Israel’s YNet news website is reporting this week that two Israeli performers are appearing in the sixth season of Game of Thrones. YNet says that Ania Bukstein an Yousef ‘Joe’ Sweid have both won small roles on the show next season.
The castings are currently unconfirmed, and it’s not known which small roles the actors will be playing on Game of Thrones if they are indeed cast.
The Russian-born actress Bukstein has starred in many Israeli films and television shows, including The Arbitrator and False Flag.
Sweid had a recurring role on this year’s American Odyssey and has appeared on Homeland, in addition to numerous Israeli credits.
Given the show’s track record, the actors would most likely be turning up in one of the Essos storylines in season 6.
What do you think, readers?
Hodor!
(is everyone still sleeping?)
I missed the Hodor! Darn! xD
Also why is the assumption immediately Essos when Isreali are cast? I don’t understand.
Lyanna Stark??? Happy New Year everybody!!
My initial reaction is that Ania Bukstein could appear as part of the Mereen storyline or as part of the Dothraki horde that Darnerys found herself amongst at the end of S5.
But could it be possible that we are looking at the face of Lyanna Stark? Yes, I know it’s a long shot and I could well be wrong, but the OP pointed out that the actor is appearing in a single episode only, which would be enough for the ToJ flashback.
Fullaluuuuu,
You beat me to it!! ?
Happy new year everyone from a very cold England.
On a ridiculous note, GRRM said he would post an “update” yesterday, subject unspecified, but said he worked on it for a long time and then livejournal ate it:
http://grrm.livejournal.com/462643.html
Which resulted in this thread, which was very funny:
https://www.reddit.com/r/asoiaf/comments/3yys47/spoilers_all_well_damn/
Surely on some level he must know such reactions exist.
HNY 2016 everyone. Lyanna stark is a good bet. She has some features of Sansa…
Happy New Year to everone here !
I like to think Ania mat very well be our Lyanna Stark (see this http://ia.media-imdb.com/images/M/MV5BNDI1Mjc0OTcxM15BMl5BanBnXkFtZTcwOTU2MTg4Mg@@._V1_.jpg ) she could well fit in the “young stunner” from the casting call.
Why all the Lyanna Stark speculation? Am I missing something? She doesn’t look like a Stark at all, and doesn’t the actress have an accent? Isn’t it much more likely that these are minor nameless characters in Essos?
Chilli,
Yep! Still sleeping!!???
She is beautiful! 😀
Maybe she is the young courtesan
Because they are too exotic looking to be from the north?! Wildling? Winterfell? River lands?
Luka Nieto,
It is New Year’s Day. Maybe everyone is still hungover from last night?
Both good actors. How reliable is this?
Okay scratch that, ynet is reliable. Definitely small roles though.
Felt Pelt,
How sad and metaphoric
Luka Nieto,
Not all Israelis have accents, if that’s what you’re assuming. Case in point Gal Gadot. But no, I doubt she’s Lyanna, she’s a bit old
Happy new year fellow watchers, i wish a great year for each one of you and all GOT fans around the world.
Happy 2016 All! Here’s to an awesome Season 6!
Luka Nieto,
You’re right, it’s hard to imagine her as a northerner
Felt Pelt,
GRRM must be trolling his fandom at this point.
Happy new year. Let’s hope 2016 give us the best season of GoT yet.
I’m with you. She has a bit the Lyanna look, but her “””””ethnithity, accent and exotism””””” is not apropiate to feature a northern lady. Unless she’s only a nonspeaking cameo. The other could be a Essoss diplomatic, priest or something
She’s way too old for Lyanna. She doesn’t even look young. Some older actors can get away with playing much much younger characters, but she can’t get away with playing a 16-18 year old.
Everybody saying that she’s too old, remember that the show aged most of the characters so far. Book ages are not a perfect predictor.
Happy New Year. We are inching closer and closer to April. The lady looks young in the above picture. And remember, as far as we know Lyanna was not the typical northern Lady.
But getting the news now, months after the young stunner filmed makes me think it would be in another role.
She could be the Young Widow.
Luka Nieto,
everyone has an accent, unless your talking about an accent that will ruin the immersion if the individual is trying to play a northern woman
Happy new year to all! Hope it will be a good one! I am sure it will since we are getting season 6 🙂
I have no idea who these actors can play as I have never partaken in filming speculation. Though I would lean more toward dothraki as well!
Happy New Years My fellow watchers on the wall, one of my many new years hopes was that season 6 would be the best season of thrones yet, so good luck cast and crew of game of thrones, Let’s have an amazing year of Thrones this year.
Though I don’t think she is Lyanna, some are forgetting they aged everyone’s age up. She’s not going to be a 16-18 year old on the show. The timelines won’t match. We know from season 5 the Rebellion was 20 years ago in the adaptation, not 14 as in the books. Show Lyanna is much more likely to be a 19-23 year old, given Ned and Robert’s ages in season 1 and Littlefinger’s season 5 story about the Tourney.
I think she looks a lot like Maisie Williams, which is how I picture Lyanna to be. They have especially similar eyes and eyebrows.
More beautiful people. 🙂
Warden of the Northwest,
She needs to look more like Kit Harington than Maisie Williams and there is no resemblance there. Either way, I really doubt this is Lyanna. More likely related to an Essos storyline, maybe Braavos?
I doubt they will give hints to any Lyanna casting this soon. She is probably a courtesan in Braavos. Besides i think they will stick to a Brit for the role of Lyanna given every Stark has been a brit.
Bukstein is how I always imagined Lyanna looking. I don’t see any need to limit Lyanna’s casting to actors who appear to be Stark, since Arya and Ned look nothing like their book counterparts. Arya has the roundest face ever, and Ned is fair. No long face-dark hair-pale skin-grey eyes in sight. ‘
Oh, and the same is true for Jon, who looks Middle Eastern.
I don’t think she will be Lyanna (too old) but I think we can’t rule out a Westerosi storyline.
You clearly have no idea how Middle-Eastern people look like. Ania Bukstein doesn’t look Middle Eastern either, she looks more Russian (which is her birthplace).
I have to add, the article mentions that this leak could risk their roll in the show due to a breach of the secrecy agreement in their contract (probably BS since they’ve already filmed their alleged scenes). However, this very website and article are the one leaking the information, its really hypocritical a on their behalf and a dick move.
Yan,
Filming’s over, no one’s role is in jeopardy.
Sue the Fury,
I know, That sentence was weird to begin with. but still funny that they mentioned it
Happy 2016 to everyone! 🙂
Dragonslayer,
Looks can be deceiving. I have a friend who thought Michiel Huisman was Arab.
I am Middle Eastern, by way of Turkey. Harrington looks like my cousin. Bukstein looks a wee bit like me (I WISH I looked like her lol).
All in on Lyanna. Definitely something of Maisie in these professionnal pics: http://bgabriel.com/portfolio/anya-bukshtein/
I can see why people might think Lyanna Stark. She has lovely eyes that are so pale they appear to be grey (if you look at the other pictures in her IMDB entry, like this one: http://www.imdb.com/media/rm3682190336/nm0119804 and http://www.imdb.com/media/rm1260500992/nm0119804). And she does look like she could be a cousin to Maisie, to me.
She is Russian! So why cant she be a northern lady? Most Israelis are basically european so dont worry too much…
hey it’s after new years, give everyone a break, I find it refreshing starting off the new years this year lol a casting article and the watchers speculating. Cheers lol
Arya has always been described as taking after Lyanna in the looks department, therefore I would expect whomever they cast as Lyanna to look similar to Maisie. Of course, they don’t have to do that, but that’s how I have always pictured her. I think as long as she has dark hair nobody will complain if she’s revealed to be Jon’s mom. They could curl her hair and style it to make it look more like his luscious locks, and that would seal the deal with the majority of the audience, because that’s the feature everyone associates with show Jon Snow.
Maybe Ashara Dayne?
Warden of the Northwest,
And as we found out this week, the Irish were basically Ukranian and Middle Eastern, so…it fits!
Essentially she could be anyone with a small part.
Happy new year. I started the annual rewatch from series 1 episode 1. So good.
First, isn’t the point of this thread to have some fun speculating? Jeez.
Personally, I think if that woman doesn’t qualify as a “young stunner” I need to re-evaluate my view of the world. Check out her IMDb page. She has a lot of different looks there.
She shares many Arya features, eyebrows especially. She may not be Lyanna but it is definitely a possibility. Seems a little too old at 33…I remember they were looking for a brunette stunner aged 18-20.
Franky,
I like it. Maybe more to toj
ghost of winterfell,
Doesn’t Ned tell arts that she looks just like Lyanna sometime early in the books?
Ania definitely has the look of an older Arya in her mid 20’s, therefore might she appear in a Brantree fast forward vision.
Mike,
He does. That has not come up on the show, however. I thought that they might use that wonderful scene between Robert and Cersei to bring that up: however, they had Robert instead state that he could not remember what Lyanna looked like! Dramatically, that was much more powerful: but that’s why they make TV shows and I do science.
At any rate, TV and film rarely worry too much about how similar people look when casting relations. Acting ability is simply much, much more important, and the odds of getting two adults who look enough alike to pass for siblings in the real world AND who can act are vanishingly small. Moreover, people are writing as if Lyanna is a known person: but between book and show, the only guide we have is that she should look like Maise Williams.
At any rate, she could well be playing Lyanna. She could well be playing some Essosian lady or priestess or slave. She probably is not playing any role that is not a male character or a prepubescent female character or a post-menopausal female character.
Hmm, she doesn’t remind me of Gilda Radner at all.
lol Lyanna Stark can’t be arabian…just no.
Russians aren’t Arabian….
First of all happy new year to everyone!!
An article from Israel claims that she plays a dothraki widow. I googled the girl and she is good looking , she looks like a proper mix of Georgian and Middle Eastern. More Georgian though.
And no Kit or Maise or Sophie doesn’t look like her in actual pictures. Not every person with the same color looks the same. But with her sharp features she could pass for a book Stark.
No idea who this lovely lady will portray and as for “accents,” actors are trained to mimic. You’d never know Conleth Hill and Michelle Fairley are from Northern Ireland with nary a trace of the 6 counties lilt.
Happy New Year!
Well if you look at the IMDB pictures for her she does kinda have Arya eyebrows a little bit. I can see a little Sansa too in the eyes. I won’t be surprised if she’s Lyanna.
I Know Nothing,
Ah, I didn’t notice the age… Hm, ok maybe not Lyanna.
Hmmm, no Crack here, but I did have a lot of Asti last night. I think her blue grey eye color is throwing me off. Someone mentioned maybe the young Dothraki widow, but would she not be to old for that part also? Maybe the courtesan.
First thought: Lyanna. Bukstein could pass for younger. Also, we actually need a Lyanna, unless D&D are going to show the battle at ToJ and then leave a cliffhanger as to what Ned finds inside the tower. BTW, I’d be furious if they did.
Second thought: Older Arya in a Bran-flash forward.
Third and Fourth: Two roles that could appear briefly in the story (as we guess it) in Season 6. Sarella Sand/Alleras or Lady Barbrey Dustin. I think that after all the Sand snakes criticisim and also after all the misogyny criticism, D&D might mollify the critics with the clever, capable, and powerful older Sand snake. Or the actress might even be the young Catlyn or Melisandre in a Bran-flashback.
Here’s a few other ideas, probably a bit too left of center. She could be from further north, perhaps 8000 years earlier. Ice wig, blue lips, the accent would work. Another option, could be she is related to Tyrian’s story, after all we and he have been asking “where whores go”? for some time.
Felt Pelt,
It’s a New Years miracle! George is actually going to be giving us several mini cliffs notes posts summarizing the big mega post. And he acknowledges that he was going to talk, at least a little about winds. Of course the first post doesn’t contain any info even about football, just that he plans on writing mini posts today. And he probably took a long nap or break after writing this intro post from either exhaustion or over excitement
OT : We’re probably less than a month away from the first trailer !
Arianne Martell? I don’t think they’ve ever said she was deleted from the show and she’s in the game thats partially made and/or sponsored by HBO
Wimsey,
still she looks like an a arabian…so no
Let’s be real
[/spoiler I expect Jon to be a son of Dayne and Stark. So she might be his mother in a flash back. In addition, who else thinks Jon and Dani will conclude to have a sacrifice like Nissa-Nissa?]
I’m expecting it in February. The current trailers on HBO are for shows that premiere in 2 months max.
Rygritte,
S2, S4 and S5 all had their first trailer in January, though.
bulzz,
Arabian? Really?
zod,
I looked up the premiere dates for previous seasons: 4/17 is the latest one occurring in Season 1. This year’s premiere is even later, 4/24, and so now I’m not so sure we’ll see it this month.
jentario,
Just… amazing…
bulzz,
I’m sorry, I couldn’t understand you with those bulzz in your mouth. What were you saying?
… Anyway. My first thought was also Lyanna, but maybe that’s just because I’m excited to see her. Agree with everybody above, her age may not work out. But damn, she’s beautiful!
She’s certainly beautiful enough to be Lyanna, and I can see where some people see at least a slight resemblance to Maise (most definitely the eyebrows). I’d say, yes, for sure, she must be Lyanna, but even though she looks younger than 33, I don’t know if she could pass for the age range specified in the casting call.
A horse, you mean? – The more you know (rainbow). 😀
Abyss,
Well, Arabian might be perfect for the girl described as half-horse herself, right? Or would that be centaur? Centaurian?
Luka Nieto,
Not like a couple actors fake an accent.
i’m pretty sure we will get the trailer this month, its the perfect time to show off the new trailer for game of Thrones season 6, now that all the star wars hype calmed down a bit I think. Shockingly they released the Teaser trailer for Game of Thrones Last month on December 3rd. i’m not sure when we will get it this month, They could Drop it at any time they want, or when they finish it XD
bulzz,
She looks Russian.
Nymeria Warrior Queen,
If we are correct about when Lyanna is being portrayed and what she had been through, then she should look far older than her age. So, 33 really would not be a problem.
Still, given that there must be numerous other small parts for 20-30 year old women, it is more probable that she is playing one of those.
I would have thought she was a new Dothraki female for Dany… but since I’m pretty much the only one, I guess that doesn’t line up well for what the filming schedule was.
But scanning her other photos… she’s certainly pretty enough for to be Rhagar’s Queen of Love and Beauty. She has a calmness to her features that makes her seem confident enough to risk it all for love. But only if she doesn’t do much speaking, her accent in her demo reel throws me off.
She can be my Lyanna…
Him? I’m going to go with someone Tyrion interacts with – a city soldier of somekind.
pretty funny, So we Got the Season 6 poster on November 23rd, and We got the Season 6 Teaser Trailer on December 3rd, Not sure if there’s a pattern Here, but i’m just grasping at Straws. Let’s say that there’s, We could get the Trailer on the 13th, or maybe the 6th or 26th. those are my predictions on when it will Drop. what about the rest of you ? any good predictions on a trailer drop ?
And how cool would it be if this Yousef ‘Joe’ Sweid turned out to be Rhaegar? He sure looks royally melancholic herehttp://fanpix.famousfix.com/gallery/yousef-joe-sweid/p35451032
Whatever their roles are,should be important,these seem to be proper versatile actors with tons of roles on their resume
Ines,
Meh… I’m sure he’d look fine in a blond wig… but I’m going to stick with
Her – Dothraki female – since all the handmaidens have been killed off on the show, we need one
Him – Son of the Harpy ringleader type-character, someone who interacts with Tyrion. Maybe someone who plots against/attacks someone like Missandei or Grey Worm
Both of these roles I’m making up might be BIGGER than Rhaegar and Lyanna, with more lines. Bigger parts that require more acting chops… just not prominent character in the mythos…
I thought they wrapped shooting for season 6….
Didn’t they??
And if so, maybe they’re re-shoting some scenes and it must be scenes without any main characters
So….. Flashbacks /flash forward??
i’m pretty sure filming is finished, I wouldn’t know about any re shoots.
I don’t get why people are so up and about concerned about her age! Natalie Dormer plays Margaery, and she’s about ten years off, but looks the part. I’ve seen several highschool shows with the leads playing juniors while they were 28.. (Rory’s friend with the traditional mom in Gilmore Girls (I blame my gf for me knowing this)). This is not a big deal in the industry. Lyanna is said to look like Arya, many here see bits of Maisie in her. It’d definitely possible without a stretch.
Ummm, game of thrones is make-believe, right? Just checking….I’d like to see them cast an Ethiopian actress as Lyanna Stark, just to see if the Universe would collapse.
It just dawned on me…if Ms. Bukstein acts on her knees, scuffs and bruises herself, limps a bit, hunches over, puffs her cheeks, scars her face up, frowns a lot, and assumes a downtrodden demeanor, she would be a great Penny! I totally see it!
Wasn’t Lyanna described as having a “wild beauty”? That would suggest that she looked vivacious rather than calm. Of course, that is all in demeanor in acting: any competent actress can look either.
There is no indication that they are shooting new scenes at this point. Just because we get the casting now means nothing: we often get these things weeks after the person has finished his/her role.
Hodors Bastard,
Congrats! It took you only 24.1 hours to break your New Years Resolution of “I will not see Penny in every actress cast for GoT”!
If you call Leem Lubany a Palestinian (as she was described in an earlier article), shouldn’t you also call Yousef Sweid one too?
I think we’ll get some kind of teaser this month, but don’t think it will be a proper trailer. That comes in Feb.
Reema,
Let’s not get into that please,the last thing we want is this thread turning into a political bickering .
After looking at her IMDb pics I feel a little more certain this is our Lyanna…the resemblance to Maisie Williams and in a smaller way Sophie Turner is uncanny!
First off .. HAPPY NEW YEAR WoTW crew and patrons. Secondly, I know this article is suppose to generate speculation as to whom these actors are portraying. Im just really confused to all the ANGER and angst that is being projected onto anyone who feels this may be Lyanna or anyone else for that matter and/or what ethnicity they may be portraying. Geesh folks RELAX… it’s 2016.
Indeed. So no Lyanna here.
By “Arabian” you mean “Arab”? Or specifically someone originating from the arabian peninsula?
And that girl looks more slavic to me.
But I would agree that she would not make an ideal Lyanna. And as someone has already mentioned, I too think they will stick to the British Isles for the Stark family.
Felt Pelt,
KrakenDaughter,
GRRM just posted the final portion of his recap of 2016 and it’s all about writing Winds of Winter, more specifically about how he’s finally realised that the show will overtake the books, despite some last-ditch efforts. He addresses head-on that readers and viewers can enjoy both book and show.
It’s a very honest piece and worth a read.
http://grrm.livejournal.com/465247.html
Nymeria Warrior Queen,
Matthew The Dragon knight,
When is the next HBO premiere? That’s when they’ll drop the trailer. After having a trailer for the trailer or something. My guess.
jentario,
There aren’t that many premieres scheduled:
Sesame Street, Jan 16 (unlikely since it is a Kid’s show), and Vinyl, Feb 14 (mayby a little too late).
Yeah, that very general physiognomy is pretty common in eastern Europeans: you get a lot of “heart shaped” faces more commonly than in, say, German populations. (You can really see her cheekbones!) Of course, the Europeans have had a lot of interbreeding over the years, so it’s much more “commonness” than “absent/present.” So, you see a lot of people of her very general type in Poland, Russian, the Czech Republic, etc.
Arabs tend to look more like other Mediterranean peoples. But, of course, here again interbreeding and migration have played a big role in the distribution of features.
Isabelle,
Sadly, this is hardly surprising. I suspect that the novel might be further delayed, now. B&W had an advantage in that they could take advantage of what was known to work and not work about the novels: many of the adaptations have altered things that were criticized in the books. GRRM might well reverse this: he now can see what works and doesn’t work in his basic plot.
Add to this another factor: once you’ve blown a deadline, and there is now no meaningful deadline, it gets really hard to rev yourself up to complete a project.
Given both of these factors, I suspect that Winter won’t be released until after the TV show is done.
she could play Lyanna but i rather want her to play Arianne and it would be great casting since Alexander Sidigg also have pale-ish eyes
I think Bukstein is probably a bit old (though I don’t think she looks her age!) to play Lyanna. I don’t think it matters that much whether the actress that ends up playing her is English or not providing her accent is ok. I do notice the accent differences between the other Starks (but it’s not that jarring and I would prefer the kids acted well than they focussed on all speaking like Northerners). Ok it’s more obvious with the Lannisters but an American, a Dane and a Northerner are never gonna sound exactly the same. I am glad they sort of try to sound the same or it would be odd.
No matter who they get for Lyanna some sections of the fandom will complain she is not “pretty enough” – this seems to have occurred with all the female actresses who portray stunners in the book
chamush,
Most Israelis aren’t ‘basically European’. Arab, Sephardim, African, Mizraih, Druze make up more than half the population.
I don’t see it happening in February, Hbo will drop something this month, I can feel it.
Ser Winston,
We have no clues on the show that Jon could be anything other than Lyanna and Rhaegar child. No hints simply nothing. They drop Lyanna and Rhaegar names here and there but not Ashara. Simply they wouldn’t give is this many hints and none for Ashara, then said Ashara is Jon’s mother with no build up, we don’t even know that Sahara ever existed on the show.
jentario,
If you can speak, you’ve got an accent. 😉
Well, let’s see, Nov 23 was a few days before Thanksgiving. A wise move, all the GoT fans in a family would be talking about it. And Dec 3 was a few days before Hanukkah and in time for Christmas. So, when’s the next major holiday or common cultural observance? Valentine’s Day? A gift for viewers from HBO.
I do remember that an announcement was made some time in early January last year that episodes 9 and 10 would be shown at IMAX theaters, which excited me no end. I can’t remember if a new trailer was dropped at the time the IMAX announcement was made, or if a trailer was shown at the IMAX. I’m awaiting news of IMAX THIS year. Hope they don’t skip it. So my prediction is a new trailer some time in mid Jan.
To be more on topic, Miss Bukstein is a pretty girl, but I believe Lyanna has already been filmed, so I’d say she was either a Dothraki slave, or maybe someone new to Kings Landing, maybe a new serving girl at the keep or a new convert or something.
Happy New Year, everyone.
Casting Compendium doc has been updated! http://www.bit.ly/1N0fv0m
So they annunced the Season 4 premiere date on January 10th and the Season 5 premiere date on January 8th. Do you think they’ll announce the exact premiere date for Season 6 by next weekend?
There’s a really good chance of that happening this year, hopefully earlier if we are lucky.
now I remember thank you very much, Last year they showed the last two episodes of game of Thrones in theaters and at the end they premiered the first trailer for season 5. So it was early January when they announced the imax event ? and then someone leaked the trailer online with poor Quality. So if they announce an imax event for season 5 we can expect they will add the Season 6 trailer at the end, fingers crossed Gents.
Rella,
it depends on the person. there are a lot of israelis with blonde hair and blue eyes.
it’s a country of immigrants from all around the world – europe and north africa especially.
Geralt of Rivia,
15 years ago, the Dayneites would have been screaming bloody murder about this. SoI&F is nothing but a litany of plot holes if Ashara is not Jon’s mother, or so they claim.
They seem to be extinct now: a veritable Passenger Pigeon of Fantasy fans.
Could be Ashara or Elia, but they haven’t filmed scenes (From what I’ve heard) that would include those characters.
Most likely somebody in the Essos storyline.
as for Bukstein – she’s very short – maybe she’ll play one of the Children of the Forest?
I could actually see her as an Ashara Dayne rather easily, but I doubt we’ll see that character to be honest. More likely she’s one of the Dosh Khaleen who interacts with Dany–if not the rumored “Young Widow”.
The Lyanna appearance I can see as a possibility, but I doubt it.
Ania Bukstein is amazing and underrated actress! So glad that people outside of Israel will be introduce to her!!
Can’t wait to see her in season 6, I didn’t think I could want to see it even more than I did but now I know Ania is in it I am going to go mad waiting!
Now we know who she is playing! Another red woman!!