Casting/News/Speculation

Casting call for Babies and Children to Film in Peñíscola this October

Posted on by Petra

BabyRhaegosingle

ModExpor International, the agency that casts Game of Thrones extras in Spain, posted a casting call yesterday for babies ages 9 – 12 months (and twins) and children 8 – 14 years to film in Peñíscola for one day in October.

Though there’s nothing in the casting call that specifies it’s for Game of Thrones, HBO has announced that the show will be filming in Peñíscola within the same time frame.

Given the small size of the fortified Spanish town, it’s highly unlikely that more than one project could film there at the once. Though this is the first time Game of Thrones production will be in Peñíscola, the show has filmed in Spain before.

Last season’s Dornish Water Gardens scenes were filmed in The Alcazar of Seville and the famous bull ring in Osuna served as Daznak’s Pit last season. The casting call for babies and children only specify age.

However, as previously noted, physical requirements for adult extras in Peñíscola suggest that their scenes might take place somewhere on Essos. It’s possible that the baby casting is for little Sam – twins are often used to play one infant character. Though, season 5 ended with Sam, Gilly and little Sam heading to the Citadel in Oldtown, in ASOIAF Sam and Gilly (and Maester Aemon and Mance Rayder’s son) travel to Braavos. It’s possible that season 6 will have the trio travel overseas in a convergence of sorts with their literary plot line.

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Petra

81 Comments

  3. Maybe they’re babies and children who were sold as slaves? They could also be Dothraki kids. They could potentially be Dornish children as well. It’s pretty much impossible to say now that the show will be beyond all of the published book material in Essos with the exception of the two Victarion chapters in ADWD if they do those.

  4. Wonder if this could have something to do with Doran…he also likes to have lots of children about.

  5. Babies 9-12 months… small babies are frequently used as newborns in filming. Perhaps

    baby Jon Snow being taken by his uncle Ned after his mother Lyanna dies in childbed?

    .

    #towerofjoyconfirmed

  7. I wondered if Peñíscola may be used for Oldtown, so maybe this baby role is a recast for Gilly’s baby? Then again maybe baby Aegon or Jon if Peñíscola is not Oldtown?

    Children could easily be for flashbacks of several characters, but maybe it’s for a new plot… Hmmmmm…

    Bring on more production leaks!!
    Love it!

  10. weirwoodtreehugger,

    Interesting!
    Slave babies or slave children could work…
    If not maybe orphaned children in Meereen after the slaughter of the noble families?
    If not either of those maybe acolytes and novices at the Citadel?

  12. Will little sam ever grow?? jeez this thing spoiled the 1 year timeline between seasons for me.

  18. Randa Noyce,

    That’s what the book version is planning to do, but I’m less sure about how the TV show will handle it, given that Sam in the show is already dead-set on keeping Gilly with him, and giving cast economy they may prefer to keep Gilly more present for him to have familiar people to interact with.

  22. I know they often don’t use newborns to play newborns, but no way could a 9-12 month old pass as newborn. 9-12 weeks, possibly, if the baby is small.

  25. If they’re looking for a 9-12 month old, they’re not casting for a new baby, like some have said. They cast for “newborns” all the time- usually they’re less than three months old. If they want a 12 month old, it’s either baby Sam or some old similarly aged child. They get twins just so they can work longer hours, standard TV trick.

  28. The obvious wig on that baby in the picture has to be the most hilariously unnecessary and unrealistic-looking wig in the history of television. Whoever decided the baby couldn’t be bald but must have a full head of emo-styled hair, I’d like to shake his hand. I hope Game of Thrones won an award for that.

  30. no one,

    I guess they did that to stress the fact that he’s the son of Khal Drogo and supposedly The Stallion Who Mounts the World. I’m surprised they didn’t put chest hair in that baby as well…

  31. Stranger’s Pooper Scooper,

    But it was a caucasian baby. To increase diversity, they should recast the baby. (#SarcasmExplanation: I actually saw some show-fans complaining they wasted an opportunity to cast a ‘person of color’ as Bloodraven – whose only color is white except for that red eye – when the von-Sydow casting got out.)

  34. no one,

    Actually, that baby was the child of (former) costume designer Michele Clapton, and apparently wasn’t wearing a wig, surprising as that is. I think they posted the interview here, shortly after the final.

  36. In an effort to cut costs, all actors have been replaced by infants. Subtitles will be rampant. Competition for the literal ‘Worst Shit in the Seven Kingdoms’ begins.

  38. Ravyn,

    That was first reported a few months ago IIRC. I don’t know how legit the info really is but it could make for a funny enough cameo.

  39. Obviously we’ll find out that Myrcella was in Dorne long enough for her and Trystane to get married and for her have a baby that is now 9-12 months old.

    Then we’ll find out that Tommen was murdered by the turncloak Ser Pounce and died before Myrcella and thus the title to the throne passed to her and now to her baby. Doan = regent.

    Hey, why is everybody looking at me like that? It could happen. Er. Kinda. Sorta. Maybe. 🙂

  43. aabe,

    Seriously? I mean there are plenty of chances to cast a person of color, but the ALBINO is probably not one of them!

  44. Baby Sam should be a toddler by now. After all, it’s been mentioned in the show that years have passed.

  45. biobi,

    don’t bother yourself with time…

    sansa is supposed to be 14-15 she looks mor like 18-19
    arya is around 12-13 she looks 16-17
    no even saying anything about Bran who is 10-11 but looks 17

    time here should not be tought or integrated in the story. it’s to just such a little thing thats not worth the trouble. just like Gilly’s babe, it’s easier to film with a baby then a todler who runs around. so here story consistancy is thrown out the window for practicality, as it is often in films/TV shows. some things are simply to difficult (not worth the hassle) to be done.

  47. Mihnea,

    You’re assuming they have the same age as in the books. In the show they aged up the characters and every season is assumed to last one year. So:

    Sansa is 17
    Arya is 15
    Bran is 14.

  48. Tywin of the Hill:
    Mihnea,

    You’re assuming they have the same age as in the books. In the show they aged up the characters and every season is assumed to last one year. So:

    Sansa is 17
    Arya is 15
    Bran is 14.

    Yes, that chronological time was definitely set in the first episode of season 1, when Cersei asked Sansa how old she was and if she had bled yet. Sansa answered 13. Also, Bran’s age was mentioned in that same episode, when the whole family was watching Bran practice his archery. He missed a few shots, the older boys laughed, and Ned asked them how good a shot they were when they were 10.

  49. Tywin of the Hill,

    yeah forgot that, thanks for reminding me! still tough keeping a cohearent timeline is a mess. far too much trouble to be worth. as for gilly like i said, a toddler would be a lot of trouble for only couple scenes. i suspect will see a 3-5 year old little sam towards the end of the story, or at the very end.

    if he doesn’t die of course! 🙂

  51. Tywin of the Hill:
    Mihnea,

    You’re assuming they have the same age as in the books. In the show they aged up the characters and every season is assumed to last one year. So:

    Sansa is 17
    Arya is 15
    Bran is 14.

    Every season is one year? Has that been stated in an official capacity before? That surprises me. I’ve been thinking it’s been ~2.5 years or so since S1 began.

  53. Mihnea:
    Jeff O’Connor (JeffZero on some sites!),

    nothing official. only some speculation.

    Ahh, OK. Thanks.

    I know my perspective shifted a bit once Myrcella started talking about how she’d been sent to Dorne “years ago!” this past season. So now I kind of search around for anything remotely resembling a decent grasp of how long has passed since the beginning. I’ve kind of gotten to the point of guessing it’s been 2.5 or so in full, no real reason though. Just sort of feels right to me.

  60. Jeff O’Connor (JeffZero on some sites!):

    I know my perspective shifted a bit once Myrcella started talking about how she’d been sent to Dorne “years ago!” this past season.

    For a teenager, even a little bit of time feels like years ago.

    About 2.5 – 3 years have passed at the most from S1 to S5.

  61. So they need two identical babies for only one days shooting? Sounds like they need this baby for close up shots that will appear very briefly on screen. And it’s highly likely the babies will be dark haired (if local). Could it really be a certain dark haired baby that we’ve hypothesised may show up in flashbacks? I know that Lyanna died in childbirth but there’s nothing to say this is how it’d happen in the show. Perhaps she’s given birth a while beforehand. I can imagine D&D ramping up the drama by having her being butchered by some (as yet) unknown assailant just as Ned reaches her..

  62. Paul,

    i think will (if we see her!) see her already dying…some quick shots…promise me, ned….you know like a flashback…like for exemple Bran’s vision in season 4 EP (8.. i think)

  63. My page a day calendar quote for 06-August:
    A man who won’t listen can’t hear.
    -Osha-A Game of Thrones

  64. Mihnea,

    I agree, but this doesn’t necessarily need to be in childbirth… It could be several months afterwards. By means of a Lannister sword in the belly/fever/thrown from a horse..

  67. Paul,

    her death was preaty much confirmed when she got to the twins.

    her death only disspaled some theories on Jayne in the books

  68. H.Stark,

    Thanks for sharing! I saw Keisha Castle-Hughes and Jessica Henwick at Tampa Bay Comic Con this past weekend, and they were both phenomenally nice people. They mentioned that they would be in Season 6, but obviously could not divulge any other details.

  70. Sue the Fury,

    True, but newborns are very expensive to hire and require all sorts of special accommodations during filimg, so productions usually look for 6-9 month olds for newborns, esp. if they’re small babies. In the movie “Knocked Up,” they paid oodles of money to hire newborn twins for the role, and it was quite expensive (my husband worked on that film). Contrast with the “newborn” baby they used in “Parenthood” the movie back in the late 1980’s – that baby, all covered in fake blood & vernix, was HUGE!! Like a 9 month old.

    If it’s gonna be a flashback scene (short, baby not really gonna be featured too heavily), they could use a doll but would probably prefer to use an older infant(s) which are not nearly as expensive and probably easier to accommodate at a shooting location that is not in a studio.

  74. Does nobody believe that the babies could be

    Baby Aegon being switched with another baby, which would explain why they want twins or babies to look similar and also for only one scene. I think this makes sense to me and I don’t think it’s too late to add Aegon to the story since they just started Dorne last season, just starting Euron’s story, and could be going to 8 seasons. What do you guys think?

  75. Calamari,

    i think we need to let young Griff go. there is absolutely no time for his story if u think about how its progressing in the books. Adding him means that they have to prepare for his invasion to Westeros, gaining alliances, and then preparing for a massive war that is sure to come against Dany and her army in a second dance of dragons. If HBO wants to do justice with the second war against the Others, they will need to get all the money they can get and focus on it. Young Griff’s character seems to have been fused to Dany’s and im glad about that. I like the character in the books but at this point, im not interested in someone who is most likely going to die anyway before the final battle with the WW even starts. Next season’s spoilers are indicating that it will focus a lot on magical aspects of the story and flashbacks to the rebellion. The story has dragged on for a long time and i have noticed that a lot of viewers who usually enjoy the political intrigue lose interest in all these plots after seeing what the WW and the dragons can do now. After Hardhome, the iron throne and its mess has lost its appeal for many viewers and people would rather begin to see the magic stuff rather than all this mess.

  76. Bareeq: Next season’s spoilers are indicating that it will focus a lot on magical aspects of the story and flashbacks to the rebellion. The story has dragged on for a long time and i have noticed that a lot of viewers who usually enjoy the political intrigue lose interest in all these plots after seeing what the WW and the dragons can do now. After Hardhome, the iron throne and its mess has lost its appeal for many viewers and people would rather begin to see the magic stuff rather than all this mess.

    So true… as a non-book reader (don’t know this young griff person) I totally agree about how we viewers want more WW, Dragons, and Magic (rebirths, Bran/3 eyed raven) etc. SOOO exciting.

  77. Bareeq,

    That is true, but if he turns out to be major in the 6th book, they might try and cast him but skip most of the book stuff that happened in their journey. My theory would have to be reliant on him being truly who he is. My thinking is they would skip most of his journey and have him meet up with a POV character somewhere in Westeros or something. We have to wait to the 6th book to find out if he is the real deal. The theory is what makes most sense if they’re looking for twins/lookalikes.

  80. Ah man… I was thinking more about a baby Jon in the Tower of Joy… But what the hell. #CrushedHope

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