Game of Thrones A-Z (12 page)

A stellar cast was picked for the first series, including Sean Bean.
From left
: Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (Jamie Lannister), Emilia Clarke (Daenerys Targaryen), Sean Bean (Eddard Stark) and Mark Addy (Robert Baratheon).

Kit Harington plays the complex character Jon Snow, Eddard Stark’s bastard son, who is sworn to the Night’s Watch in season one.

The Lannister family
- one of seven noble families fighting for the control of Westeros.

Above left
: Nikolaj Coster-Waldau plays the ‘King Slayer’, Jamie Lannister, brother to Cersei and Tyrion, and son of Tywin.

Above right
: Peter Dinklage was perfectly cast to play the role of Tyrion Lannister, a popular character who is equally cunning as he is humorous.

Below left
: Charles Dance plays Tywin Lannister.

Below right
: The role of Cersei Lannister, a hard-faced and power crazy queen, is well played out by the talented Lena Headey.

The role of Daenerys Targaryen was given to the beautiful and young actress Emilia Clarke.

Aidan Gillen was already a well-established actor before taking on the role of manipulative Petyr ‘Littlefinger’ Baelish.

Gwendoline Christie was chosen to play the loyal character Brienne of Tarth.

From left
: Alfie Allen (Theon Greyjoy), Gethin Anthony (Renly Baratheon), Finn Jones (Ser Loras Tyrell) and Kit Harington (Jon Snow) enjoying some downtime.

The Stark family
– fighting to keep Winterfell, reunite their family and crown Robb Stark the official King of the North.

Above left
: Isaac Hempstead Wright plays the young cripple Bran Stark.

Above right
: Irish-born Michelle Fairley portrays the loyal and wise Catelyn Stark, mother to Robb, Bran, Sansa, Arya and Rickon.

Below left
: Maisie Williams (Arya) 
left
 and Sophie Turner (Sansa) 
right
 at a 
Game of Thrones
 press night.

Below right
: British actor Richard Madden plays the role of Robb Stark.

He studied drama at Bennington College – a period which he described thus: ‘I smoked too much pot, stayed up too late, did a lot of plays, listened to a lot of Pixies and Dinosaur Jr.’ In 1995, he made his feature debut in the movie 
Living
 
in Oblivion
, playing a frustrated actor annoyed with the clichéd dwarf parts he gets. But, despite the performance, he still couldn’t find an agent. ‘I just wasn’t a type that agents were looking for,’ he said. ‘I was too specific. They didn’t have the imagination to send me on auditions for things that weren’t written for a dwarf. They would only see ads at Christmas time, and if I didn’t want to do those, what business would I bring them?’

Dinklage was thrust into the limelight for his role in the award-winning 2003 drama 
The Station Agent
, which was directed by Thomas McCarthy, who helmed the original 
Game of Thrones
 pilot. It was a break-out role that would lead to him starring in both the UK and US version of 
Death at a Funeral
, as well as 
Elf
 and 
The Chronicles of
 
Narnia: Prince Caspian
 – a role in a fantasy drama that went against his usual choice.

He imagined what his teenage self would have thought of him wearing pointy shoes and a fake beard for the sequel to 
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
:  ‘He would have given me shit, totally. But fuck him.

“Go enjoy your mac-and-cheese again for dinner. Look under your oven – oh, yeah, that is a rat. I’m jet-setting first class, man. I’ll see you later.” That’s what I’d say to that snob.’

However, he always attempted to avoid fantasy roles, given the stereotype connotations. ‘I always wonder, “Why are all these fantasy books, especially for children, fascinated with people my size being fantastical creatures.” Growing up, I was always like, “Really?” That was my big thing. Maybe Tolkien, or whoever, never met somebody my size. And if they did, maybe if they had been friends with somebody who was a dwarf they wouldn’t have written it that way.’

However, he notes, there is a huge difference between other fantasy stories and 
Game of Thrones
. ‘That’s what I liked about that show, he does have a sexual appetite,’ he told
Rolling Stone
 magazine. ‘You never see one of those Narnian creatures with that.’

And Dinklage would also be a hit on the small screen – with credits including 
Nip/Tuck
, 
30 Rock
 and 
Entourage
.

In 2005, he married theatre director Erica Schmidt, and in 2011 their daughter was born. He moved from Manhattan to a more rural area of New York because of the fan attention. ‘I can’t be anonymous,’ he said. His wife agreed: ‘Even if they don’t recognise him, they think he’s Wee Man from 
Jackass
 or they think he’s the guy from 
In Bruges
. Lena Headey said of Dinklage, who she has worked with twice, in a failed pilot in 2006 and in 
Game of Thrones
, ‘He truly is just who he is. There’s nothing about him that isn’t anything but confident.’

Q

QARTH

The ancient port city Qarth is located on the Essos continent, and is a place of great wealth –with stunning architecture and grand furnishings.

It’s a city full of spice traders and successful businessmen and it is the city in which Daenerys seeks shelter along with her withering band of followers.

It’s also home to Warlocks, who are known as the Undying of Qarth. Despite their fearsome reputation, their powers have waned over the years, but that changes with the arrival of Daenerys and her dragons. They feel their powers growing stronger and they eventually capture the creatures and Daenerys, and place them in The House of the Undying Ones – also known as the Palace of Dust.

Few ever come out of there, but Daenerys successfully rescues her dragons, with the Undying all dead. The city is also known for the assassins known as the Sorrowful Men.

These polite killers whisper sorry when they kill you.

R

RED WEDDING

‘The scene that we cannot mention. I just remember reading the book before we’d even written the pilot and thinking, “Oh, my God, we’ve got to get this. We’ve got to get this show to happen because if we can make this scene work, it’s gonna be one of the greatest things ever on television or film.”’

Benioff wasn’t joking. The Red Wedding is one, if not 
the
, main talking point of the series; a devastating, heartrending scene that wrenches the gut and tears the heart.

The very first instalment of 
A Song of Ice and Fire
 showed that Martin’s world is a violent one where no one is safe.

The author was deliberate in that one, reasoning to 
Entertainment Weekly
, ‘It’s really irritating when you open a book, and 10 pages into it you know that the hero you met on page one or two is gonna come through unscathed, because he’s the hero. This is completely unreal, and I don’t like it. If I was a soldier going to war, I’d be pretty scared the night before a battle. It’s a scary thing.’ Martin very much wanted his readers to feel that fear, as ‘I want them to feel that no one is safe – that if my character is surrounded by three people with swords, he’s in serious trouble, because he’s only one guy against three. It’s a great way to show that you’re not writing this cartoon adventure where the hero is going to slay 20 men at once with his brilliant swordsmanship and go through unscathed while making wisecracks all the way.’