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'A Game of Thrones' cast begins to roll in. Ned is cast!

Venardhi

Venardhi

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Hollywood Reporter has the details.

Sean Bean has nabbed the lead in "Game of Thrones," HBO's adaptation of the George R.R. Martin fantasy-book series. Tom McCarthy is directing; David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, who wrote the screenplay, are executive producing.

Mark Addy is in final negotiations to also join the production. Kit Harrington, Jack Gleeson and Harry Lloyd also have come aboard.
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Sean Bean is Ned? He has the stern fatherly thing down pat, but he is 50 and doesn't look much like the Ned in the books. He has the chops, so at least we know they're going for talent here. . .

Mark Addy i've never seen in anything, and he is far from what I would describe as 'imposing' or 'handsome' even without the fat. Some moderate concerns there. . . especially since Robert is supposed to be 6'6" and Addy isn't anywhere near that.

We have a Jon, but he is an unknown so here is to hoping he has the talent Benioff and Weiss claim he does.
 
I agree with you ob Bean to a degree. I see Ned Stark as having a more compassionate but waery look...but that's me.

I didn't check this Addy out, but it's not vitally important that he be 6' 6" tall I think.
 
He needs to look like he could have been the greatest warrior (and lover) in the land just a decade earlier. Addy is of average height and looks, without any of the expected muscle under his middle-aged flab.
 
Nardpuncher said:
I see Ned Stark as having a more compassionate but waery look...but that's me.
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I think Sean Bean could portray compassionate but weary very well, actually.

I've seen Addy in a few things. He's mostly a comedic actor from what I've seen. I think they'll be emphasizing Robert as a good time king who's gone to seed.

I'm generally not hung up on the cast being close matches for the descriptions from the book. In fact in some cases I hope the TV series (and hopefully it gets picked up as a series!) diverges from the book, particularly with Daenerys since silver hair and violet eyes may not look good on screen. The Lannisters, on the other hand, will hopefully have the blond cruel beauty that they have in the books.
 
Well, you have to remember that ASOIAF world is a sort of a medieval world, with all the related hardships ... Eddard Stark is a veteran of at least two wars (the uprising against Targaryens and Greyjoy rebellion), he lives in the north and so on. He's around 35 in the book, I can definitely imagine him looking older than his years. And besides, Sean Bean looks younger than 50. Same about Robert Baratheon, who besides 2 wars spent his entire adult life drinking and visiting brothels.

I can't wait to see this adaptation.
 
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Sean Bean as Eddard Stark, my favorite literary character, is a fantastic choice. I can't wait to see him on my television screen.
 
Sean Bean is an excellent choice for Ned. Throw a beard on him and you won't even care that he's 10-15 years older than the character in the book.

Mark Addy, huh? Interesting. I can certainly see him as Robert as of AGOT, but I can't really picture Addy as a young, powerful, imposing warrior-king. Oh well, I'm sure he'll do fine.

I'm really curious to see who they'll cast as Cersei.
 
Skywalker said:
I hope it stays that way. Helfer isn't nearly voluptuous enough.
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You know the old Roman saying, "Fortune favors the bold?" Well in Hollywood they have another saying: "Marketing favors the skinny." Whomever they cast as Cersei, I'll lay odds she will be model-thin.

Venardhi said:
Sean Bean is Ned? He has the stern fatherly thing down pat, but he is 50 and doesn't look much like the Ned in the books. He has the chops, so at least we know they're going for talent here. . .
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I can't help but wonder if they are upping the ages of all the adult characters a little bit, and I have a personal theory as to why. Note that Peter Dinklage has also joined the cast; barring something utterly unexpected, that means we've got our Tyrion. Now if we follow the strict text of the books, Dinklage is probably a few years too old for the part, but come on, the guy is just too good of an actor to pass up. He stands a better chance of pulling off that part than any person of small stature working today.

Now if only Martin can finish the books before the bloody series catches up to him...
 
They are upping the ages of many of the characters. Aside from the fact that you can't portray characters as young as some of the ones in the books involved in such violent and sexual behavior in a TV series, even one airing on HBO, there's also the practical consideration of child labor laws.
 
Actually the younger children are all staying pretty close to their book ages. Dany is now 16ish, and Robb and Jon are 17ish so expect the other kids to all get about 2-3 years older.

Based on the cast so far, the adults are all being aged up about 15 years, which means that they were the age of the characters in the books when they were in the war. It is a bit miff-ing, but forgivable as long as they're consistent with the timeline. Sandor and some of the other younger adults need to stay in their 20s though IMO, and Cersei and Jaime should probably stay in their 30s if they can convincingly make Dinklage appear younger than them.

It still raises a few questions though, such as why was the heir to Storms End still a bachelor at 35?
 
Venardhi said:
Actually the younger children are all staying pretty close to their book ages. Dany is now 16ish, and Robb and Jon are 17ish so expect the other kids to all get about 2-3 years older.
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Two to three years is quite a bit when you're talking about teenagers, though. The difference two to three years makes in the life of a teenager is much more marked than in later life. Making the characters that much older allows them to potentially cast actors who are, say, 18 or 19, so that they can perform some of the more mature scenes and not have to worry about child labor laws.
 
Well since Joffrey is being played by a teenager, I assume that he, Sansa, Arya, Bran, Myrcella, and all the others around that age will likely be played by an age-appropriate cast.
 
It's great that Sean Bean will be Ned Stark! AGOT has so many intriguing secondary characters though. I wonder if they can get a "Big" name to be the recurring character of Varys the Spider. Don't laugh remember the Harry Potter series has a lot of big names as recurring characters, Helena Bonham Carter is an example.

It will be interesting to see who is cast as Cersei, Ser Jaime, and Lady Catelyn Stark.

One Trek name that people throw around to be in AGOT is Patrick Stewart as King Stannis Baratheon.

Anyway I'm glad to see there are Trek fans that are GRRM fans as well.:rommie:
 
One of the likely names I've heard for Varys is Rowan Atkinson. Martin hinted at "A couple of beans" a while back and we've already gotten one confirmed.

Stewart is a -bit- too old for Stannis, who is supposed to be Robert's YOUNGER brother.
 
Venardhi said:
One of the likely names I've heard for Varys is Rowan Atkinson. Martin hinted at "A couple of beans" a while back and we've already gotten one confirmed.

Stewart is a -bit- too old for Stannis, who is supposed to be Robert's YOUNGER brother.
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So it's Tom Hardy then. ;)
 
Venardhi said:
One of the likely names I've heard for Varys is Rowan Atkinson. Martin hinted at "A couple of beans" a while back and we've already gotten one confirmed.
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Let him also have a servant named Baldrick. Hilarity will ensue :)
 
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