt each episode was becoming a bit formulaic. Not to take away from the actors though, they are impressively good.
Started watching similar Scandinavian shows a few years back (Wallander, The Bridge, The Killing) and they are of a much higher quality than their English-speaking equivalents.
I really like him being Euron. and i want to know how the make up change him.
What we need now guys? hmmm
Who will play Randil Tarly?
Who will play Arthur Dayne?
Who will play Khal Jaqho? (is he is in)
who will play Ned TOJ version ( Sean bean PLEASE)
who Ian macshane will play?
about casting, i think its all. (I dont really care about who will play the northeners lords, the rest of the sam family and the rest of the cast list, i just expect they are great actors)
about returnings in season 6: Im assumimg Bran, Meera, Hodor, 3 eyed crow, Yara, Osha, Bran, Walder Frey, The hound are coming Back, so others
Patrick Malahide as Balon will come back?
Joe Dempsie as Gendry will come back?
Tobia Menzies as Edmure will come back?
Clive Russel as Blackfish will comeback?
Richard Dormes as Beric Dondarrion will come back?
Paul Kaye as Thoros of Myr will come back?
Joseph Mawle as Benjen will come back?
Lucian Msamati as salladhor saan will come back?
Tim Plester and Tom Brooke as Black Walder and Lothar Frey will come back?
well, that is it. This is what we need now Sue. hahaha.
Go for it. =)
Talvivaara,
Everyone who has HBO will have the opportunity to watch Ms Knudsen in all her gorgeous Danish glory next year, she is cast in HBO’s “Westworld”. I don’t know if filming is scheduled to end soon, to enable her to play Sam’s mother.
igorcarvalho,
I’m also quite curious about returning characters from the Riverlands. We haven’t heard a peep, and there are only rumors and hints of the Riverlands coming back into focus at all (a casting call for a character who roughly matches the description of Meribald is not much), so if any of the related actors is confirmed to return, we’ll have an idea of what, if anything, will happen in the Riverlands next season: if Tobia Menzies and/or Clive Russel come back, we’ll know the local politics will become relevant again (one assumes through Jaime’s eyes, as in the books); and if Richard Dormes and/or Paul Kaye, we’ll be quite sure the Brotherhood will be back in action… unfortunately, it’ll also mean we’ll also have to suffer through months of particularly incensed LSH speculation. Oh well.
I’ve read through particularly convincing theories that in TWOW the Brotherhood and the Blackfish will unite to stage a Red Wedding-esque revenge on the Freys governing Riverrun. If this does or something of equivalent importance happens in the Riverlands in TWOW, I must assume we’ll see it in season six.
I’ve seen this actor in Borgia and Lucy (a small part, but effective, in my opinion) and I like him very much.
I think he can act a great Euron, let’s hope for another Pedro!
M,
Sign me the fuck up.
Your comment is everything. See also: Idris Elba as Bond. Holy shit, I’ve not seen an old white guy be this wrong in decades. And I’m a lapsed catholic!
http://dlisted.com/2015/09/01/idris-elba-is-too-street-to-play-james-bond-so-says-the-author-of-the-latest-bond-novel/
Finally! I really have to say I was looking forward to Mads Mikkelsen but this guy looks awesome. It’ll be difficult to hate him but I think he’ll pull it off quite nicely. And thank you guys for posting this relevant news. I went batshit crazy on irrelevant Game of Thrones posts on my Euron Greyjoy in Game of Thrones Season 6 post. I do hope people appreciate the no bs approach to telling news cause I would have to base my theory on Jon Snow appearing in Season 6 on Kit’s hair not being cut. 🙂
Last year. This year’s ESC was in Austria.
You must be blind, then 😉
iridium,
Ha! Horowitz pitifully defends himself by “clarifying” that by “too street” he was refering to “Elba’s gritty portrayal of DCI John Luther.” Sorry, but I’ll believe that the day that typically rough-and-tumble-playing actors such as, say, Hugh Jackman are described as “too street.” Absurd. The simple truth is Horowitz was saying Elba is “too black” to be Bond, plain and simple.
I find this hilarious. How many people were actually offended by Craig’s Bond being blonde? Not many, after the initial shock, I’d wager. The worst thing I’ve noticed is that, when someone makes this argument, racists who don’t even know they’re racists come out of the woodwork to claim that hair color is not the same as skin color —After all, Craig is still British! While Idris Elba is… what, exactly? No, no, please, do follow through with that thought. Idris Elba, born and bred in London, isn’t properly British because —Oh… Oh. I see what you mean —or rather, I see what you didn’t even realized you meant.
In the end, people making that argument are saying Elba is too black to be Bond and that black people can’t be British enough. Now, of course, you may think Idris Elba would not be a good Bond for other reasons —That’s perfectly fine! I don’t know why you would, though. He’s sexy and suave as fuck. And he’s as far from “too street” as someone can get. Very much unlike Bond the character/, ironically!
Pau,
I saw people call GRRM a slow-writer, I saw people say GRRM last 2 books where bad. I never saw someone call GRRM a retard or dumb.
Criticism is one thing, outright insulting people crosses the line.
Either they are going hard with the valyria anti ageing magic or he is not Balon’s brother on the tv show.
Mihnea,
Some arsehole does address Martin as “the fat man”, if I’m not mistaken. I don’t remember who it was. However, I do agree that people treat GRRM better here than people treat D&D in Westeros (or r/asoiaf, for that matter.) In those places, nicknaming them Dumb & Dumber seems to be par for the course —It’s so ingrained it’s not even considered an active insult anymore.
Arriba,
I’m mistified why so many people are saying this. Brothers can and often have wildly divergent ages. Balon’s actor may be 70, but he looks more like a 50 or 60 year old, and this guy could play a 40 year old. Even if we go for their real ages, 33 and 70, it’s not that uncommon an age gap for brothers.
Arriba,
In the books it’s clearly said, that Euron has not aged one day since, he left.
Luka Nieto,
I have not seen anyone outright insult GRRM.
And about this name-calling, I find it childish, its just so damn funny. Just think 20-50 year old people, throwing insults, because they changed something in a TV show…..
About Idris Elba,I actually like him but I wouldn’t want him as Bond not because he’s black but because I think Daniel Craig should play Bond for many years to come.He’s still able to do it so I don’t see why we would need to search for a new Bond in his generation of actors.Daniel Craig is Bond.Period.When he will be to old for the part it’s another story.Deal with it then.
Luka Nieto,
I find it funny how people can’t see him as Balon’s brother. For me it is easy, as both my brothers are much, much older then me, one is 20 years older another 17. So for me this seams preaty natural..
Ser Gerold Dayne,
Huh. You may have missed it. Craig has stated Spectre will probably be his last Bond movie. This is the reason for the Idris Elba talk. And Bond has had maaaaany incarnations; he will survive another change. There is no “Craig is Bond. Period” about it. Change happens, and the series has survived this far.
Luka Nieto,
If a actor can play the part, I don’t give a **** about the color of his skin.
Luka Nieto,
Sorry.Yes,I missed it.If Craig it’s stepping away than yes,we can talk about a new one.But anyway there’s no need for someone new right now,we can wait for a couple of years.With Spectre it will be 4 recent Bond movies after all.
That is too weird: Nikolaj C. Waldau lives in my town AND this guy is my sister’s best friend’s uncle. Going all GOT here. So happy for him if it’s true!
Luka Nieto,
Lots of people were upset with Craig as Bond. They complained he was too rough, too unattractive and looked like he should be a boxer, etc.
Some people, many, many people just have an image in their head and if what they are seeing doesn’t match up, well, look at all the comments here about this new actor “not” being a good cast for Euron because he does not meet either book described details or personal details. And that’s keeping it within the same “race”. And when anyone tries to clear up their intended remarks it usually makes things much worse.
This guy even set up a website to oppose Craig as Bond:
http://danielcraigisnotbond.com/fromconnerytograig.html
By the way, I’m a huge dlisted reader. Michael K will be “over the moon” to know WotW was linked to his site.
I guess the problem with Elba is that he is a bit old for the part. It depends how many films they want him in the role, or if they want to go down an older Bond path. Having said that, I can’t really think of many other actors who could play Bond, but Craig wasn’t exactly a front-runner, so I’m sure there are some less well-known actors (both black and white) who could take on the role.
I don’t comment very often…. but 300+ comments on an article in SEPTEMBER is ridiculous! Just another reason I love WotW. Thanks for the scoop!
Ah yes. See one ESC, you’ve seen them all.
And this is how the comments on Euron’s casting, news that were expected for months, derailed into a discussion about Bond movies. Sorry about that.
So… do you guys want Euron to have blue lips and an eye-patch, the whole shebang? I’m partial to a toned-down look —pale lips at most, and only an eye-patch if they manage to make it look cool and original and not like… you know, the stereotypical pirate. Giving a pirate an eye-patch in a serious portrayal could be as disastrous as giving him a wooden leg or a shoulder parrot.
I’ve never been disappointed with the costume department, so I shouldn’t worry. If past decisions are anything to go back, those looking forward to a 100% accurate portrayal of Euron’s look will be dissapointed. If Daario didn’t have blue hair, I don’t think it’s reasonable to expect blue lips, for example.
Sean C.,
But the HBO family tree thing had Euron on it too so I think he’s always been in their thinking. Either way, you’d agree that it’d make more sense to simply make the character feel older than try to explain why he’s the same age as his nephew and niece? Even without Victarion they could explain away Tyrion’s comments as the uncles could be from his mother’s side. The Harlaws could work in quite well as her Uncle is a strong supporter of Asha’s claim at the KM. But yeah, as long as they don’t make him look as young as they are and get acros that he’s lived long enough to explore most of the known world then it shouuldn’t be a big problem.
I’m not convinced those outside the UK can really notice the accent differences in the show unless they’re really pronounced. The fact that they’re all talking in a classic fantasy style makes it even harder for people to distinguish. I think the only accents they’ve really fully signified is north = working class and south = more well-spoken/posh ( to kind of simplify the general language differences of Britain as it is now!) with Dornish having a hispanic theme and the odd wilding sounding Scandinavian! The accents in Essos are all over the place!
Great news !
But I have a feeling that a major character will be present when the Kingsmoot happens, like Jaime was in Dorne to introduce these new characters. Yara vanished 2 years ago, she must be re-introduced (along with the new characters like Euron) through someone we know.
Am I the only one to think that?
Who could it be? Theon going home after leaving Sansa with Brienne? Or maybe Brienne or Jaime?
Dornish Pastie,
Also, never thought of Davos accent as Geordie! I’ve always heard his Irish accent through the dialgoue. Sounds like other folks who do RP with a brogue like Terry Wogan and Ken Bruce from the radio!
mariamb,
Moka,
I would think that, if not for the fact that there isn’t any obvious candidate. I think they’ll just introduce Euron and reintroduce Yara on their own, as they technically did with Doran and Ellaria last year (we saw them in Dorne in the second episode, long before Jaime arrived), and then later in the season they’ll interact directly or indirectly with other characters —King’s Landing’s rule will surely be affected, even if the actors don’t actually interact; if Euron sacks Oldtown as he will surely do in the books, Sam’s storyline will be radically affected as well; and if Asha being with Theon is relevant in TWOW, they’ll find a way to reunite Yara with Theon in the show as well.
The way I see it, if we see Balon die at all we’ll see it first, and then some known characters (probably Cersei and other King’s Landing characters) will receive news of something brewing in the Iron Islands, and then and only then we’ll see the Kingsmoot and begin Euron’s conquest.
Dornish Pastie,
Yep! That’s who I’ve wanted McShane to be the whole time, and it is getting more likely.
What’s the age disparity between Walder Frey’s oldest and youngest sons? Something like 60-70 years? Balon’s father could have easily had Balon at, say, 18 or 20 and Euron at 40+, both with the same wife. If he remarried, then it would’ve been possible even at a more advanced age.
Anyone seen narcos on Netflix with Pedro pascal.. Good stuff
In the books it is suspected that Euron abused Aeron when he was young. The way the show likes to make yomen who wasn’t abused on the books being abused on the show, makes me think that it is possible that they make Euron and Yara have a history of abuse, maybe this could be the reason Euron was exiled, so to make a better interaction for them and to make Euron looks a mean psycho like they did with Meryn Trant, for example.
Mr Fixit,
Basically what happened in my family, my father had my brothers when he was 17 and 19, got re-married and had me at 37.
TheTouchOfFrost,
they are not the same age, actor age is not equel with character age.
They never said Theon’s or Yara’s age, but i won’t put either past 25 years old. So what exactly is the problem with Euron being in his late 30’s? Besides book timeline, wich has 0 relevance.
You, sir, get it. I’m still standing over here fanning myself over the linked Idris pics. Dude is as smooth as fuck and his voice like sweet, sweet booze. Oh, and yes, in the immortal Michel K’s words: “He looks like he came out of his mom’s vagina while wearing a tuxedo.”
*mic drop* MK
Judibatt,
*hat tip* My humble contribution to world peace is to introduce as many people as possible to Dlisted and share a nugget of MK’s gold daily. Glad to meet another fan!
clk,
Or he just left on his own….or he tried to sleep with Balon’s wife, or….
You can find 100 reasons why Euron left, but sure let’s say the show likes too abuse women.
Who are you talking about? Sansa? It’s quite stupid to say that, since she was nearly raped by Marillion…
Mihnea,
I can’t recall offhand a REALLY toxic remark about GRRM on this site – some folk may have said he goes on a bit (Brienne’s travels in AFFC for example – although I do like
I’ve lurked on “Iswintercoming” (NOT “Winteriscoming”) though I don’t post there. For me it’s a bit like a box of chocolates – I shouldn’t look but am tempted and still look there. Posters there do make some sound points but I have seen somebody refer to GRRM as “Fatz”. I know he isn’t skinny but I didn’t think “Fatz” was necessary. Although GRRM, good writer that he is and blessed with a creative mind, is not beyond criticism, (and neither are the show writers) but there are correct ways of saying one is not too keen on something and bl***y terrible ways of doing so. I suppose the “Dumb and Dumber” – not that I agree with the appellation – was mildly funny the first time somebody used it but it’s been done to death now. I wish that people would engage in intelligent debate about disagreements rather than exchanging childish insults.
as long as they don’t pull a Dorne with the Greyjoys..
“Euron, you want a crown, but what you need is a bad poosey”
Moka,
And will most likely in WOW, but in the books the rape will be done in a respectfull maner…..I can’t wait for WOW to come out and see all this people swallow their words.
O_o,
Mirish swamp. Fat pink mast.
Can’t you get over it?
Moka,
And Jayne Poole’s abuse, which Sansa received in the show, was much worse in the books. In the show at least Theon only had to watch, Sansa wasn’t chained to the bed and got to keep all her parts, and there weren’t dogs involved.
Mihnea,
Wasn’t it done in a respectful manner in the show?
Luka Nieto,
It was, I was just being sarcastic…..wich is preaty hard in a foraign languege. so il try to be clearer next time.
EDIT: you just reminded me of the dogs, thank you! I hoped to forget that for ever
I wouldnt be surprised if the character is not named Euron in the end.
The name “Victarion” may sound better and they could decide to name him so, even if he’d be Euron in all but name.
Don’t forget about His arousal was arousing.
Now that’s some quality wordsmithing!
Arkash,
Doubt it, half the fandom still calls Victarion, Victorian.
Nme changes whhere rarely done, Asha was changes because it was similar with Osha, and that’s all i remenber…
Side-note: they could have easly called Tyene in the show Ellia, as she is quite differant from the books, but they kept the name. So I can’t see then changing Euron’s name.
Mr Fixit,
Also Dany’s diarrhea, that was a good damn, piece of storytelling, right there.
People should really stop, with that single line, it’s really not hard to play this game.
Euron is a good name.
In these situations, I always (masochistically perhaps) like to imagine the response had it been the other way around. Imagine that book!Sansa had been raped and that in the show D&D introduced Jeyne Poole and dogs.
1) “Dumb and Dumber apparently hold to the patriarchal belief that the rape victim is somehow sullied and made unworthy by this experience as if she’s to blame. Therefore they robbed Sansa of a critical piece of character development and made up a nonsensical out-of-nowhere girl to suffer in her place because it’s OK to rape and torture if you personally don’t know the victim.
2) Since Dumb and Dumber did that, they said to themselves: Hey, why not go all the way? Let’s have Theon orally “prepare” this non-entity for Ramsay and maybe include a dog or two for good measure!
Yeah, I’m dying to see the alternate reality where D&D did THAT! Would they be applauded for sticking to their artistic vision? Would Martin’s version be dismissed as fanfiction and bad writing?
Mihnea,
That’s the whole point I’m trying to make. The actors are around the same age but if they make him look/feel older then it shouldn’t be a problem. If they don’t then it would be silly that he looks the same age as them and it would take more explaining than is needed. If Uncle Euron turns up and he looks like he’s old enough to be their uncle then you can actually concentrate on the story and not wonder why he is so young. Basically, they need to do it so the age difference isn’t distracting.
Not sure why some folks will take the most tenuous of links to whinge about the Sansa rape. It happened, people. It made for an interesting plot. Move on with your lives.
Dame of Mercia,
Oh there’s been some! The odd reamrk about his weight and a few zealots claiming he doesn’t care about his fans/is a liar/ chauvanist.
Mr Fixit,
And when WOW comes out, and the stories are, more or less, the same, they will go on to say that GRRM changed the story because of the show.
TheTouchOfFrost,
I do think he’ll be older then in that pick. But i honestly don’t really see what’s the problem, no one will bother with ages. They will say he is Theon’s/Yara uncle and thats that.
He needs to look around his late 30’s and thats easy.
EDIT: and as a side-note, uncles can easly be around their nephew’s age.
Mr Fixit,
Make it more. xD
TheTouchOfFrost,
Also, doesn’t the book say Euron looks young? That he has not aged 1 day since he left?
So they can easly say he is around 40, while he looks like in his early 30’s.
I’d rather have this guy as Euron than Ian McShane.
Yeah, I think we have to be prepared for certain deviations from the books. Not saying they will happen, but it’s a possibility. Name change is one. Euron not being a Greyjoy at all is another. Just putting it out there.
Mr Fixit,
I’m all for meaningful deviations, but what are you even…? What?
I’ll bet you 20€ that Euron Greyjoy will be named… Euron Greyjoy. Shocker!
Dame of Mercia: “I can’t recall offhand a REALLY toxic remark about GRRM on this site – some folk may have said he goes on a bit (Brienne’s travels in AFFC for example – although I do like”
Should have said I liked Brienne as a character in the earlier post.
Luka Nieto,
Sue said Euron and he will be Euron/
Luka Nieto,
Euron has a nice ring to it, also. No way they would change it, in Victarion, for gods sake I called that guy Victorian for almost 5 years. And frankly i’ll still do it, it sounds better..
Off topic, did anybody (in the UK) spot Septa Unella as a spy in “Partners in Crime”?
As I said, just putting it out there. I don’t think that’s what happens, in case you’re wondering. One explanations is that the show wants to present the Kingsmoot as a clash of feudal succession principles — that would be Yara’s claim — with a significant popular movement that’s saying “frack these pussy Greyjoys that fail at everything they try. We need us some proper pirates where body count, not family name, decides who rules us! ARRRRR!”
Say hello to Euron of House NotGreyjoy! 😉
Mihnea,
Yup. It’s easy to cherrypick silly stuff and pretend they have some larger meaning. Back in Season 4 a substantial contingent of purists hated, HATED! Arya’s Nothing is just nothing line to a dying farmer as an example of bad writing. I always found that complaint quite baffling as that whole speech was probably my most favourite piece of Arya’s arc that year. It just so perfectly encapsulated who and what Arya was at that point in time.
Was there any more specific descriptions of the Damphair? Did he have long har and Beard? Was it an actor we know? He’s cogmans favorite character, so now that there during this storyline, im very intriqued as to what his role Will be. I could See him supporting yara in the show, keep his gruffness, fanatism and his deep hatred for Euron but give some of The Readers story regarding Yara.
Congratulations to Pilou Asbaek! Welcome to a very special, elite group – only the best can join this cast. Will be fun seeing him in the role.
Luka Nieto,
Regarding Daniel Craig, he’s not confirming he’s leaving the Bond franchise. In the interview he only said he’s not thinking about doing another Bond film, “at the moment”. These movies are exhausting to make, and he probably doesn’t want to think about tackling another one so soon after finishing Spectre. I think Craig will do one more, and that will be his swan song as 007.
And since Casino Royale, I’ve never judged an actor’s casting before seeing the actual performance in the finished product.
After giving this some thought I think this guy is just about the right age that the show is going for,….If we consider that the age of the characters from the books has rarely been followed by the show,Ex Jon Snow, Daenerys,Ned,….I think we are going to see an aged down Euron,..So if younger uncle Euron was twenty at the time of the Greyjoy rebellion..that would only make him around his mid thirty’s to forty in the show timeline…pretty close to the actors actual age
FTW….WTF,
I fully agree with what you said, besides Euron is supposed too look younger then he is anyway.
FWIW I’m an American, living in Europe (not the UK) for many years and I can definitely tell the difference among the various regional English accents and whether or not the actor is a native English speaker. It’s not a deal-breaker, but it’s noticeable in the show and appreciated when they at least try to get it right, and a bit jarring when it’s off (PETER PLEASE TAKE SOME BRITISH DICTION CLASSES OR AT LEAST LISTEN TO A DVD OR TWO THANKSKBYE).
That said, for Euron I don’t think it matters because Theon was raised with the Starks and Euron was said to be voyaging for years so he could easily sport a weird polyglot accent. I’m more concerned about the actor getting that right threatening/mystical feeling across (Euron is a sorcerer, not just a brute), so we’ll see!
chameleon,
Euron is not a sorcerer! He uses sorcerers, that’s a big differance
Mihnea,
I think he need to look quite travelled though and at least noticeably older than Theon and YarAsha although it doesn’t have to be massively. I think the key is putting over that he’s been around which will make him seem older even if he doesn’t look it. He needs to carry that confidence that comes with age and the menace…he needs to nail the menace!
chameleon,
You are perhaps in the minority though. I can’t imagine it makes too much difference to people who haven’t travelled or people with English as a second language.
Think they’ve generally done a decent job but there have been times when I’ve thought the accents sounded a bit OTT ( Tyrion on rare occasions and Rose Leslie trying to do Yorkshire sometimes cames off as exactly that!). Plus one thing that has always bugged me is when , in season 1, Jaime says ” I could care less” which is a very American phrase…in fact the phrase itself bugs the hell out of me whenever anyone says it but I digress!
Hell of a lot younger than Balon eh?
TheTouchOfFrost,
I agree that he needs to be menecing/confident, but age has little to do with that.
The only thing that matters is how he acts the role, looks matter little.
I’m sorry but this is pointless, the way he looks/how young he is, is not relevant. His looks will not make him less manecing or less confident.
And even the books, say Euron looks young..
EDIT; take Charles Dance, the guy looks like a kind grandpa, but the way he portrays Tywin is great/menecing….etc. That is called acting.
I think that you posted that while I was posting mine! (I think that I started typing, made dinner, and came back to it!) OK, here it goes:
Those will be Winter visions, not Dragons visions. They are skipping the training montage, and we got the random hodgepodge visions in S4 when Bran touched the Weirwood tree, anyway. What we probably are going to get is Bran actually seeing and understanding important things in the past that will be important for the plot and story. I am betting that we will also see Bran try to coax people along through the trees. Both things would be Winter material.
Yes. However, my bet is that it will be straight on from there into the Winter material.
As there (probably) will be things happening in the Riverlands in Winter, this will probably be Winter Riverlands material, not Crows Riverland material.
But, again, probably doing Winter material rather than Crows material. I don’t remember any “Elder Brother” from Crows, so it could not have been too important there: but if it’s big enough to make the screen, then it is probable that there is more substantial stuff in Winter.
As the Hound was not in Crows (although people have speculated that we caught a glimpse of him), this means Winter material.
I am betting that this will be the Winter material surrounding whomever (probably Theon and possibly Sansa) gets involved with restoring Rickon. I really doubt that this will be the Dragons material at Winterfell.
Correct: but as I noted, she’s already done one Winter chapter. My hunch is that this is going to pertain to Winter material:
If so, then they are using a Crows plot-device for the Winter story.
Again, this probably will not be the Crows material: instead, it will be Winter material from the Riverlands: that is, if it even is set in the Riverlands!
Euron was not prominent in Crows, but it looks like he might be in Winter; thus, this probably will be Winter material.
They already did that last year. As such, this will probably substitute for the “Battle of Fire” and basically bleed into Winter material quite quickly.
So, again, except for the Kingsmoot, we do not need Crows to explain much of what is happening. Yes, they have saved some plot elements from Crows/Dragons for this year: but, remember, B&W don’t hang guns unless they are going to be fired in that season, so that is to be expected. The Winter book will probably fire a few guns hung in Crows & Dragons, so we should expect to see the pertinent devices introduced this year.
chameleon,
Are you aware of how many people were genuinely shocked to find out that Peter Dinklage was an American? This is after the first season and I still see it from time to time across the web. I am not saying that any of these people were from the UK….I didn’t take a poll, but it is the truth.
I have read the whole comment section and two comments stand out to reply to. 1. There is only ONE James Bond and that is Sean Connery. 😛 <—- notice cheeky tongue. I agree with whomever said that actors change roles, especially in the some 50+ years of the Bond franchise. I thought Craig did a remarkable job and dead sexy. *swoon* type of sexy. *shrugs*
2. On aging of actors. Maybe I am in the minority of folks who watch a lot of films….but aging is normal, the examples are just too numerous to go through, but there are a few stand outs. Godfather, Vito Corleone – even just from 1 and 2 when we first see him (not as the young Vito) to when he dies in the garden. Or Out of Africa when we first see the character Karin as a very old woman and looks the part to a few scenes later on a pheasant shoot early 20's. Or even more remote, but real – Becoming Jane where Anne Hathaway goes from a young Austen in her early 20's to the last ten minutes she is about the age just before she died and looked it. Graying hair, dry lips, dark circles under eyes, hands weathered. So to age someone is NOT a big deal. It is about the ACTOR portraying the role and can they pull off playing someone older. Meryl Streep is a great example. In a move called Prime, she played a frumpy mother to a 20 something son and looked the part, bad hair, huge glasses, frumpy clothing. Next move, Mama Mia. A very middle aged woman who never grew up, they gave her long curly blonde hair and youthful clothing and her attitude was totally convincing as the mother of an older teen. Even doing the split jump better than any cheerleader. NEXT movie Doubt, she played an aged Mother Superior in a habit all day and looks old and mean. Actors bring the part alive with makeup and good costume.
In Nina I trust and who the heck am I to judge that this person is too young to play an older role or that he is too pudgy or not mean looking or intense. I think I will reserve judgment for when I actually, you know…see him play the role?
I am very excited to get Euron in Season 6. Thank you Sue for the scoop.
How did you think it compared to her miscarriage?
Wimsey,
Did she not gave birth, but the baby was deformned?(something with a tail, if i remenber right.) Haven’t read ASOS for some time.
Wimsey,
I took Dany bleeding again as part of MMD’s prophecy where she says “when your womb quickens again”‘ more like she is finally not barren, she just got her period back. A sort of maturity thing. I never saw it that she had a miscarriage (Dario ?). I guess I missed something.
Judibatt,
Daeny had been mensing since then. One of the things she realizes is that she didn’t remember when her last period was, and being somewhat shocked to realize that it had been more than a couple of months. Moreover, it was a lot worse than typical. A couple of women I know who have had miscarriages described them as “periods from hell,” and GRRM certainly seemed to be attempting to describe that. As a man, I do wonder if it is something that a man could properly describe: I mean, we can recite the words, but we cannot envision the pain in quite the same way.
(And, no, it was not the flux: that comes out the other orifice….)
That was Thrones: I was referring to what happens in Daeny’s last Dragons chapter.
Wimsey,
Oh damn, i forgot. Yeah mostly i took it as part of the prophecy.
I also confused AGOT with ASOS 🙁
The only hint about his book-age that I’ve found is a calculation in the Wiki. It only says that he was born in or before 267AC, meaning he was at least 33 in A Feast for Crows.
Tywin of the Hill,
HA! I was right! He doesn’t even need to be in his 40’s!
Dame of Mercia,
And Septa Mordane (well, Susan Brown) was in the series as well…..
Mihnea,
I think if he acts it well the age won’t matter. If he doesn’t then I think it will be harder to gloss over. Having seen a bit of him in the Borgias he can come over as older if given a beard and the right mannerisms/make up. Not really seen enough of him speaking English to get a fix on his accent though.
Charles Dance looks kind!? I’ve always thought he looked wolf-like!
Mihnea,
Indeed! XD
I think many, or maybe even most people fan-cast the role in their minds and aged Euron up due to their choice of actor’s age. I considered a few “older” actors myself like Rufus Sewell etc..
I originally pictured him younger myself. Something like Jack Huston, but maybe that is due to this game card http://vignette3.wikia.nocookie.net/asoiaf/images/6/65/Allan_Douglas_EuronCE.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20140803051501&path-prefix=zh …. Maybe just the fact I loved the idea of Danny Huston as Victarion! XD
WTF? No Victarion? WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY? FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU
TheTouchOfFrost,
I always tough Dance looked very kind, like a nice grandfather. It’s his acting, the way talks, that makes him intimidating.
And with Pilou, I have the outmost confidance in the casting, and in Nina most of all.
This is one of the more interesting parts of the book/show. We never really found out why Dany lost the baby. Was it a miscarriage or due to the blood magic flying about?
We also don’t know if Mirri’s description of it was true or spiteful lies as part of her revenge. If it was true I think I remember her saying it being something like scaly, filled with worms and had wings like a bat. Again whether this was because of the blood magic or perhaps Dany’s biology (dragon hybrid?!) or whether it was just a random mutation. Who knows?!
Nina doesn’t often get it wrong but the SS last season (not entirely their fault I concede) has planted a seed of doubt that wasn’t there before.
Darquemode,
Yeah, I don’t know where old Euron comes from. I always thought of him in his late 30’s or early 40’s, but no older then that.
TheTouchOfFrost,
Didn’t Jorah confirmed tough, that he was deformend?
A kind grandpa who would murder you in your sleep, maybe.
Pigeon,
Don’t know about you guys, but i saw some interviews with him, he looks very kind, even the voice is softer.
It is his acting, the voice,….etc. that makes him intimidating.
On the accent issue…I think they really did try.
1. A lot of the Northern or wildling characters have or affect Northern accents. Rose Leslie ditched her super-posh accent. Richard Madden was clearly going for something Northern-sounding. The “mean Stark soldiers” as they were memorialized in the hilarious memoriam video from ComiCon had Northern accents.
2. The actors playing the Dornish affect some sort of Spanish accent to imitate Oberyn’s.
3. A number of Scandinavian actors play wildling characters (Karsi, Loboda, Tormund) and use their native accents.
4. Most of the Southern Westeros noble characters (excepting Dorne) have plummy British accents (Tywin, Olenna, Margaery, Brienne, Dany, Viserys, etc.).
5. The lower-class characters tend to have or affect less posh accents (Bronn, Gendry, Gilly, the Hound).
6. Many Essosi characters are played by non-Brits using their native accents (Jaqen, Shae, etc.), or by Brits affecting a non-British accent (Salladhor, Grey Worm, etc.).
7. The Essosi characters from upper classes or with excellent language skills speak with beautiful British accents (Hizdahr, Missandei), while the slaves or former slaves speak with a heavy foreign accent (Grey Worm).
With that said…
1. Tycho Nestoris and Syrio are both from Braavos but sound completely different.
2. Davos has his own accent.
3. The Stark kids have about three or four accents between them, despite all having grown up in the same house.
4. The Lannister siblings are played from actors from three different countries, and it shows.
5. Who knows what Littlefinger’s deal is.
6. Roose is a Northern lord played by an Irish actor who’s not using a Northern accent or his native accent.
…And so on. I think they do try, but there are limits.
Mihnea,
I think so. Can’t remember if he was as graphic in the description as Mirri though. Think I remember him saying something about the baby having been dead for years?
Intriguing though. Wonder what the blood magic actually did? Could Rhaego’s lifeforce have been transferred to the dragon eggs (hence him being scaled, with bat wings ,etc). I don’t think we’ll ever get answers and to be honest I think that would be for the best. Sometimes are better left without the details as the mystery makes them more interesting.
TheTouchOfFrost,
Yeah I highly doubt we will get into this in the 6 book
Mihnea,
The actor himself is quite charming and funny, and seems like a very cool guy. But his looks contribute a lot to making him a threatening character. Made of steel. Just my view, of course. I’ve been a fan for years, even the horrendous Phantom of the Opera TV movie.
Not a huge fan of Victarion but what a shame that they don’t include him as well
Nice to have confirmation! 🙂
Nina’s fantastic, but she’s not infallible. Two of the big leads have highly questionable acting skills (Emilia and Kit); Emilia scrapes by on beauty and raw charisma in GOT, but she’s gotten terrible reviews in everything that isn’t GOT, which is hardly a testament to Nina’s skills for locating young talent. Now, to be fair to Nina, a lot of the younger set do appear to be making their mark outside GOT, and it is harder to identify young talent, but still, those were two big misses IMO. (Kit does seem to be improving as an actor, but it was pretty rough there for a while, and he’s not nor will he ever be crazy Ben Whishaw-level talent.)
When it comes to her other failures, one important, if not a lead character (Daario) was replaced, and it’s rumoured to be because he couldn’t act, something that Nina should have prevented. I also think Shae was miscast, even though she had precisely the right look; apparently, Sibel Kekilli is a great actress when acting in her native tongue, but I think the language barrier was insurmountable.
Now, with all that said, Nina’s had to cast hundreds of GOT roles by now, and the vast majority are impeccable choices who’ve proven themselves many times over.
Nice. *shakes head* Regardless of how people comment, it isn’t necessary to stoop to their level, even if it is only a perceived slight. Be the bigger person and let it go.
M,
Casting associates aren’t really making the final choices for these roles. Their job is usually to go through the taped auditions, narrow down the candidates, and handle the process to make it easier for the higher-ups to only have to see a reasonable amount of people. (I’m generalizing here a bit.) The final choices for these parts rest with the people running the show. So ultimately, if we hate a shitty casting, I guess it’s blame D&D as usual. 🙂
Euron Greyjoy and Kingsmoot without Stannis and the siege of meereen, interesting, would season 6 start with someone wake up from a nightmare at the end of season 4?
Pilou Asbaek as Euron Greyjoy. I cannot be more disappointed, saddened, heartbroken and hopeless than at it this moment.
Half a decade of anxious wait for Euron on screen and they couldn’t even find one decent actor who matches Euron’s description and build.
In an endless sea of excellent charismatic pirate material men to cast…they found Pilou Asbaek for the role. And to add insult to injury he is a Dane..just like the guy we all wanted: Mads Mikkelsen.
In the immortal words of Maxim Bady, “HOOO MY GOD! HOOO MY GOD! WHAT THE FATHER F***ING F**K?”
I am going to wait to Season 6 to judge the actor. He might do really well next season.
Angela,
Sensible opinion. What is this!?!
Ok enough. But i’m glad there are still some resonable people around. 🙂
Dude has a lil Dicaprio in him. Come to think of it would Dicaprio be a good fit for GoT?
Heh, so I figured. Stuff happens: don’t sweat it.
Wasn’t that just a Scottish accent? (She is Scottish, after all.) Of course, I’ve seen her using a Scottish accent a couple of times since then, so perhaps I’m forgetting how she sounded on Thrones.
Of course, the simple fact is that there would be lots and lots of different accents all over the place in a world like that. There would be no “BBC English” or “Hoch Deutsch” or anything like that. And, of course, people who travelled a lot (e.g., Euron!) would have funky amalgmated accents even more so than people who travel a lot today do.
Ultimately, I think that the general Iron Born sartorial style will mark Euron well enough. If his accent differs, then so be it. Hell, it could be a Kingsmoot point: he’s been away so long that he does not sound like one of us anymore! (Actually, that’s already more dialogue that I want to hear from the Kingsmoot, so scratch that idea…..)
On another note, I don’t think that his age will matter at all. If he is Balon’s Baby Brother (and there is no reason why he cannot be), then he doesn’t need to look much older than Yara & Theon. He doesn’t need to be the guy who burned Lannisport. He just needs to be the guy with a bunch of pirate ships doing… whatever it is that he’s doing in Winter.
marsyao,
Who said there’ll be no siege?
If only.
Interesting choice.
Having recently read all the Greyjoy chapters again, I am looking forward to seeing what they include in the show… because I feel everything they decide to use from the books will tell us some big things about what is to come (in both books and show).
I mean, we already have a pretty big book spoiler just in this casting… IF you believed the theories about who Euron could be pretending to be (which I never did).
Don’t know anything about Pilou Asbaek, but from the picture post here, he is more a Victarion Greyjoy to me, may be D&D has the brilliant idea to combine these two characters to one person?
The Mad Bard,
Don’t know anything about Pilou Asbaek, but from the picture post here, he is more a Victarion Greyjoy to me, may be D&D has the brilliant idea to combine these two characters to one person?
marsyao,
You need to check his work then, before judging.
I cannot be more surprised, astonished, stunned and saddened that it’s been only an hour or two since HBO confirmed the actor in the role and yet even with the episodes not debuting for another eight months someone’s already freaking out.
I mean come on.
I know. It’s total madness. 🙂
Euron Greyjoy doesn’t have anything to do with Stannis, so I’m not sure why that’s a problem. As for Meereen, we don’t know what kind of role the ironborn will play in the siege and it’s entirely possible they are only there to give Dany a lift, in which case, that’s easily cut.
I hope not. I’m glad the show got through those 2 filler books as quickly as possible. Now we can move on to the (hopefully) meatier WOW.
Just wanted to mention that _The Hijacking_ is available on Netflix for those who may want a sneak peek of our Crow’s Eye.
Guess what’s cued next on my Netflix? 😉
Gawd…….Asha and Yara are the same person…….uh, character. Thank God Nina Gold is casting director and all the rest of us critics are simply blithering idiots-filling time with gaseous opinions, waiting for season 6!
M,
I don’t think any have been disasterous to be fair. Kit is fine and his slight vacantness matches with the book Jon quite well. Must admit Emilia had been on a decline since the first season. Not sure how much is down to her and how much is down to the execution of the story and the character herself getting progressively more annoying. I didn’t mind the first Daario. Not a fan of the character generally though so was probably not as harsh on him! Must admit, and I’m sure I’m in the minority, I’m starting to question Gwendoline Christie a bit as the seasons go on. Whether this be because of her limitation as an actor or that Brienne’s TV character isn’t that interesting but I find her quite robotic.
TheTouchOfFrost,
I agree, Emilia is getting worse. I am not sure if her bad acting is the reason I can’t stand Dany. Brienne is somewhat rigid and stoic, but I have not read the books, so I thought these are her character traits.
Oh please, get a grip on reality. As most people have said here, his appearance has very little to do with his acting skills.
And as for Mads Mikkelsen playing Euron.. That was never gonna happen and is a ridiculous notion to begin with…. More fan fiction leading to presumption. Get over it, for all you know the guy will do a superb job- he just needs to be given the chance. Otherwise- best you don’t watch the show 🙂
The Mad Bard,
That may have been quite dramatic if I hadn’t pictured you flailing your arms like Kermit during your histrionics.
The Mad Bard,
We ALL wanted? Really?
I for one didn’t want Mads for Euron and I think I am not alone in this.
Besides, what make you think that they didn’t ask for Mads and he didn’t accept the part for whatever reason?? Bah
Newbietothegame,
Frosty has some very, very strong views regarding Brienne. He likes book Brienne, but does not like show Brienne, at all. He and I have gone back and forth about that many times. Neither of us changed the other’s mind, but it always reminds me how people can vehemently disagree with each other, yet maintain some semblance of decency. 🙂
I wonder if the reason HBO are so quiet about casting this year is because there are always some whingers and whiners if an actor doesn’t fit some folks’ head cannon.
This image really made me laugh out so loud I scared the hell out of my cat!
Interesting choice, he doesn’t really look how I imagined Euron, but then many characters in the show have not looked the way I pictured them or the way they’re described in the book, but have worked well on screen all the same – it’s much more about the acting ability than exact looks. If he can bring Euron’s character to life, I’ll have no complaints – only season 6 will tell!
Y’know, it’s ironic because I ordered a House Greyjoy t-shirt just a few hours before you guys broke the news about Pilou. Maybe I should’ve ordered one sooner!
omg yaaaassss Pilou is so freakin’ fine! He’ll make a fine ass Crow’s Eye. Murder my vagina!
Confirmed, congratulations! :]
The age or accents should really not be a thing to worry about. With so many people working on GoT it’s not like they suddenly notice mid-filming “Oh, wait, this dude’s to young!”. I’m certain they all know what they’re doing.
There is another GoT-connection: He mentions (and has worked with) Dar Salim (Qotho from S01) a couple of times in his twitter.
I’m hyped and eager to see Euron in costume now! NOW! 😀
w00t!! Leave it to the boat crew…awesome as ever!!
dreadfully those sentences will haunt the series untill the sun rises in the west and sets in the east, the seas go dry and mountains blow in the wind.. it is known 😉
the picture of the actor above certainly doesn’t help to make him look menacing, but costume + make up and maybe a diet could do the trick
Like others, first I thought it was Finn Jones. Really like his look. Looked thru Google Images and he does look a lot like Alfie Allen from certain angles. He has some cool crazy facial expressions and love his voice – it’s deep but he has a slight lisp. He also looks big and tall. Good choice!!
Al Swearengen,
That’s your opinion. Not everyone shares it.
Yeah, i hate it when book purists refer to D & D as “dumb and dumber.” They have no idea how hard it is to adapt a book like ASOIAF into a TV medium, so when the showrunners make changes to fit the show which the book purists don’t like, they throw their toys out of the pram and immediately insult D & D and even laughingly demand they be fired (like that’s going to happen!).
Newbietothegame,
I wouldn’t say she’s awful but she’s still lacking some passion and an air of authority about her.
With Brienne , she’s stubborn in the books and has a naive sense of honour but she was way more sympathetic mainly because of her awkwardness around most everybody which makes her more endearing. These are what made her a likeable character. She would keep trying despite getting her arse kicked and suffering failure after failure. The show version just seems to be wonder woman and has done nothing the past two seasons except be a cow to Pod (whereas book Brienne is kinder to him as they’re both of a similar ilk) and then turn up and kill a loved character!
Nymeria Warrior Queen,
It’s done through love! She started off so well in her first season but has been poor since she parted ways with Jaime. IMO she could have been made a much better character and would have been one of the show’s most loved if she’d been made more sympathetic.
Chilli,
He resembles Alfie in the picture posted by Game of Thrones official Facebook page, but in this photo – if HBO had casted Garlan or Willas, this guy would have been great there too..
And what about me?
*sigh*
You guys…
Anyway, this is certainly a younger Euron that I pictured (or, at least, remember picturing). But I suppose nothing stops him from being younger than his book counterpart, as others have said.
What do we have – like 7 more months? Grrrrr……
If age is an issue, they could just make him Theon’s cousin, instead of uncle… Say that one of Balon’s younger brothers had a rather charismatic son who has amassed numerous followers and wants to assert his claim in the absence of Theon’s reproductive capabilities?
a nod to the site from Variety!
http://variety.com/2015/tv/news/game-of-thrones-euron-greyjoy-pilou-asbaek-season-6-1201584050/
What do you mean Euron has nothing to do with Stannis, Euron was elected as King in the Kingsmoot, so Asha has to fled, she was captured by Stannis, and she and her brother would play a big role in the coming battle of the Winterfell.
P.S. You do not like that two filler books, interesting, though I am a little confused, did we meet Euron first time in one of these filler books?
marsyao,
That means that Asha is part of Stannis’s plot, not Euron. Euron is fully capable of fulfilling his role in attacking the Reach without Stannis being alive. And I don’t understand your point about AFFC/ADWD. I’m not a big fan of Euron, or any of the ironborn for that matter, so why should their inclusion affect my judgment of those two books?
Young Dragon,
He’s a troll, don’t bother.
Just looked up Pilou’s wiki-page and learned that he was the guy that hosted the Eurovision Songcontest in Copenhagen.. . .. … o.o
BeautyBrinne, are you ok? Do you need somebody to call an ambulance?
Ser Oromis Locke,
Euronvision Silence Contest 2016. 😉
Young Dragon,
The reason Asha became part of Stannis plot is Euron Greyjoy
marsyao,
Euron affects the Stannis plot, but Stannis does not affect the Euron plot. Stannis’s death will not have any repercussions whatsoever on the direction Euron’s storyline is taking him.
He looks like he could be Loras’ dad.
Well, well, I for one still held some, albeit small, very small, glimmer of hope that now with the demise of “Hannibal” over at NBC, Madds Mikkelsen would be cast as Euron.
But hey, the casting gods made their choice and it wasn’t to be. More than likely, even if considered, Mikkelsen would perhaps have been un able to commit to GoT, with his other engagements and projects, as he seems to be quite in demand these days.
But new guy, aka Pilou Asbæk, will do just fine me thinks. Nothing left to say but welcome to the cast and the best of luck!
PS Actually in some of his other pictures with shorter hair, he reminds me a bit of Canadian actor Joshua Jackson (“Fringe”, “The Affair”).
There is a photoset that was shot YESTERDAY of Pilou in Venice, presenting “A War”. It may or may not give us a glimpse of his appearance in Thrones… At least, most of the other photos I’ve seen were a lot older. (argrrrr, gettyimages is a terrible site. scroll around or just googleimagesearch “a war venice” if this link fails).
Man…I will still miss Mads Mikkelsen though.
And isn’t it weird the Mikkelsen’s character in “Valhalla Rising” was called One Eye…I mean come onnnnnn!!??? Euron “One-Eye” Greyjoy he should have been…LOL
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0862467/?ref_=nv_sr_1
Wow! Lots of comments on this one.
I also have an aunt who’s 3 years older than I am, as well as her grandmother (my great grandmother) having her first child at 17 and final (10th) child at 43, so it’s far from rare, especially in the past.
As far as accents are concerned, in the UK class affects it as much as region.
Rose Leslie is upper class, and they all speak practically identically, regardless of region. Many middle class also do too. I know a few people from various regions of the UK who have no discernible accent, similar to Kit Harington. The lower middle classes and working classes can have wildly differing strengths to their regional accent.
Why Davos speaks with a Geordie accent is a mystery to me.
I imagine the intention originally was to have all nobles in the show speak RP, but Sean Bean can’t do it, so they asked Richard (Robb), Kit (Jon) and Alfie (Theon) to use his accent to make it seem less jarring. Maybe the younger kids just couldn’t do it.
Overall the accents aren’t particularly consistent with UK norms (Sam, Davos, Gendry, Dagmar), but I don’t think it matters too much. The thin man in Braavos had a London/SE England accent, which is largely missing entirely from the show.
But it’s not particularly common on TV altogether any longer (except maybe in Eastenders).
You do get a lot of toffs going into acting as they tend to look down on commerce and prefer arts (eg Ralph Fiennes). I’d crack up laughing if I heard Dean Charles Chapman using his native accent as Tommen!
As for James Bond, I wish they’d choose someone young for a change. Wasn’t he supposed to be in his thirties? What about Henry Cavill?
As far as I can recall, they had trouble casting Daenerys. They said Emilia was the only one who could do both the timid, meek Dany of the first few episodes and the more confident Dany of the rest of the story.
The fact that she was impossibly beautiful couldn’t have helped.
Maybe they shouldn’t have worried so much about her earlier character.
I’m undecided about Emilia’s acting abilities. Sometimes I think she’s just doing what she’s been asked to, but it doesn’t always come across well.
I’ve not seen anything else she’s done, yet.
She’s certainly not playing herself, though, she’s far more animated and cheerful in real life. So she is acting, even if it’s not quite as we’d envisaged the character.
As for Euron’s eye. He’s called ‘Crow’s Eye’ isn’t he? Maybe a piece of cloth wrapped around his head, covering it, would work better than LJS eyepatch. Didn’t Beric Dondarrion wear one? Or did he wear a patch? Can’t wait to find out more about him and whether he paid for the FM with his dragon egg. Looking forward with great anticipation to Season 6. Yay!
Ashara Dayne,
A piece of cloth would look quite good, actually, not unlike what Dondarrion was wearing. Good one!
Joe,
I’m cool.
Jerome,
he’s so young! i dont wike it. *complains like a big baby *
i had my heart set on mads. *sigh * oh well. but why is he so young?! he’s like 12! how is he balon’s brother?! not how i pictured him at all. i pictured sharp cutting cheekbones and cool dark hair.
Undead Ice Kraken,
That beard would definitely be an interesting look for the Crow’s Eye. Someone should shop an eyepatch and purple lips onto him in that pic. *wink wink nudge nudge*
awesome idea, I like it !!!
Here is a video interview with Pilou and Tobias Lindholm.
I don’t understand a word, but “Game of Thrones” was mentioned around 8:00. There is also cool movie footage of Pilou playing tense and stressful roles. It was uploaded yesterday.
Maceless Fan,
Can you please tell me what Kingsmoot is? Or refer me to a link ?
I’m not a book reader
Thanks.
he’s so young! i dont wike it. *complains like a big baby *
i had my heart set on mads. *sigh * oh well. but why is he so young?! he’s like 12! how is he balon’s brother?! not how i pictured him at all. i pictured sharp cutting cheekbones and cool dark hair.
Man…I will still miss Mads Mikkelsen though.
And isn’t it weird the Mikkelsen’s character in “Valhalla Rising” was called One Eye…I mean come onnnnnn!!??? Euron “One-Eye” Greyjoy he should have been…LOL
Euron affects the Stannis plot, but Stannis does not affect the Euron plot. Stannis’s death will not have any repercussions whatsoever on the direction Euron’s storyline is taking him.
Yeah, i hate it when book purists refer to D & D as “dumb and dumber.” They have no idea how hard it is to adapt a book like ASOIAF into a TV medium, so when the showrunners make changes to fit the show which the book purists don’t like, they throw their toys out of the pram and immediately insult D & D and even laughingly demand they be fired (like that’s going to happen!).
That beard would definitely be an interesting look for the Crow’s Eye. Someone should shop an eyepatch and purple lips onto him in that pic. *wink wink nudge nudge*
Man…I will still miss Mads Mikkelsen though.
And isn’t it weird the Mikkelsen’s character in “Valhalla Rising” was called One Eye…I mean come onnnnnn!!??? Euron “One-Eye” Greyjoy he should have been…LOL