Young British actor Matteo Elezi discusses his casting on Game of Thrones in a new interview with BBC Radio Manchester. The ten-year old (accompanied by his mum, of course) pops in around the 2:51:00 mark in the program to talk about his audition for season 6, and his time filming Game of Thrones.
We do know which role Elezi will be playing but that could be considered a spoiler to those who are trying to remain completely free of info about the new season and Sunday’s episode, in which Matteo appears, so we’re going to be tuck that and some other spoiler info below a cut!
Elezi’s IMDB resume page reveals that he will be playing the role of Benjen Stark in Game of Thrones season 6. We know from previous casting calls and spoiler rumors that the older Stark generation will be appearing in flashbacks, thanks to Bran Stark’s powers and visions.
As we reported last August, young Ned (Benjen’s brother) will be in the flashbacks as well, played by Sebastian Croft. Croft’s agency CV now confirms that he will be playing “Young Eddard Stark.”
In the BBC radio interview, Elezi talks about his experience and realizing that “literally the whole world is watching you” when he’ll be on the show. He confirms that they filmed his scenes in Northern Ireland, and that his audition involved fighting (the casting notices mentioned sparring with wooden swords).
Elezi also somewhat hilariously talks about showing up to have his hair cut for the role, and realizing he was sitting next to Jon Snow.
His mum won’t be letting him watch the entire episode, most likely- they’ll fast forward to his part in the show. She does say that Matteo has “lots of lines” and it sounds like they’re hopeful for the possibility of a return.
With flashbacks, anything is possible, right?
Hodor
Uncul Bunjin is bak!
I wonder if he told his nephew what he has been up to north of the Wall for the past five or so years.
I need to see Stark flashbacks, now!
Looking forward to this. I would love flashbacks at some point with a young Robert and Ned, too.
dragonmcmx,
LOL, and he might actually be back as well. Not as a kid in a vision.
He is the hooded rider with the flaming ball on a chain. 🙂
At least I hope he is lol 😛
Top bloke.
Eddard, Brandon, Benjen, Lyanna, little Hodor, Rickard… the vision scene is going to be memorable.
Interesting to learn that young Benjen in the flashback had lots of lines. I believe we will see the young Starks flashback tomorrow!
Did we ever find out what role Michael Nevin is playing? When his casting was announced a few months back (article: https://watchersonthewall.com/another-young-actor-is-cast-for-game-of-thrones-season-6/), it was said his role was substantial but that could have been hyperbole of course. Since the young/flashback Starks seem to have all been cast, do we know who he is? Do we know for a certainty Art Parkinson is back? He’s had a rather large growth spurt, so I wonder if we have a new Rickon. Thoughts?
Ready for flashbacks! Ready to see nuncles again!
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/d6/a9/52/d6a952db84965c62675f3b02ea25662a.jpg
Andrew,
Yes, we know Art is back. edit to say: at least, he was spotted with multiple cast members last August during filming. https://watchersonthewall.com/are-these-game-of-thrones-stars-spotted-in-belfast-returning-in-season-6/
I don’t know who Nevin is playing but he has Sackheim and Sapochnik listed for directors. http://www.universalartists.co.uk/Actor/CV/2208
I can’t wait for the flashbacks!
Sue the Fury,
*puts on tinfoil hat*
Notice how it says “Michael has a good ear for accents” in that CV.
In Season 4 Episode 6 Oberyn says to Varys “I have an ear for accents.”
Could it be that Michael Nevin is playing Oberyn’s long lost son, who will step up as the rightful ruler of Dorne now that all the other Martells are dead????
If the episode start with a shot of Winterfell ol´ days an the theme just like Season 1 I´m gonna cry probably lol.
What if he plays young lord Cerwyn?
What the fuck is a Lommy?,
Season 1 Winterfell theme <3
Sue the Fury,
Sackheim AND Sapochnik?
I wonder if he’s a fake Rickon lmao. Dare I hope?
These flashbacks will be amazing, it is known!
Yes! please D&D let us hear this song this Sunday.
Flayed Potatoes,
This actor looks so much younger than Art.
Andrew,
He (Art) sure has had a growth spurt. I just googled some images of him. It looks like he’d be eye-to-eye with Ramsay – not really someone who Ramsay would refer to as “little man.”
Selina,
Ramsay doesn’t know this 😛 And Rickon is supposed to be younger than Art is on the show (like all the other Stark kids who grew quickly)….
I’m trying to be optimistic against all odds lmao
He’s so cute! But then they all are. Looking forward to seeing him in the show.
With this casting information, I’m now about 80% sure the mysterious man on horseback with a flame on chains is the return of Benjen Stark. (The other 20% is a new character we haven’t met yet.)
Sounds like a great kid. Hope he does a good job as Benjen! 🙂
Eh? Did he dye his hair? Why does Benjen look like Bran and Rickon instead of Jon as his older self did?
Since Benjen’s being featured in the flashbacks, do you think we’ll get the expected
reveal this season?
Nikki,
This is the child’s headshot photo. I wouldn’t nitpick his current hairstyle at the time of his photograph-taking.
What the fuck is a Lommy?,
Is Lyanna in it?
Demon Monkey,
dragonmcmx,
I think that means that he is good at affecting accents in his own speech. Oberyn meant that he could discern them. There is no correlation between these two things.
“Elezi also somewhat hilariously talks about showing up to have his hair cut for the role, and realizing he was sitting next to Jon Snow.”
So cute!
What the fuck is a Lommy?,
Me too! The Winterfell theme always makes me tear up! ?
Sullied by Knight,
I’m still not convinced Ramsay says that little man bit.
Demon Monkey,
Iwan posted a tweet with that line.
It’s him. I wasn’t sure either at the begining but it is him.
Sue the Fury,
Parkinson lives in Belfast to begin with, right? It’s possible he was just having lunch with former castmates. I dunno. For several reasons, I can see D&D keeping Rickon a child rather than a teenager. The directors make sense for a late-season reveal… Hmmm, I wonder if Nevin IS Rickon. Would be sad for Art, but he’s been doing okay for himself with movie roles. We’ll just have to see.
Sue the Fury,
Also: children’s hair color does change. Some kids are born platinum blonde and turn brunettes. My niece was born with frosted tips! It was pretty hilarious and now her hair is dark.
dragonmcmx,
And this one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=svUHcWvG4R0
I love them both!
Andrew,
Parkinson, last info publicly available, lives in Ireland- not Northern Ireland. He’s not a Belfast local. It’s always possible he drove there to visit, I suppose. But we could say that of a lot of sightings.
Yes. Hype!
Demon Monkey:
Sue the Fury,
“Also: children’s hair color does change. Some kids are born platinum blonde and turn brunettes. My niece was born with frosted tips! It was pretty hilarious and now her hair is dark.”
Yeah, when I was a kid I had white-blonde hair, by the time I was a teen it had turned very dark.
Valaquen,
Same here!
I really hope they didn’t recast Rickon.
My guess is that Michael Nevin has something to do with the Riverlands/Freys.
If Jon is floating around in ghostworld right now, I wonder if Bran can talk to him, and show Jon what goes down at Harrenhal or TOJ.
I agree. And Benjen was part of Jon’s death scene in E10 last year.
Now the real question here is what will benjen bring to the series at this point.
Joffrey’s Cunt,
Benjen can bring confirmation of Jon’s parentage and be the new Lord Commander of the NW, plus…he’s been doing recon on the WW, so he’ll have some good info for the upcoming battle.
Joffrey’s Cunt,
I think he is going to escort Bran and co. back South of the Wall.
Nikki,
Bran and Rickon should look like their Uncle Benjen as a child. And compliments to Jon Snow having some sort of family resemblance, even if its as a teenager.
Ohh boy, flashbacks are going to be amazing. I am really pumped to see a White Walker flashback, to learn more about them, and to hopefully hear them speak for the first time, would be freaking awesome!!!
dragonmcmx,
When we first see Winterfell in season 1, they play an extremely short upbeat version of the theme and it sounds like they have someone humming it too. A continuation of that would be pretty great. Maybe it should be a bit slowed down though, considering what happened to Winterfell. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tBRH5s2lsxc
Their language sound like the cracking of ice? Alright then…
Flayed Potatoes,
Anyone think rickon will be handed over the ghost of winterfell plot. That would be massive hype.
I don’t understand when seeing a young Benjen sword playing with a young Ned relates to what storyline?????? So what! Now if it’s Lyanna that may be different
Is it a possible spoiler that he was getting hair and make up next to Kit?
Are the Winterfell and Wall sets close together? Is it possible they were filming different scenes on the Winterfell set on the same day?
Set up and insight into the Stark’s story. Guess we will find out tomorrow?
On a side note… one of my favorite things about the ASOIAF/GOT community is that no one can ever say “Hey, no need for that language, this is a family show!”
Fuck that!
One of Roose Bolton’s 20 good leeches,
Just imagine hearing that as we see
Jack Bauer 24,
I hope so too. Maybe the child actor is a fake Rickon. /tinfoil
That and to see the power of the visions that Bran and 3-Eyed Raven have.
Flayed Potatoes,
Ohhhhh, you could be on to something here!
Are we ignoring that the kid was sitting next to Jon Snow at something? ((I didn’t listen to the interview but he was around Kit at some point I guess))
Dragonmcmx,
I wouldn’t be able to handle the shivers and convulsions.
It’s a good spot to reintroduce Benjen and the discussion of Jon’s parents and tie it all to the storyline of Bran
Fancy word for a sellsword,
It’s possible, but it’s more likely they were just at the same studio filming separately, whether it was Titanic Studios or the one in Banbridge- both of them can handle multiple scenes being set up/going on at once.
kit_hepburn,
That’ s what I thought too. IIRC, this kid filmed his scenes in Oct during which time riverlands filming was.also going on. The only problem is it’s more likely we will see the riverlands only in the second half of the season.
Fancy word for a sellsword,
yeah I am pretty sure thats a spoiler……. 😀
The actual interview starts at 2:51:35 http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p03qpnk5, if you want to listen. I was surprised at being able to listen in, even in the US.
I loved the end: “Thanks for having me: you’ve all been goooooooorgeous!” And then dude says, “cracking.” They were both cracking me up. Do normal Brits really talk like that or only the poshest of posh?
Joffrey’s Cunt,
Could it be possible that Benjen has been turned into a WW? That is maybe a bit exaggerated but the question is what did he do all these years? With whom has he been in contact and how did he manage to survive with minimal resources?
I am incredibly excited for all the flashbacks. The memories of ToJ and young Winterfell and the tourney, kotlt etc and everything that led up to Robert’s Rebellion were always some of my favorite bits of the story line. But I’m a history buff.
To go forward, you must go back 🙂
Speaking of “plot-holes” the SS haters will not have a problem if Benjen appears again out of nowhere without any plausible explanation about his whereabouts all this time, which means years in the GOT world. And even if there is an explanation which in a phantasy epos will probably have very little ground to reality there will be no uproar at all. He is already a much anticipated and beloved hero who at last will be back…
Well, Britain is composed of several different countries with different manners of talking, but I’d say it’s English niceties.
What the fuck is a Lommy?,
Rickard, Brandon? Never heard about them being part of it. Ned, Hodor and possibly Benjen will be there based on casting news, Lyanna most likely.
Knowledge about the Others? Their motivations, who they are, why now, etc?
Will we see
Ginevra,
Did they just say that he will be appearing this monday?
Nevermind, confused him with some other kid whose role we didn’t know.
New still of Bran Stark and the Three-eyed raven
https://thenypost.files.wordpress.com/2016/04/got605_102615_hs__dsc2419-1.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=945
http://nypost.com/2016/04/30/finally-the-return-of-bran-stark/
Selina,
ooohh could be!! it for sure doesnt look like Winterfell
What plot point coud Benjen and Ned sword playing have that Bran needs to see?
Selina,
Looks like it 😀
Hypeeeee
Selina,
It looks like it! Bran will be very busy in tomorrow’s episode stopping by at different time points in the past.
Hoyti Von Totiy,
as for why it is those specific characters… Ned and Lyana because of ToJ scenes coming up..Benjen because he may be coming back (rider with fireball we have seen in trailers)and Hodor because he is connected to Brans story
Ohh how i wish this to be true …. but i doubt it.
GRRM already said Coldhands is not Benjen …
Kay,
Oh that is a very nice speculation. It would be perfect and we will have a chance to see Lyanna as a character a bit more than just as a child and then in this final scene everyone is expecting. I am sure that a so central episode for the GOT could not have been filmed only for its fight but also for the what this fight is about and your suggestion makes a lot more sense. So ep.3 and then ep. 5 again…
Interesting. That’s from episode 5. The file’s name is “got605”
Was really hoping he would be faux rickon so no more starks will be killed..tear drop.
Gravemaster,
Oh yes. I didn’t pay attention.
Nikki,
Childrens hair colour can change as the get older so that’s not an issue. My hair went from a chestnut Colour to black. My sons hair went from blond to black. All in the realms of possibility.
dothrakian raven,
Benjen has been in the land of always winter trying to find out what he can about the ww’s or he was a prisoner and escaped. Not hard to justify. May even be working for BR? Lots of explanations for where he’s been and what he’s doing. It maybe a coincidence he comes across Meera but that is different to just having him unexplainedly appear. If the SS had simple said “and now it begins” while standing at the docks we’d have known something was in play and probably gone with ep 6.1. Though I would have like more build up. As it was played last season we just see the SS’s and co get revenge. We know there will be repercussions but a lovely chat in the garden is not what we expected. She was warned he’d have her killed so why so chatty? Also as we all know Dornish folk love their poison, why therefore would that kiss on the docks have been allowed to occur.? It just screams I’m killing you. Sure things are a little more fluid in Dorne but going from I want to kill you to a slightly strange pash on the docks is a little suss unless of course GOT has gone all uber Freudian on us?
They had soft Cheshire accents from the sound, not posh.
They had soft Cheshire accents from the sound, not posh.
Gravemaster,
Yeah it looks like
I am kind of disappointed that the
Was hoping it would be all at once.
Simon,
We will have to wait to see what explanation there will be for his safe absence Beyond the Wall. As for the kiss we know that Dornish people except from liking poison they express themselves in awkward ways with often subtle or less subtle sexual meanings. We saw Ellaria having a go with women and she has never tried to conceal it. So a kiss is a kiss for Doran who obviously know Ellaria as much as we do in that matter. Now, in the previous episode we saw her kissing his hand in remorse. He believed in her tears and submission so his is naive and soft and not cunning at all. The pay of? We saw it last week. And yes a lot of things could have been explained and didn’t but this is the case for many other instances in the series. In any case I am looking forward to Benjen’s reappearance as much as how Dorne will be developed. And I have a feeling that his coming back will not be without a twist not a good one. To survive out there for a long time is almost impossible as the show has showed us many times. Think of the WWs power when he hits Jon, think of the rangers in S1E1. I don’t think there is chance for him to survive out there alone unless his Starkness has some role to play in it.
QueenofKnowingNothing,
If you listen to the clip, he’s talking about being in a hair and makeup trailer getting his haircut next to Kit. He didn’t even realize who he was unti it was over. So funny.
Connor,
Why? It seems the only reason it doesn’t make sense is because you are only interested in the fight scene. But I would like to see more of the character of the grown up Lyanna and maybe this split is an opportunity to do so. Just a badass fight and an one word interior scene wouldn’t make a good visual narrative.
I edited my comment, and also, I am not just interested in the fight scene, I am interested to see if Lyanna is
I understand why it should be split into two episodes now. Geez.
Hoyti Von Totiy,
I personally (tin foil hats on folks, this subject is my personal obsession within the show) think the scene will include (if it does) a young Lyanna as being just as good at fighting as the boys, like the Arya scene in the pilot, since Ned compared Arya to his sister at least once. It’s character development for someone we may not see too much.
If it’s a green dream, it’s gonna be important. I’m reserving judgment.
Alright, well, I am now comfortable with
It does make sense to do so, and I was just eager to see it play out all at once lol.
Connor,
Me too 🙂 But this is just an information which gives nothing about the character Lyanna. I would like to see Lyanna as a character with personality. She is the cause of big events that changed the Westeros history for ever and I would like to see in her personality the why. I am curious to see who she is and why could she influence the whole story they way she did. The only way to do it is to give her more lines than the famous one and some interaction with the people who protect her. Moreover they hired some good young actors for the TOJ for a purpose.
Connor,
Yeah I wanted it all at once for maximum impact and less confusion.
Gotcha, yeah, I agree, Lyanna needs to be developed before they show us the rest of the Tower of Joy, which got me wondering, will there be a vision on the Tournament at Harrenhal before the rest of the Tower of Joy? Which would be a good way to see how it all started and add more to that development.
Me too! I know people are pumped for the ToJ but I would love to see flashbacks that go back earlier. The happenings at the ToJ aren’t surprising since it’s a widely held theory, though it will be nice to see confirmation. I would love to see the relationship pre and post ToJ between Ned/Robert.
Yes, as you stated also in a subsequent post, Lyanna Stark – through her character? actions? – seems to have precipitated a huge change in the history of Westeros. It would make sense to show watchers like myself to actually see the sequence of events that led to her final moments and why that led to war. Perhaps we first see her in Winterfell as an Arya-like tomboy, then perhaps at the Tourney in Harrenhall, and finally at ToJ, both her arriving and later, Ned getting there. As such, I would expect Bran to visit all three locations, otherwise, there would be a MUCH BIGGER gap in the story than “ZOMG! How did the Sand Snakes get to Trystane’s boat?? Plot Hole!!!” 😉
Well regarding Jon then
I’m wondering if they might mirror the scene in S1Ep1 where Arya trumps Bran’s archery lesson, to remind us of the similarities between her and Lyanna’s looks, personality, tomboy ways etc. That would be a nice touch.
dothrakian raven,
Indeed. Benjen’s return will be good. I agree with the how he survued but that is why I suggested him being a prisoner or working for BR. He could have been with the children further north as well or be released as an emissary. I’m not sure about that though. It make more sense he ether escaped or has been guerrilla. I think he has the survival skills and hasn’t really been alone. If he is an emissary I’d say it will be with a message from Bran.
2 TOJ scenes and the tourney would be amazing. I won’t get my hopes up too much though. Maybe Meera will just tell Bran the story of the tourney like Jojen does in the books?
The kid sounds very Liverpudlian, I hope he can pull off the Northern/Stark style accent… Unless Benjen’s accent is Liverpudlian? (That’s the accent from Liverpool – for the Non-UK peeps – where the Beatles come from)
Flayed Potatoes,
I hope so. The directors of episodes 3, 4, 9 and 10 … , so could be an Umber or the son of any northern lord.
Demon Monkey,
I think the Meeren Masters said that to Tyrion …
Ramsay says it. Iwan even tweeted it.
I’m hoping against hope it’s fake Rickon (thus, bringing in the ‘fake Arya’ storyline onto the show)!
I read on a site (this site?) that Art P. and the actress playing Osha are back. There was an instagram post of them together in Belfast, if I remember correctly. It was taken when the GOT shooting just started there.
dothrakian raven,
We need Benjen, a new Stark to die this season, otherwise it could be Rickon.
Valaquen,
True… My son had the most adorable golden wheat colored hair and as he grew, his hair started to darken and now at sixteen, it´s quite dark;not jet black but a chestnut brown
Flayed Potatoes,
That´s funny…I have not seen the interview but why would he be sitting next to Jon Snow?
Jack Bauer 24,
Nooo … poor Rickon…. Umbers = Oathbreakers. I hope it isn’t true … I believe Sansa would go insane if Rickon is delivered to Ramsay. She would sacrifice herself for him … She knows what Ramsay did to Theon.
Oh please, oh please, oh please let him be Edric Dayne with the BwB!!
I am stoked to see young Lyanna kicking her bro’s asses and to perhaps find out why Benjen had to go to The Watch in the first place. Was it really just because he was a third son? I’d love to see the Tourney as well (KotLT), but I get that that may be too much to throw in to the story at this point. Looking forward to the ToJ and the chance to see a real–if dead–Dayne!
ps: Why doesn’t the site recognize me any more? I keep having to re-type my info to post. Is there something I should do to rectify that? Thanks!
Sue the Fury,
Did have any indication that the tourney at harranhall is filmed?
I don’t think so, but they did imply he had bunches of lines and that we might see him again in Season 7 – like he’s opted for Season 7 but it isn’t definite. I didn’t even thing the original Benjen had bunches of lines with all of his episodes added together. Barely bunches, maybe. So it seems interesting that Baby Benjen is so prominent. Is there hope for Big Ben?
SmallJon,
Valaquen,
Thanks!
Krish,
Goodness, I hope so. I really want LS to be the Knight of the Laughing Tree, and this scene would add the depths and layers to her character development that others were hoping for.
Krish,
I doubt we will see the tourney of Harrenhal on screen. We already got the story last season from LF. I wouldn’t mind if we do see that flashback though. Seeing Rhaegar n Lyanna. But I don’t think it’s happening.
Ginevra,
That she is. And that is main thing in the story
ghost of winterfell,
LF just described it. Rhaegar’s song, The knight laughing tree , Rhaegar was the one to investigate all leads us to the pivotal point of crown of roses. So glimpse of that is essential in my opinion though
If you want to see a flashback that explains the why of Roberts Rebellion, you should be asking for a flashback of Robert and Lyanna being promised to each other before you see a flashback of the tourney at Harrenhall surely. If thats the case, there would be so many flashbacks we’d all start to forget wtf is going on with the now story.
Kate,
It would make more sense if BR tells him. Not Meera.
jymion,
Not wanting the flashback. But the story should be delivered, just like LF hinted. The story should be told
the story of why robert rebelled…..yes…it should, but it should explain shit better than a cpl kids playing sword fighst with sticks straight to the toj
the toj is arguably about jon…not why robert rebelled anyway
if anything…there should be a flashback of lyanna and raegar getting wed in the gods eye, there are supposed to be heaps of weirwood trees there so hopefully we will see that b4 the toj
AlexG,
The studio they were filming at probably has more sets.
TOJHYPEMAN,
He doesn’t sound ‘very’ Liverpudlian, but there’s a hint of Merseyside in the inflection. There’s a hint of North Cheshire there as well I’d guess at St Helens maybe.
Yes. How did they get on the boat? Spice Ninja Power or a conspiracy involving a literal boatload of people? Either one is a plot hole, topped with entirely confusing editing, bad writing, and making awful characters even more loathsome. Kinslaying and sexism in the same murder? How can anyone not be cheering for that whole group to suffer miserable, cruel deaths at this point (in complete contrast to the books, where they are neutral / lean-sympathetic).
Anyone taking bets on which of the Sand Snakes murders Tommen? I think it will be Asia Spice, because she’s lagging in that column. Killing an innocent youth? That’s the making of true Girrrrrllll Power heroes!
Are we goimg to see little Littlefinger, too?
It’ll be jarring if we don’t catch up with him soon.
elluhzz,
I imagine we’ll catch up with him in the same episode as Sam and Gilly, episode 3.
Fancy word for a sellsword,
I think one of the points is to introduce Lyanna and the old Stark family dynamics, so when the ToJ happens, viewers who didnt read the books can actually be emotionally invested in the characters…
You think we are going the get to se Ned´s father Rickard and older brother Brandon?
I think we are. And . . .
as well
Hoyti Von Totiy,
I think we will see Rickard, Brandon is more doubtful. There has been no news of Brandon being included in the flashbacks. I remember Sue mentioning only the younger siblings.
Hoyti Von Totiy,
I think we might…