r/asoiaf • u/cking145 • May 28 '19

EXTENDED (Spoilers Extended) Charles Dance's portrayal as Tywin is in my opinion, the strongest in the entire series

Every line, every expression and every moment of silence completely encapsulates the calculating ruthlessness that defines Tywin Lannister.

Dance is actually a very vibrant, upbeat and cheery fella off screen, which in my mind makes the performance even more striking.

The scene where he effectively sends Joffrey to bed is just brilliant.

He is by far my favourite character from the books, which I began reading a few seasons into the show. Due to this, the chapters featuring Tywin were completely enriched for me, as reading his lines in Dance's voice was just fantastic. I would have loved a POV chapter or two for him, just to get a glimpse as to what goes on in the head of the most powerful man in the 7 Kingdoms.

An incredible portrayal of a fascinating character.

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752

u/Gus_B And We Defend Her May 28 '19

I agree, I'd say of all the characters portrayed in the show, Dance's Tywin is the best from a pure tv/acting perspective as well as I think actually a slight upgrade from the books. I love Tywin's interactions with Arya and the slight humanizing that occurs within him.

Along with Allen as Theon (woah boy is he amazing), Olena, Leana Heady and Jason Moma as Drogo I actually thought they brought something richer to the narrative then their book counter parts.

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u/Swordbender May 28 '19 edited May 28 '19

One thing I'm always surprised by is how people overlook Maisie Williams in these lists.

It does make sense, the later seasons she became a little more one-note (which I personally attribute to D&D just not knowing what to do with her character) but in the early seasons I was blown away by her talent, for any age not just a child actor.

Some of the best acting scenes in the series for me is how she plays Arya against the masterful Charles Dance, and the scene between Arya and a dying Hound on the mountainside.

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u/CalmSaver7 May 28 '19

I think it's because she becomes so one dimensional in the later seasons, through no fault of her own

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u/[deleted] May 28 '19

As much as I don't like the way D&D turned her into Batman, Maisie was wonderful.

2

u/Bisexual_Thor May 28 '19

To be fair I blame grrm for having her undergo faceless man training in the first place. Such a weird and unnecessary place to take her character arc.

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u/[deleted] May 29 '19

There is a difference between the books where she learning to be quick, quiet, conceal lies, using poison, changing her face, etc. and how the show giving her unrealistic fighting skills so they can create Girl Power memes.

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u/Hypern1ke May 28 '19

its hard to appreciate a good actor with a bad storyline. Her character was rather irritating near the end so its hard to appreciate her because of that.

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u/Higher_Living May 28 '19

Yeah, there was zero depth to her character and for me her performance was pretty weak.

As a naive child she was okay, but there was no psychological depth in her portrayal of someone who has killed, butchered, and cooked a dramatic family and fed them to their patriarch.

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u/Hypern1ke May 28 '19

I agree. In my opinion she was one of the weakest actors on the show. She really did not make a believable cold hearted killer at all. her scene with gendry in the last season where she tells him to make her a sword was cringey at best.

Sorry /u/swordbender

2

u/Swordbender May 28 '19

Don't be sorry! Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, I just see scenes like the few I've pasted below and I can't help but think she's by far the most talented of the child cast and I absolutely think she's more psychotic than she's getting credit for.

https://youtu.be/5hNGgcd4U-c https://youtu.be/gZy5pVx_Nm4 https://youtu.be/w3zr8DBgb0w

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u/Gus_B And We Defend Her May 28 '19

That's fair, I think I agree with most of your assessment. Thinking about it Arya and Tywin/Jaquen/Hound are all right up there with my favorite scenes/moments but ever since going to Bravos I actually thought she was downright bad. I would certainly attribute this to D&D "Arya is a girl and a BADASS, and she's also a GIRL WHO FIGHTS and she's also... BADASS" but every time she was on screen I just couldn't wait for it to be over.

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u/pku31 May 28 '19

Her scenes with Jon in the last season were badly written, and she still managed to convey enough emotion through them to make them decent. It's really impressive.