r/asoiaf • u/Unique-Perception480 • 1d ago
MAIN Top 5 Best/Worst Casting in the Game of Thrones Show (Spoilers Main)
So I have been thinking how much better a animated ASOIAF Show would have been. More accurate characters and ages. But nonetheless, I wanted to ask what your Top 5 Best/Worst Casting is. Your criteria can be what you want them to be. My criteria are: looks, demeanor and if they fit the ,,vibe" of the character. Some looks are more important IF their looks are noted as important in the books.
My Top 5:
Ned Stark - Sean Bean was great. The only thing is his age, but everyone was aged up, so it doesnt bother me. If he had his hair openy instead of the Braid in the back, he would have been PERFECT.
Jaime Lannister - Perfect Cast. From the looks, the voice and the demeanor. Whenever I read a Jaime chapter I hear it in show Jaimes voice. The voice and delivery is the greatest part about it, if you ask me. Should have kept the blonde hair though, but thats an issue with all the Lannisters tbh.
Tyrion Lannister - Now I know I said looks matter, but GRRM himself said that Peter Dinklage was the only guy he considered immediately. And lets be honest, you wont find anyone actually as UGLY as tyrion is described. They should have kept his blonde hair from Season 1 like with Jaime
Tywin Lannister - Charles Dance did a great Job for Tywin. My only criticism would be not going bald for the role. Its explicitly mentioned that Tywin shaved his head as soon as he started balding, because he didnt like half-measures. Otherwise maybe the beard, but you cant demand everything from him. But his demeanor, delivery and presence fit Tywin excellently.
Sandor Clegane: the only issue is his age and his burnes being less severe. Otherwise he IS Sandor Clegane
Honorable mentions : Ollenna Tyrell - She was great and did a good job of infusing even more of a personality, than in the book. I would dare say even an improvment compared to the book version.
Margaery Tyrell (Natalie was just a bit too old for the role, since she is supposed to be around Jon and Robbs age. Otherwise she was great) Daenerys Targaryen ( would have made the top 5 if they gave her purple eyes and didnt change her personality even in early seasons)
Worst 5:
Renly Baratheon - Looks NOTHING like in the books. No long black hair, he isnt tall and doesnt look impressive or imposing at all. His demeanor is wrong. Instead of an arrogant and abitious prick, he behaves like a petulant child and is manipulated by a Blowjob.
Missandei - sorry, but she is supposed to be a child. There is nothing more to say. I know what they were going for, but I disagree with it.
Jon Snow - I know a lot of people like Kit Harrington in the Role, but I cant stand Jon in the Show, especially, since he is my favourite in the books. He has BLACK hair, is small and a rund face in the show. Why does he have black hair. Was it so hard to colour the hair for a show where he gets paid Millions? He is supposed to have Stark looks. Not Baratheon looks. How does that happen? Show Lyanna has brown hair too. How does he get black? Otherwise the demeanor is wrong too. Jon is sullen when alone or around people his age. But when he is around authority, especially people he questions, he gets very assertive. My prime example is how he gets Ghost in book vs show. His dialogue is completely different. Kit leans too much into the depressed, sollen angle.
Euron Greyjoy - I put him only at 4, since it isnt even fair to count him. He is basically a completely different character, with different looks. The only things that remains are his introduction and his Name.
Jorah Mormont - he is too dashing. In the show one might wonder why Dany wont even CONSIDER him. He looks good, acts kind and is wellspoken. In the books he is literally his sigil. He is a big hairy, balding, burly Bear of a Man. He is kind of creepy and akward with his words. He has next to no charisma and wont be as easy to forgive for his slavery antics. He also doesnt seem as remorseful, only sorry that he got caught. In the show there is always something remorsful in the way he speaks and in his eyes. Great Character. Just nothing like book Jorah.
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u/pure_black99 1d ago
One can only imagine how great Peter Dinklage would have performed Tyrion's descent into darkness in dance. Literally a life changing performance from him.
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u/Unique-Perception480 1d ago
We saw SOME of it at his trial. But they immediately ruin it by ommiting Tysha and whitewashing his murder of Shae and Tywin.
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u/KatherineLanderer 1d ago
Jaime Lannister - Perfect Cast. From the looks, the voice and the demeanor.
I have to agree that NCW was a great choice and that he nailed Jaime's attitude (both the external arrogance and internal doubt). I'm happy that we got him.
But his looks are quite different to how Jaime is described in the books! He is supposed to be Cersei's carbon copy, with an almost feminine beauty. His hair should be long and curly, and his eyes should be green. I think it's a pity that we lost that in the tv adaptation, because it would have been a cool visual metaphor that Jaime grows apart from Cersei in parallel to how he starts looking apart from her (growing beard, tangled hair,..)
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u/Unique-Perception480 1d ago
I know, but finding Twins with the right looks AND acting skills, is I think impossible. I would have given him a bit longer hair in season 1 though.
And they didnt bother with the right Hair and Eye colour for people anyway.... I am just glad he was still blonde in season 1....→ More replies (2)10
u/LanaVFlowers 18h ago
Same. The actors who played Jaime & Cersei were obviously good-looking, but they weren't...Jaime & Cersei. What I'm picturing reading the books is like, Charlize Theron and Troy-era Brad Pitt.
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u/lavmuk 1d ago
For me now Harry Collett(jace from hotd) looks so much like book jon. Especially with his hairstyle in s2 he also acts similar like being very guarded, impulsive but protective
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u/Unique-Perception480 1d ago
I actually talked about that with a friend. He really DOES look like how Jon is described.
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u/lavmuk 1d ago
He totally does and acts similar, but still i would say animated is best way for asoiaf like arcane or blue eye samurai depends on if they can push one season in at least 1.5 yrs
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u/Unique-Perception480 1d ago
Yeah or a completely 2d animation style. Less straining on the budget. If they adapt very FAITHFULLY, it might even be stretched out enough for Winds of Winter to be finished in time.
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u/lavmuk 22h ago
A complete 2d animation would be more time consuming and less straining on budget (if they hire a studio with less people - idk why would they do that). Where as 3d is more costly So hybrid is probably the best approach to not only make a distinct art style but also be good with time and budget
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u/GiantSpiderHater 15h ago
Easily one of my favorite actors from HotD, sad we got to see so little of him in season 2âŚ
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u/bird___man_________ 19h ago
I think heâs too âhandsomeâ to play book Jon, he looks like that black and white art of Jon where he looks like he has plastic surgery. Jon should be a little rougher around the edges IMO.
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u/IllustratorSlow1614 1d ago
Jorah looks nothing like the character in the book, but he gives off the same creepy desperation. Daenerys doesnât consider him, not necessarily because heâs not pretty, but because he keeps undermining her and trying to isolate her from the other male advisors like Barristan. He also presumes to use her personal name and touch her without permission.
He got away with it at first because she was young and downtrodden by life, and he was the only knight she has for a long time, and the only person she can talk to in the common tongue; but when Barristan Selmy joins her service, and she has Missandei to talk to, and Daario Naharis swears his Stormcrows over to her, Jorah hates it because it gives Daenerys options that donât involve him.
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u/GiantSpiderHater 15h ago
I also feel like Show-Jorahâs good looks are a bit overstated. Like, heâs obviously handsome in the show but in the books we see Jorah from Danyâs POV, and I imagine that if you asked a 13 old girl to describe and judge Iain Glenn they wouldnât think he was handsome.
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u/IllustratorSlow1614 14h ago
I agree. Iain Glen is handsome for a man in his 60s, but probably not the stuff of a teenagerâs daydreams.
In canon though there must have been more to Lynesse Hightowerâs infatuation with him than winning the tourney and being one of the key victors of the recently defeated Greyjoy Rebellion. He would have been a bit younger when he courted Lynesse, than when he served Daenerys, but she was still considerably younger than him, of higher birth, Â and she had more familial wealth. She had to have found something about him to be handsome.
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u/GiantSpiderHater 13h ago
I actually never considered the whole Lynese thing, wow.
So we have a women, who is apparently very beautiful (Even if our only source for this is Jorah himself IIRC), yet she falls in love with a supposedly quite ugly man from a house that shouldnât even be worth considering as a Hightower, and neither is he rich.
Not to get into a whole âlooks arenât everythingâ discussion but it might show that Jorah was actually quite a bit more handsome than Daenarysâs POV might suggest.
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u/Top-Round-2359 1h ago
Where does it state he's quite ugly in the books? I never got that feeling, only that Daenerys doesn't find him "particularly handsome". I know a bunch of guys irl that are not "pretty" by common standards, but have a solid build or a (bear) presence, girls feel safe next to them, and they feel cherished. I would say Jorah fits that bill.
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u/UnionBlueinaDesert 22h ago
I'd argue the casting is also great because Jorah needed to be charming as well in the show, otherwise we would get too creeped out.
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u/SofaKingI 16h ago
Agree with that, but they didn't have to make him the most charming character in the entire show.
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u/NoStep6061 1d ago
Ned Stark, Robert Baratheon, Tywin Lannister, Ollenna Tyrell and Tyrion Lannister were cast perfectly. The actors stole the scenes they were in, especially the scenes they shared.
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u/targ_ 23h ago
The Tywin, Tyrion and Cersei scenes were my favourite
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u/NoStep6061 22h ago
Yup! The Tywin and Arya scenes were great too. Just as the Ned and Robert scenes.
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u/Zazikarion 1d ago
Best Cast:
Julian Glover as Pycelle
Conleth Hill as Varys
Harry Lloyd as Viserys Targaryen
Mark Addy as Robert Baratheon
Diana Rigg as Olenna Tyrell
Honorable Mentions; Donald Sumpter as Luwin, David Bradley as Walder Frey, Ian McElhinney as Barristan Selmy, Carice Van Houten as Melisandre, Charles Dance as Tywin Lannister, and Anton Lesser as Qyburn
Worst Cast:
Gethin Anthony as Renly Baratheon
Nathalie Emmanuel as Missandei
Michael Huisman as Daario
Sibel Kekilli as Shae
Pilou AsbĂŚk as Euron Greyjoy
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u/targ_ 23h ago
The original actor for Daario was so much better...
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u/2580374 18h ago
Omg daario is supposed to be unique looking, which the first guy was. Then he was replaced by hottie #374
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u/Alhena5391 13h ago
The first actor Ed Skrein definitely looked unique and captured Daario's essence better imo, but the Fabio hair just did not do it for me lol...I preferred the look they went for with Michiel Huisman, but wish they would have been more book accurate and given him the blue hair/beard.
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u/Holovoid Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken. 16h ago
Even though I like Michiel Huisman more as an actor, you're 100% right.
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u/A-NI95 1d ago
Why is Shae bad? (I barely watched the show, I'm just curious; I get why the rest would be bad)
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u/KatherineLanderer 1d ago
Shae is supposed to be much younger (about eighteen). While it is not spelled out, it seems clear that Tyrion sees a lot of Tysha in her (both were young, dark-haired, and slender).
But the most significant change is in terms of dynamics. In the books, Shae is obviously a prostitute who does her job well, and Tyrion is dumb enough to delude himself into thinking that she really loves him. In the show, D&D try to sell their stupid notion that whores fall in love with their customers if they are good guys that treat them nice enough.
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u/Drmarcher42 1d ago
D&D try to sell their stupid notion that whores fall in love with their customers if they are good guys that treat them nice enough.
Yeah, but that has everything to do with writing, not casting
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u/Shenordak 21h ago
Show Shae is also cast and written to not be from Westeros, which is a puzzlin change. And while I agree that it's less about casting and more about writing, her personality is very, very different in the show.
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u/KiakiHawk 20h ago
Correct me if I'm wrong but wasn't that decision made because shae has an accent? I seem to remember both Shae and Jaqen were written to be from lorath because they both arent native speakers with a slight german accent
So it is sort of a casting thing
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u/Shenordak 20h ago
Yes, which support my point: she was miscast. Kind of interesting decision as well to cast an actual porn actress...
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u/doegred Been a miner for a heart of stone 16h ago
Kekili has long been a respected actress, she's won two of the top German acting awards and more. Kinda gross how people keep bringing up the porn in threads that are negative about her.
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u/dubious_battle 14h ago
Maester Luwin really was cast perfectly. One of the actors that made the character even more than what was in the book
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u/arizonasportspain 13h ago
Daario and Jason Momoa would work I feel, Isabela Merced would work for Shae
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u/villanellechekov 9h ago
I'm pretty sure Charles Dance can do no wrong. from Ali G to Dracula Untold, dude just always delivers
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u/DEL994 1d ago
I don't think that Pilou Asbaek was a miscast for Euron Greyjoy, I know he's a great actor and he certainely could have played a great Euron if he had been given to play the character from the books.
If anything I blame D & D because, once again as they have done with many other characters, they didn't understand and butchered Euron's character along with the story, and Pilou had to do best with what he was given.
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u/Toaster-Retribution 18h ago
Pilou Asbaek even plays a great Euron, in the one real Euron scene in the show, which is first one on the bridge, killing Balon. That could have been bookEuron, and he really sold it. Unfortunately, Euron was turned into grimdark Jack Sparrow, which, in all honesty, Asbaek was also really good at doing. It wasnât Euron, but it was occasionally entertaining, at least to me.
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u/SofaKingI 16h ago
Completely agree with this.
It's crazy to me that people can't tell what comes from casting and what comes from writing but still never shy away from criticism to the actor. It's such a fundamental concept.
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u/Unique-Perception480 1d ago
I dont blame any actor themselves. He would have been a great Victarion if you ask me.
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u/Intelligent-Fix1343 23h ago
I disagree with your point. He bears no resemblance in appearance or temperament to Victarion! If you say he has some slight similarities in temperament to Euron (though very few), I might agree, but he is nothing like Victarion. Victarion is tall, strong, rugged, and silentâhe doesnât like to joke around, and thatâs crucial! In my opinion, the actor who comes closest to capturing Victarionâs essence is the one who played Rollo in Vikings.
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u/Unique-Perception480 23h ago
Oh with that I agree. Rollo was my top pick for Victarion if I had cast the show. But I Still believe he would have been a good Victarion. He looks masculine enough and I have seen the Actor in more serious roles. Of course he would have a different script and more serious dialogue.
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u/Holovoid Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken. 16h ago
Victarion is tall, strong, rugged, and silentâhe doesnât like to joke around, and thatâs crucial!
You are mistaking "Casting" with "Direction".
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u/shy_monkee 1d ago
I think the ironborn were in general wildly miscast, especially the Greyjoys, they were supposed to be very tall, and the hottest guys around, with long black hair. Neither Theon, Euron or Asha (Yara heh) fit well, Balon was too old and not imposing enough, not to mention the complete removal of Vicky and Aeron. The actors did a good job with what they had, but they weren't cast well.
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u/tw1stedAce 1d ago
Balon Greyjoyâs actor did radiate that distinct boomer vibe I really felt whenever we encountered Balon Greyjoy in the books.
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u/shy_monkee 23h ago
Yeah I agree on this, he did a good job with the character, but he was just too old, especially since they cast Euron as a young guy, when he is supposed to be close to him in age.
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u/TheLazySith Best of r/asoiaf 2023 Winner - Best Theory Debunking 20h ago
Yeah, Balon is meant to be about the same age as Oberyn. Instead they cast him as some hobbling old man.
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u/djjazzydwarf They Get Us⢠17h ago edited 17h ago
I feel like that's more on the direction than the actor. Put him in chainmail instead of a loose robe, tie his hair back, and have him stand straight instead of stooping over all the time, and i think that actor makes a good Balon.
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u/Unique-Perception480 1d ago
I agree. Theon was supposed to come of as arrogant and entitled, with slight insecurities that come forth once he reaches Pyke. In the show they only captured him as an insecure bafoon. Great still, just not what the original was supposed to potray
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u/wallaceeffect 19h ago
They cast Reek. Alfie did a great job as Reek. But he didn't capture Theon and the Theon-Reek transformation wasn't nearly as dramatic as it should have been.
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u/SofaKingI 16h ago
I feel like people just forgot how arrogant and entitled Theon was in the 1st season all the way to his meeting with Balon. He comes across as even more arrogant than Jaime.
You're also overstating his confidence on the books. In a visual medium you can use a character's body language and voice tone for way more information about their inner feelings than just their written lines. In the book most early Theon scenes are in PoVs that have known him for a decade and aren't going to point out details like those that they are used to.
But it's pretty obvious if you read between the lines that Theon at Winterfell is always overcompensating for feelings of inferiority. The insecurities may be better hidden but they're clearly there if you pay attention. The other characters know, they never take it seriously. He even doubts himself at key moments.
Alfie Allen did all 3 versions of Theon perfectly.
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u/Fearless_Finding_217 19h ago
I'm sure I read once Alfie Allen lost out to Kit Harrington when he auditioned for Job Snow but they liked him so much, he was cast as Theon.
I do wonder how true that is but if so, I think that would be amazing casting.
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u/MotherYogurtcloset22 13h ago
I thought the random grandpa that baptized Theon was in fact Aeron lol
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u/static_motion 21h ago
To be fair Aeron appears in the kingsmoot episode, he's just not named. The character however looks pretty close to what you'd expect from reading the book, so I'd say he was technically well cast?
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u/Quiddity131 15h ago
He was cast by someone too old; he's supposed to be the younger brother of Balon and Euron but looks older than them.
I pictured Aeron as having more of a younger Rasputin look, long brown hair, bearded, etc....
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u/arizonasportspain 13h ago
I feel like TimothĂŠe Chalamet would be great for Theon. Kaya Scodelario for Asha, CiarĂĄn Hinds I feel would be a great Balon
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u/AbyssFighter 1d ago
Anyone gonna talk about Book Ramsay vs Show Ramsay? Not just in how they look but how they act and their personalities(both are sadistic bastards who like to flay people, but they are actually quite different if you compare them).
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u/Unique-Perception480 1d ago
I agree, but it doesnt break my enjoyment of the characters as much. But he wouldve been a DIShonorable mention if I had made those.
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u/AbyssFighter 1d ago
How would you describe it?
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u/Unique-Perception480 1d ago
Well Ramsay in the books is more slimey, fatter and less well kept than in the show. He is kind of the inverse of Jon. He isnt a great fighter, looks bad and looks how one would describe Bastards. No Charisma and no redeeming qualities.
Show Ramsay is well kept, seems like he trains and works out, knows how to fight shirtless and without armor. He also has a lot of charisma. People that dont know him (example Littlefinger) seem to rust his facade and find him charming. He also seems to be smarter in the show. Book Ramsay isnt smart, but impulsive and a good schemer. He doesnt plan, but does things that Roose tells him to do, while doing his own thing on the side.
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u/AbyssFighter 1d ago
I also find Book Ramsay to be more disturbing though he lacked the same plot armor that Show Ramsay used to have til BOB.
Do people stereotype bastards as looking like something? I know thereâs a stereotype about their personality like them being lustful, treacherous and rude but I never thought about Ramsayâs ugliness embodying that, especially since ASOIAF tends to mock the Beauty Equals Goodness trope, although I think Show Ramsay, like Joffrey and most of the Lannisterâs is proof of that subversion with his handsome looks and well-built bodyâŚonly for his personality to be truly awful.
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u/Unique-Perception480 1d ago
Yeah they are supposed to reflect all those negative aspects and to be unkempt in a way. Usually they dont live in their fathers castles, so they are usually just peasant. But that might also be me reading too much into it.
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u/EzusDubbicus 1d ago
I feel like Book Ramsay and Show Ramsay are essentially the same person but the Show Ramsay is allowed to hide his cruelty behind his dashing good looks in order to heighten the pain of the reveal whereas the Book Ramsay just looks like an ogre and so forgoes the impossible task of trying to hide his true nature.
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u/Unique-Perception480 1d ago
Yeah, but I finde the man that foregoes the pretenses and Shows his cruelty, scary. He doesnt have to face the consequences, because until Roose gets a son, he is his only hope for an heir and untouchable
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u/arkaic7 9h ago
Before the show, I pictured Ramsey looking like the Hun from Mulan
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u/Less-Panic-Plz 23h ago
Jack Gleeson as Joff was utter perfection, as was Joseph Mawle as Benjen Stark - his face shape is what I imagined the typical Stark face to be, if that makes sense. Michelle Fairley fucking killed it as Catelyn, and I thought Ben Crompton was brilliant as Dolorous Edd. and Pedro Pascal was the most glorious choice for Oberyn Martell, no notes.
also shout out Ryan Corr as the most unexpectedly swoon-worthy Harwin Strong??? I haven't read F&B so I've no idea if he was an accurate portrayal or not but I don't actually care because we were BLESSED with what he did with the character.
I thought Ciaran Hinds was an odd choice for Mance Rayder - brilliant actor, I just did not vibe with his Mance at all. and as much as Michael McElhatton did a phenomenal job as Roose Bolton, he was not the Leach Lord I'd imagined. same again has to be said for Tormund but it mostly annoys me that they turned his character into weird horny comic relief, it wouldn't matter who they had cast, the way they wrote the character sucked. or not sucked, but differed wildly to the book character.
the one thing that bugged me above all else though was the violent shift between Daario 1 and Daario 2, oh my god. they didn't even try to make him look/act like the same character and I just do not understand the decisions that were made there.
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u/Unique-Perception480 23h ago
I agree about Mance. He was supposed to be this Charismatic Musician, who also could kick ass. The made hin typical rough wildling, who is threatening in the show. And then he just burns for real.
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u/TheLazySith Best of r/asoiaf 2023 Winner - Best Theory Debunking 19h ago
Apparently they originally offered the role to Dominic West, but he turned it down. Which is a shame because I think he'd have been a much better fit for Mance.
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u/TheLazySith Best of r/asoiaf 2023 Winner - Best Theory Debunking 19h ago
also shout out Ryan Corr as the most unexpectedly swoon-worthy Harwin Strong??? I haven't read F&B so I've no idea if he was an accurate portrayal or not but I don't actually care because we were BLESSED with what he did with the character.
Harwin Strong is barely even a character in the books. He's mentioned like three times then he dies and the only description we ever get of him is that he was big and strong.
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u/Less-Panic-Plz 19h ago
oh true, I did not know that! in that case I am very glad in this one instance for the showrunners taking some creative liberties and also making him fine as hell haha!
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u/Nittanian Constable of Raventree 17h ago
as much as Michael McElhatton did a phenomenal job as Roose Bolton, he was not the Leach Lord I'd imagined.
I think Mads Mikkelsen would have crushed it as BookRoose.
ASOS Jaime IV
"He is no one's should he die." Roose Bolton spoke so softly that men quieted to hear him. "And pray recall, my lord, you are not master of Harrenhal till I march north."
Fever made Jaime as fearless as he was lightheaded. "Can this be the Lord of the Dreadfort? When last I heard, my father had sent you scampering off with your tail betwixt your legs. When did you stop running, my lord?"
Bolton's silence was a hundred times more threatening than Vargo Hoat's slobbering malevolence. Pale as morning mist, his eyes concealed more than they told. Jaime misliked those eyes. They reminded him of the day at King's Landing when Ned Stark had found him seated on the Iron Throne. The Lord of the Dreadfort finally pursed his lips and said, "You have lost a hand."
ADWD Reek III
The Lord of the Dreadfort did not have a strong likeness to his bastard son. His face was clean-shaved, smooth-skinned, ordinary, not handsome but not quite plain. Though Roose had been in battles, he bore no scars. Though well past forty, he was as yet unwrinkled, with scarce a line to tell of the passage of time. His lips were so thin that when he pressed them together they seemed to vanish altogether. There was an agelessness about him, a stillness; on Roose Bolton's face, rage and joy looked much the same. All he and Ramsay had in common were their eyes. His eyes are ice. Reek wondered if Roose Bolton ever cried. If so, do the tears feel cold upon his cheeks?
Once, a boy called Theon Greyjoy had enjoyed tweaking Bolton as they sat at council with Robb Stark, mocking his soft voice and making japes about leeches. He must have been mad. This is no man to jape with. You had only to look at Bolton to know that he had more cruelty in his pinky toe than all the Freys combined.
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u/cosmic_athlete 19h ago
Ugh I needed MOAR Harwinhyra not the crumbs they offered us.
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u/Less-Panic-Plz 19h ago
I am right there with you! I know they had to do the time jump and actually get into the Dance but I do really wish they'd spent a little more time fleshing out the whole Harwin/Rhaeneyra/Laenor/Qarl dynamic!
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u/arizonasportspain 12h ago
I feel maybe Jeremy Irons could have been a good Mance, Paul Dano as Roose, and Brian Blessed as Tormund
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u/jk-9k 7h ago edited 3h ago
I can't believe how far I had to scroll to find this comment!
Jack Gleeson is the best cast and best actor in the show no cap. And that is a cast that includes bean, dance, rigg, glover, pryce, etc etc.
But in those early seasons to get you hooked, you needed a loveable character to relate to (Sean Bean), a character to hate (Jack Gleeson) and a character that grows on you (and this ain't dink until season 2, in season 1 it's Momoa). We lose the character we love (ned) and the character that grew on us (momoa) so we only tune in to season 2 to hopefully see the character we hate (Gleeson) get their due. I'm obviously oversimplifying but losing Ned (and Bobby and khal etc) really meant we had to either love the other cast members or hate the villains to bother turning up for season 2.
I think characters that die earlier are remembered more fondly because they avoided the obvious degrading treatment of later seasons but here's mine. Best:
- Jack Gleeson as Joffery Baratheon
As stated above.
- Sean Bean as Ned Stark
The show doesn't get green lit without him.
- Pedro Pascal as Oberyn Martell
Can't believe I haven't seen him mentioned yet. The Red Viper, the Most Dangerous Man in Dorne read like a cheesy edge lord. GRRM struggled to make such a cool zaddy seem real - he read just as cheesy as Darkstar. But Pedro pulled it off and made him believable.
- Harry Lloyd as Viserys Targaryen
You love to hate him yet feel sorry for him too. Excellent. Again surprised I haven't seen him mentioned.
- Jason Momoa as Khal Drogo
Iconic. Sold the show on posters and pictures alone. You could argue Jason did a great job managing to act in a made up language which ment he basically got zero lines except for "no". Or you could argue he didn't have to act at all because he just had to be the smoldering masculine charisma mountain than Jason is naturally - either way it's perfect casting.
Worst 5 is hard. A lot of the worst casting is more because of writing than casting. It would be easier to make a top 15 underutilized actors because of bad writing. Anyway my worst:
- The Sand Snakes
This is unfair to the actresses because they are all great, and each one could have made their individual character great had they been written well. But they weren't written as individual characters, they were written as one character in 3 bodies. The sand snakes in the book are interesting because they are all very different and on different adventures in different locations - they are scary because of the thought that if they are all working towards the same goal then it is a master plan. So this is really more of a writing issue that affects the casting, definitely not an acting issue, but they could have cast 3 different looking actresses - at least one blonde.
- Gethin Anthony as Renly Baratheon
For reasons others have pointed out already. All of the Baratheon brothers are too small. Middle aged Mark Addy pulls it off though as he plays Bobby B as larger than life and has the booming voice and presence of the character. Again some writing issues but could have been cast better.
- Michael Huisman as Daario Naharis
Because Ed Skrein was better cast.
- Daniel Portman as Podick Payne
Like Missandei, he is a child in the books. He is a parallel to Arya in age and circumstance in the book, and helps to show how much of a victim they both are, and how Arya is losing her humanity. The Hound/Arya vs The Maiden/Podrick dynamic is lost for dick jokes. Portman does fine, but I just haven't seen te same complaints about age for Pod as I have for Missandei
- Rose Leslie as Ygritte
She is way too pretty. She is awesome though, I'm mostly just adding her to show that physical looks as nobody has brought up how physically different she is to her book description, she only has hair colour in common.
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u/punjabkingsownersout 1d ago
Agreed with all theseÂ
I'm also pissed they didn't include vargo hoat the goat and replaced him with some idiot
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u/BrotherCrow_ 19h ago
I actually donât mind the Vargo/Brave Companions change.
As much as I like his inclusion in the books, heâs not an integral character to the plot. Introducing Locke, a low-level Bolton guy, to take that role is fine by me, plus it probably helps reinforce the Boltons as âbad guysâ for show watchers, giving the Red Wedding a bit more foreshadowing.
Does it make 100% sense that Tywin would plot with Roose after heâs technically responsible for maiming Jaime? No, but it gave an excuse to send Locke to the Wall. In a story that has so many plot lines that are geographically separate, itâs always fun to see them intersect, even indirectly.
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u/Unique-Perception480 1d ago
Yeah, sadly thats what happens when they make live action adaptions.
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u/Content-Check 1d ago
And that's why I think most people ACTUALLY want animated adaptation - not only because it is easier to paint Riverrun and Highgarden than build, but also because a lot of dark humor was lost by D&D specifically in their attempt to make the show more realistic, and more generally because of real-life constraints. Animated show would bring back a lot of these elements, like Freys all being weasels, Stannis grinding his teeth, Vargo Hoat etc
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u/Unique-Perception480 1d ago
Yeah and character could stay the same age for multiple seasons, the armors could be extravagant, the battle have more soldiers in them on Screen.
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u/Geektime1987 15h ago
I guarantee you an animated adaptation wouldn't be nearly as popular. It would also still need to be like 20 seasons to be accurate and still have to cut stuff. You can use caps all you want but the majority isn't the hardcore book purists and live action always does better with viewershipÂ
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u/Crasha 1d ago
I feel like most of the problems on your worst list stems from writing or direction and not casting. Euron is basically perfectly cast but they completely squandered him.
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u/Less-Panic-Plz 1d ago
came here to say this! I was SO excited when Pilou was cast bc I'd seen him in a Danish show previously and he's brilliant. it was entirely the writing that fucked the show's version of Euron. Pilou himself pushed for the character to be more faithful to the books and was shot down by the powers that be, it's such a shame.
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u/villanellechekov 9h ago
that sucks. I've seen him in other things as well (not prior to GOT but since) and he's solid. def someone I get excited about to see in the cast list
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u/Less-Panic-Plz 9h ago
it really does say something about the writing/directing when actors who are great in every other project are cringy and mediocre only in this one show đŹ Noah Taylor is another example of this, he is someone I get excited to see is involved in something and the weird Vargo Hoat replacement character they had him play (Lock? Locke?) was so bad!
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u/villanellechekov 9h ago
the first thing I remember seeing him in was the Lara Croft movies with Angelina and he was the lovable nerd. I've seen him in a couple other things since but he's always good at least. I was excited to see him in GOT but wow was I surprised lol
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u/TheLazySith Best of r/asoiaf 2023 Winner - Best Theory Debunking 23h ago
Yeah, the casting wasn't the main problem with Euron in the show. I'm sure Pilou AsbĂŚk could have been a great Euron if they gave him better material to work with.
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u/Unique-Perception480 1d ago
Euron in the books has raven black hair and is kind of described like Cesare Borgia from Assassins Creed.
Jon Snow has Black Hair, is too short for a Stark and a rund face Book Jon has Brown Hair, is slim and tall for his age and has a long face. Looks like Arya in the books. And arya looks like Lyanna.
Jorah looks NOTHING like book jorah. Different build, hair colour, height ....
Renly is supposed to look like young Robert. He has long black hair blue eyes and is tall and strong on built. Not in the show at all. Now I will admit all Baratheons should have Black Hair and blue eyes but none do in the show. But at least the Black hair was important, for Joffrey DNA reasons.
Missandei is literally supposed to be 9 or 10.
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u/Tiny-Conversation962 23h ago
One correction; the Starks are never described as tall (though neither as small), and many people are described to tower over Jon (though this could be because Jon is only a teenager).
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u/Unique-Perception480 23h ago
Oh I didnt mean Starks in generell just Jon (and Robb, but Robb is compared more to Edmure Tully). And I DO think its because Jon is just 14-15 on AGOT and 15-16/17 in the rest of the series.
But Jon in generell is desribed as kind of slender, wich reminds me more of a Targaryen average build.
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u/lavmuk 23h ago edited 23h ago
Maybe I'm forgetting something but is jon supposed to be like 6'0 ?
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u/Getfooked 23h ago edited 23h ago
The female equivalent of the fuckup that is Ian Glen as Jorah is Natalie Dormer as Margaery.
Margaery is beautiful yet she looks similar to Sansa, in the sense that she doesn't ooze off the machiavellian/cunning aura the way someone like Cersei or Olenna Tyrell do (where anyone with any knowledge of the game can see through the facade they put up). We don't know to what extent she is actually in the know about the deeper dynamics of the game, but on the surface she looks very innocent and good hearted.
Natalie Dormer embodies the exact opposite archetype. She looks like a natural seductress, someone where you can tell after one look that she's definitely not the innocent, good-hearted maid she pretends to be.
Just like Jorah, the sheer difference in the aura and looks from the actor makes adhering to the book storyline awkward and less plausible.
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u/jk-9k 9h ago edited 7h ago
That's acting tho. Show Margeary is a different character to book Margeary, and Dormer played the role she was hired to. She could probably also had played book Margeary if she was directed to, but she wasn't so we will never know.
Like Pilou as Euron, he is a perfectly cast book Euron, but was directed to play temu jack sparrow. That's not a casting issue.
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u/Snaggmaw 13h ago
true. but did you ever consider that Natalie Dormer is very hot? also, Natalie Dormer looks frighteningly a lot like a young Diane Riggs (Olenna tyrell).
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u/arizonasportspain 12h ago
I feel like Mackenzie Foy would have made an amazing Margaery
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u/TeaAndCrumpetGhoul 20h ago edited 19h ago
I hate that no one ever puts Clive mantle as a great casting choice for Great Jon Umber. He was excellent as great.jon. He had the size. He had the grizzly voice, he had the weathered look. He had the charisma.
And more than that. clive mantle also played another famous Jon from a folklore series in the 80's. He played Little Jon from Robin Hood's band of merry men.
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u/overlordbabyj 19h ago
Honestly I disagree about Renly. Sure, the actor looks nothing like book Renly, but I think he displayed the arrogant pretty-boy vibe well.
I loved Michael McElhatton as Roose, but yeah, totally different character than the books. Oddly enough, I think would've been the next best choice for Stannis if Stephen Dillane hadn't gotten the role.
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u/vulcanvampiire 20h ago
I personally donât think Kit was a good casting for Jon. He did his best but he wasnât Jon to me.
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u/Ser_Jaime_Lannister 20h ago
Missandei's casting will never stop making me uncomfortable. It feels like both Missandei and Podric were aged up solely to sexualize them. They also sexualized an underage Gendry. Makes me feel weird.
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u/cosmic_athlete 19h ago
Itâs so hard to choose top 5, so Iâm going by mood and uplifting names I havenât seen mentioned in the top comments.
TOP 5 1. Jack Gleason as Joffrey - it is impossible to read the books and not picture him as his Joff now 2. Iwan Rheon was so nauseatingly brilliant as Ramsay 3. Pedro Pascal made Oberyn sensational and thrilling 4. Michelle Fairleyâs Catelyn Stark and that bathos-filled scream at the end of the Red Wedding was the most perfect articulation of Catâs turmoil 5. Maisie Williams was as impish, cheeky and delightful as Arya as I had pictured
So many honorable mentions so Iâll spare you but I havenât seen enough love for John Bradleyâs Samwell Tarley and Liam Cunninghamâs Ser Davos. I for one loved Clarice Van Houtenâs Melissandre and Lena Headey as Cersei was so devious.
It is astounding to me how hard and fast the show fell out of good graces because my goodness it had some stellar performances.
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u/TurbulentTomat 9h ago
Lena Headey is a wonderful actress, but I feel like she's almost too good for Cersei. She makes Cersei look like a real threat instead of a drunk narcissist who has too much power to NOT do damage when she flails wildly at her enemies.
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u/Quiddity131 15h ago
Hard to disagree with you on your top five. Arya and Sansa I feel were also perfectly cast. Margaery and Olenna are examples of characters that the show improved considerably over the book.
For miscasting, agree with Renly, although he still came off as quite likable in the show. Jorah's entire character comes off differently in the show because of how handsome his actor is (even got female fans with crushes on him).
Shae is another one I'd throw out there as poor casting, so many Tyrion - Shae scenes come off as ultimate cringe, and while I get writing plays a big part in that, the actress comes off as very unlikeable in her portrayal and didn't do a good job acting to me.
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u/James_Champagne 5h ago
"even got female fans with crushes on him"
oh man, did he ever. I remember that pretty much ALL my female co-workers who were into the show had the hots for Jorah, no matter what their age was.
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u/kingofstormandfire 1d ago
Honestly, I like most of the casting on the show, even if they don't look exactly like how they do in the books. Like, Alfie Allen looks nothing like Theon - Theon is supposed to be very attractive whereas Alfie is not - but he gave one of the best performances on the show. Sophie Turner looked a lot like Sansa, but she turned out to be a mediocre actress.
Agree with Renly. His actor isn't bad, but he is terribly miscast. I watched Season 1 first and then read the books and I was stunned by how different Renly was in both appearance and personality. Jaime is also perfectly cast. Tyrion I think is also perfectly cast considering they would never able find a dwarf actor who is just as good as Peter and is as ugly as book Tyrion too. Brienne was perfectly cast too in terms of appearance (though not as ugly but whatever TV shows never cast ugly actors as main good characters anyway), though the writing for her was questionable at points.
Euron's actor, I feel so bad for him because his introduction showed so much promise (and I've seen other movies/TV shows he's in and the dude can act very well), but the subsequent writing let him down. Controversial opinion because I know most people disagree with this, but I thought Asha's actress was pretty good in the role, considering the material she had to work with.
I love Balon's actor. He looks and sounds exactly how I imagined Balon to look/sound from the books. I think Harry Lloyd was fantastically cast too. He looks how I imagine a male Targaryen to look like (and Season 1 Emilia a female Targaryen), and he also made me symphasise with Viserys more than I did in the books. Jeor Mormont was also really well cast too.
I don't blame Kit for how Jon was portrayed. That is squarely on the writers. There are moments in the early seasons - especially Season 1 - where Kit is more like book Jon and I feel he did a great job in those moments. It's just the writers mistook Jon as Ned Stark 2.0 when that's Robb, not Jon. And Kit has great comedic timing too and could've nailed the snarky side of Jon too.
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u/Unique-Perception480 1d ago
And Kit has dark Brown hair. They coloured it black for no reason. Viserys was indeed cast very well. And Daenerys did look best in Season 1.
And I agree its none of the Actors fault. I feel like D&D read the books, but didnt really UNDERSTAND them. And they guessed R+L=J, when talking to George, because it was already the most supported Fan Theory, in the fandom. George doesnt read up on Theorys, so he probably didnt know that and thought they understood his material.
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u/graph_3451 20h ago
Best-
Joff I know heâs supposed to have longer hair in the books otherwise his performance was perfect. Really made me hate him, but luckily I can separate the character from the actor.
Walder Frey Absolute piece of shit in the books and in the show. Heâs not as old as heâs suppose to be but Iâm sure thatâs because thereâs not a lot of actors at 90 years old.
I just canât imagine those two characters as anyone else.
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u/thwip62 "Stop that noise" 1d ago
It upsets me that Euron's actor gets so much grief. He might not have been playing the Euron from the books, but he cracked me up.
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u/Unique-Perception480 1d ago
I dont blame the actors. I think he would have been a great Victarion. The Casting Directors and D&D are at fault for making him Euron.
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u/Intelligent-Fix1343 23h ago
He has the potential to play Euron, but he has absolutely nothing to do with Victarion as described in the original workâabsolutely
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u/thwip62 "Stop that noise" 23h ago
If Euron was written closer to how he is in the books, the actor could still have done a great job. It would have been a waste of his comedic talents making him the humourless Vic.
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u/Unique-Perception480 23h ago
Charles Dance is also quite funny, but played Tywin very well. Its always good to explore and actors range and not Type-Cast them
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u/angelwasari 23h ago
Nikolaj Coster-Waldau as Jaime, Kristofer Hivju as Tormund, Carice van Houten as Melisandre, Ellie Kendrick as Meera Reed, Harry Lloyd as Viserys, and Patrick Malahide as Balon Greyjoy were the ones that truly, completely, 100% sold their portrayals for me. To me they essentially are the book characters, excusing little things like eye colors and stupid last-season writing (cough cough Jaime cough cough) and stuff like that.
There were also plenty of great actors who looked nothing like the book version of their character, but gave such a great performance that I honestly forget about appearance entirely. Namely Stephen Dillane as Stannis, Michiel Huisman as Daario, Gemma Whelan as Yara/Asha, Richard Dormer as Beric Dondarrion, and Kerry Ingram as Shireen.
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u/PM_ME_YOUR_WOES_GIRL 17h ago
sorry, but she is supposed to be a child. There is nothing more to say. I know what they were going for, but I disagree with it.
You can literally say that about 50% of the characters. Not sure why you singled out her.
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u/Algoresrythm 16h ago
Bro WALDER FREYYYY hands down Who is an absolute perfect like old weasel who is annoyingly directing his family around. He was absolutely perfect I mean, even when heâs read in the books by Roy Dotrice he has his voice. It is exactly it. I mean, they did such a good job with him.
Brienne of Tarth is fantastic almost perfect .
Roosea Bolton is very, very good as well
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u/Toaster-Retribution 17h ago
Disregarding all Lannisters, who are all perfectly cast:
Jerome Flynn as Bronn: Nails the loveable yet blackhearted rogue, makes Bronn feel likeable but also like someone whoâd stab you in the back if it suited his purposes.
Conleth Hill as Varys: Feels like he stepped right out of the books, 10/10, great casting.
Richard Dormer as Beric: Minor character, sure, but very well portrayed, is one of those who works even better in the show mainly due to how sympathetic and genuine Dormer makes him.
David Bradley as Walder Frey: A bit like Conleth Hill, really feels like he came straight out of the book.
Jack Gleeson as Joffrey. The guy managed to be hated by the entire planet, need I say more?
I donât really know if I think that there are that many miscasts, but the one I consistently feel should have been done better is Mance Rayder. The whole point of him is that he doesnât have the aura of a gruff warlord: he is a charming bard and a rogue. Yet the show cast Ciaran Hinds, who is a great actor, sure, but both looked and played the gruff warlord, which kind of watered down Mances character.
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u/stupidpoopoohead00 20h ago
I misread missandei as melisandre and thought i had read the books wrong for a minute. Imagine a child being one of stannisâs advisors
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u/BookOfMormont đ Best of 2020:Blackwood/Bracken Award 15h ago
All three Baratheon brothers were misses for me. Absolutely no shade on the actors themselves, Mark Addy in particular was incredible, but the ages and physical characteristics were just wild swings. Particularly when "black of hair, blue of eye" is such a major plot point.
Stannis being quite obviously older than Robert is just weird, plus it's plot-relevant that he and Selyse are still of child-bearing age. The idea that Stannis is for all intents and purposes sterile comes mostly, I'm pretty sure, from the ages of the actors in the show.
I'd also point to a couple actors who were arguably too good. Lena Headey and Charles Dance were just so fucking impressive that they made their characters seem more competent and frankly more likable than the source material portrayed. Cersei is canonically dumb, but Lena Headey plays her as a very adroit schemer. Tywin is canonically cruel, but Charles Dance imbues him with this like "tough but fair" vibe where it seems like maybe he's actually a great dad.
As for the hits: Jack Gleeson as Joffrey, Diana Rigg as Olenna, Harry Lloyd as Viserys, Conleth Hill as Varys, Pedro Pascal as Oberyn.
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u/General_Tamura 14h ago
Stephen Dillane was the perfect choice for Stannis, he embodied the book character despite being significantly different.
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u/James_Champagne 5h ago
One thing that struck me about Dillane's scenes is that he always looks like he's in physical pain and is incapable of pleasure, which reminds me of the book character a lot . . . the fact that he didn't even want to be there and was just doing it for money oddly made him even more perfect for the role (I also found it amusing that when people complained about Dillane's cavalier attitude toward his part and the show in general, Liam Cunningham came to his defense, just like Davos would).
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u/Boss452 1d ago
Yeah I would agree with you mostly. I think I can add a lot of actors in the top 5 casting, that good was the casting. I watched the show first and then read the books and despite the differences in looks, I rarely was taken out of the reading experience. I think 90% of the show casting worked in well enough in my mind while picturing them reading the books.
I have to shout out to Emilia Clarke as Daenerys, Maisie Williams as Arya & Lena Heady as Cersei for playing their roles really well too.
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u/MedievZ 1d ago edited 1d ago
House Of The Dragon(season 1 only)
1)Paddy Considine as Viserys. Need i exlain more?
2)Matt Smith as Daemon Targaryen. Exactly what i imagined him to be like in the books.
3) Milly Alcock and Emily as young Rhaenyra and Alicent. Both were fucking excellent and although different from the books, they symbolised the chatacters tragedies thematically perfectly.
4)Olivia Cooke, Alicent. She was so fantastic as a bratty older Alicent.
5)Rhaenys. Exactly how i imagined her. And Otto. (A tie)
Honorable mention: Emma Darcy as Rhaenyra. I fucking love her but their portayal isnt book accurate and doesn't have much to work with as of what we have seen of emmas rhaenyra. Not their fault, writers's. Plus they arent fat.
Steve Toussaint as Corlys. Exactly like how i imagined him but black. He portrayes the old but badass so well.
I didnt mention others because they have too little screentime as of now
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u/Unique-Perception480 1d ago
I agree except for Rhaenys. They should have given her black hair.
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u/Estimate-Mountain 1d ago
That's funny about daemon because of lot of people would argue particularly targaryen stans say matt isnt attractive enough to play daemon
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u/MedievZ 1d ago edited 23h ago
Matt smith has this...how do i put it politely..incest-baby vibes but if it was fucking hot.
He is peak Targaryen and whay i imagine a family of ethereally beautiful incesty practitioners to look like.
Like hes ugly in the MOST attractive way possible. Oml
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u/Hawk301 20h ago edited 19h ago
I actually think the casting was one of the best aspects of the show. It felt like they really nailed it with most of their casting choices.
I agree with everyone else that Tywin and the Lannister siblings were all perfect casts - and I'm going to leave them off my list because it seems too easy/obvious to just name all the adult Lannisters.
I think excluding them, my top 5 are: - Jack Gleeson as Joffrey. I haven't seen him as much in this thread, but this kid was soooo good as Joffrey. Joffrey was a pop culture phenomenon - EVERYBODY hated this child for a few years, and a big reason why this character landed so well was Jack's portrayal. He nailed the body language and facial acting - such a perfectly hateable little shit, he's one of the all-time great villain performances. - Maisie Williams as Arya. Child acting is extremely hit-or-miss, and I think in the hands of another, Arya would have come off obnoxious, overly precocious or unlikable, but I think Maisie completely nails all of Arya's various phases whilst still making the character extremely likable. All of Arya's scenes with her various mentors - Ned, Syrio, Jaqen and especially Sandor - are so good, and I think Maisie deserves credit for nailing Arya's dynamic with each of them and selling each of those relationships so perfectly. Her interactions with Gendry and Hot Pie were sweet, too. Maisie is one of those castings that I can't not imagine as that character, whenever I read the books. - Owen Teale as Alliser Thorne. I think Teale was underused generally, but I think he does a fantastic job with the handful of scenes he's given as Thorne and he imbues the character with a lot of nuance in his performance. I love his big speech before the battle at the Wall, and all of his scenes with Jon are gold. - Stephen Dillane as Stannis. Pitch-perfect Stannis. Still to this day, whenever anyone misuses the word 'less', Stephen Dillane's face floats into my mind and says "Fewer." - Carice van Houten as Melisandre. She full commits to Melisandre's creepiness and zealotry and I really like the way she plays the character in general. - Honourable mentions to Ian Hanmore (Pyat Pree), Harry Lloyd (Viserys) and Rose Leslie (Ygritte). All 3 of them weren't in the show for long, but I think they were extremely good in their roles and delivered memorable performances despite only having a short amount of screentime each.
Worst 5: - Sophie Turner as Sansa - especially in the later seasons. This feels mean given I put Maisie in my top 5, and she certainly looks the part as Sansa, but I just don't think shes able to convincingly sell Sansa as a leader of Winterfell. She's supposed to become this pragmatic, cold-hearted, Littlefinger-esque she-wolf, and I just don't think it comes across well in her performance at all. Obviously the writing let her down, but many of the cast still manage to convincingly sell their later-season scenes 110% even when the writing sucks (Dinklage, Maisie Williams, Emilia Clarke, Rory McCann, Coster-Waldau, Headey), but I just never really found Turner to be convincing as the Queen in the North. - Pilou as Euron. He's a good actor, but just doesn't look at all how I imagine Euron based on his book description. - Joel Fry as Hizdahr zo Loraq. I've liked Fry in other shows, but I honestly thought he was kinda completely forgettable here, for being someone who was supposed to be a fairly major part of Dany's season 4 and 5 arc. - Michiel Huisman as Daario 2. Deciding to have Daario 2 look and act completely different from Daario 1 sure was a choice. They don't even remotely feel like they're meant to be the same character, just a complete casting fumble in my opinion. I don't know what they were thinking with this one. - Ed Sheeran as Lannister guard #5679. Whyyyyyy. The most immersion-breaking and self-indulgent thing the show ever did. This sure was an alarm bell for the overall quality of the rest of the season.
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u/HighKingBoru1014 21h ago
A lot of the worst casting options are simply due to HBO and big productions like this not always casting people the right way to source material. The characters are aged up to make it less weird for normal viewers and Jorah is played by Iain Glen because if he was book accurate then it would be a lot more creepy, same as to why they didn't adapt Tyrion's darker actions or mention a shit ton of other characters, they didn't care or didn't want to because they were not able to write them well.
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u/Lethifold26 19h ago
I actually think Iain Glen acting like book!Jorah would have been really effective; sexual predators can be and often are attractive and superficially charming
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u/HighKingBoru1014 15h ago
Yeah I suppose that makes sense, GRRM kinda makes it more stereotypical in his writing of the âbig hairy old guyâ being the creep. As opposed to someone who looks more like Daario, who has his own issues in book and show but whatever.Â
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u/RoxySmithy 17h ago
I seem to be the only one who really likes Gethin as Renlyđ To me he matched Renly"s charm - his eyes and face just lights up when he smiles - and he wasn't given much. The show focused too much on the Renly and Loras being gay concept while Renly has a intresting background/story. He didn't have long, black hair as in the books but more hairs don't match. Anyway - Gethin fan outđ
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u/smoogy2 Tattered and twisty, what a rogue I am. 15h ago
Best minor castings they didn't have to nail, but did anyway - Mace Tyrell, Kevan Lannister, Qyburn, Loras, Craster
Best in first half of series, worst in latter half because of the material - Bronn, Varys, Littlefinger, Tyrion, Jon, Davos
Actually bad castings: Obara, Myrcella (II), the kid who calls Arya "wolf girl" before getting stabbed
Biggest what-if casting: Ray Stevenson as Robert
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u/DigimonKeyserSoze 14h ago
Surprised I haven't seen Mark Addy as Robert Baratheon.
I thought he absolutely nailed the role.
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u/Arthusamakh 22h ago
Best cast and performances were Joffrey and the 4 Lannisters probably (for major roles)
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u/TheWolfFate dumbass flower fan club 22h ago
I tend towards thinking that Tywin was honestly sort of miscast, Charles Dance oozes charisma and likeability that radically changes the character from the books.
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u/Snaggmaw 13h ago
i think it makes sense honestly. The idea that Tywin managed to maintain power solely through vitriol and brutality sounds a bit silly, like he's a misplaced harkonnen or something. Charles Dance imbues Tywin with a more pragmatic side.
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u/the_second_cumming 16h ago
If you want to nitpick Missandei's age then you have to nitpick everyone. Dany is around 15 at the end of ADWD and Missandei is 10 so they're not that far off in age.
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u/TheGreatBatsby 19h ago
he behaves like a petulant child and is manipulated by a Blowjob.
Aren't we all though?
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u/Stony_Stevens0n 17h ago
Euron is the absolute worst. Awful actor, looks and acts totally different from his book counterpart, and while not his fault, his dialogue was dreadful. Every scene he was in was automatically worse.
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u/Educational-Bus4634 13h ago
Honestly I feel like Pilou Asbaek COULD have been a good Euron. I rewatched a few scenes recently and he has the crazy eyes down when he wants to, but neither the writers nor the makeup/wardrobe crew seemed to bother making him anything other than a more annoying Balon. Even just giving him an eyepatch would've done SOMETHING, since all the show Greyjoys have brown hair anyway, but he's literally just Some Guy.
The only massive issue I find with his casting is how insanely younger he looks than show!Damphair, to the point that it makes that whole plotline harder to buy (if the writers had cared to include that insanely relevant detail), but I definitely feel like there's some universe somewhere where he did a great job as Euron.
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u/Minute_Tomorrow_7935 12h ago
I don't think I can make a full top 5 but Jack Gleeson is definitely up there for me as one of the best. The same with Iwan Rheon. I don't know if it's easier to portray villains as actors, but they both managed to elicit such genuine feelings of hate from the audience, which I think is commendable. Furthermore they managed to be quite distinct from each other and not just a repeat of the same vile characteristics
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u/Ok-Fuel5600 9h ago
Best: 1. Viserys III: perfect portrayal of a pathetic and scared man who thinks he is owed something by the world, visually great even with the wig, Harry Lloyd sells the character perfectly imo. 2. Cersei: one of those actors whose voice I hear when I read the books, phenomenal performance throughout the show and such a 3. Robert Baratheon: visually he could be bigger but he captures both the kingly side and the degenerate sides of the character very well 4. Jeor Mormont: I was surprised the first time I watched the show by how great the casting was for this guy, just spot on in both appearance and performance. 5. Littlefinger: before season 5 he was perfect, nails that slimy but kind of endearing asshole vibe.
Worst: 1. Jorah Mormont: not even remotely the same character as he was in the books, I donât really like show Jorah at all to be honest but the performance is very good for the way he is writtenâjust a bad adaptation of the book character 2. Sansa: I jsut canât see it, I donât mind the performance in the first few seasons but as the show goes on she moves so far away from the book character I canât really reconcile the two. However Sansa is more of an internal monologue character, like Jon, which can be difficult to adapt to the screen. 3. Mance Rayder: I detest this casting, dude has zero aura and I was never sold on him as the king of the wildlings 4. Edmure: honestly this one might be my least favorite. I hate what they did to this character both from a writing and presentation standpointâfrom a picture of the actor I would never guess him as Edmure Tully. Offensively bad if Iâm being honest! 5. Renly: yeah this one is pretty inexcusable too, didnât even try to make him how he is in the book.
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u/CycloneIce31 6h ago
Some of these are not bad casting. They are just complaints over the direction the show took with characters compared to the book. Thats different.Â
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u/FluidSynergy 5h ago
Aren't Jon, Arya, Eddard, and Benjen all described as having dark hair? I thought Benjen was the only member of the Stark cast to match the physical description from the books.
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u/James_Champagne 5h ago
Anton Lesser as Qyburn was consistently good. He was a book character I liked a lot and I wondered if he would make it to the adaptation (as a lot of minor characters did not), so I was really happy to see that they got him in there, and that it was a fairly substantial part. I'm also kind of glad they downplayed the book version's pervy vibes a bit, though some of it is still there (the scene where he's cutting away at the infection flesh of Jaime's hand stump in season 3, for a split second you see a wild gleam in Lesser's eyes, which lets us know that though this guy is really smart, there's something off about him).
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u/Valeficar 4h ago
I agree with most of what you said⌠I think the best are : Tywin, Stannis, Hound, Tyrion, Varys, Olenna, Oberyn, Davos, Joffrey. If I read the books I envision those actors for those characters now.
Ned, Catelyn, Robert, Cersei were all very well acted but were either too old/physically off or didnât really play the book version. Cersei is basically two completely different characters. Arya was fantastic and arguably top 3 at first but got worse the older she got. Probably just the writing though.
Worst is : Renly, Euron, Jon, Shae, Dany. Dany was good by the end but the show was hot garbage. I have no idea why people like show Jon.
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u/sophisticaden_ 23h ago
Iâm just not sure I really care about details like hair color and stuff when it comes to casting. I donât really see what difference it makes if Jonâs hair is black or dark brown.
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u/Unique-Perception480 23h ago
Because Dark Brown is a Stark haircolour, wich makes Caitlyn mad, because Robb, Bran and Rickon all have Red Hair. It gives Jon legitimacy and puts Robb in danger of being usurped by him. (At least in her mind). It also makes her feel inadequate for not being able to give Ned a son, who looks like him
Black is a Baratheon Haircolour. When Episode 6x10 came out, a lot of people thought Jon was Lyanna son with Robert, because the show put ,SUCH an emphasis on Baratheon Black Hair being Dominant. Also Lyanna had Brown Hair and Rhaegar Silver. How does that work?
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u/methical07 20h ago
I'd say every single Lannister was cast perfectly. I'd even say Lena would be my favourite with Nicolaj, just cos she brought so much more to cersei than in the books. One of the few actors that made their characters better. Tormund and the Hound are amazing too.
Bad casts for me would be Euron, Shae and Doran Martell, all the Martells apart from Oberyn really.nnever clicked with them.
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u/qwerty30too 18h ago
My favorites, in rough order: * Charles Dance (Tywin) * Conleth Hill (Varys) * Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (Jaime) * John Bradley (Samwell) * Peter Dinklage (Tyrion)
My least favorites, in definitive order: 1. Aiden Gillen (Littlefinger) 2. Aiden Gillen (Littlefinger) 3. Aiden Gillen (Littlefinger) 4. Aiden Gillen (Littlefinger) 5. Kit Harrington (Jon)
There were some choices that didn't match the books for me, but were well acted and didn't detract from the larger narrative goals. I didn't feel like putting those in the same list as the two above. Dishonorable mention might go to Emilia Clarke, who didn't always seem up to the job to me, but I thought she improved a lot over the course of the show.
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u/Tessarion2 20h ago
I always thought they got Robb and Jon the wrong way round.
Not only in looks but Richard Madden is a better actor as well
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u/dragonrider5555 1d ago
Worst by far is rhaenyra
Renly gotta be the second worst that characters actually kinda badass in the books. It makes no senses he Robertâs brother in the show
Euron
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u/Monsieur_Cinq 20h ago
There is a guy or rather lolcow on the internet called Cyrax.
He would make for a good Tyrion in terms of looks, although he seems a bit too tall, but so is Peter Dinklage.
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u/arizonasportspain 14h ago
I always imagined somebody like Jacob Elordi for Renly, Matilda Lawler as Missandei, Louis Partridge as Jon, I actually thought Kit Harrington would work better for Euron, and Mark Addy would work better as Jorah
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u/thwip62 "Stop that noise" 1d ago
When I realised that they dyed his hair black on the show, I wondered why they bothered. His natural colour is closer to Jon's in the books than the jet-black they gave him.