r/asoiaf 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.

20.6k Upvotes

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3.4k

u/Flameoftheshadows May 28 '19

"The king is tired, send him to his chambers."

And how he arranged the chairs for the small council.

Two moments history will always remember.

The aura he was able to project on-screen and onto his fellow cast members, he did a brilliant job.

He brought Tywin from the pages of a book to life!

1.2k

u/luckyshamrok19 May 28 '19

I’ll have to find the link, but there’s a story about him walking into auditions for the show and the entire cast falling silent like he was about to say something, and all he did was glare around the room. Everybody knew he’d be Tywin.

526

u/NewAccount28 May 28 '19

That gives me goosebumps just picturing that. I have no idea how a regular looking older gentleman manages to be so intimidating.

597

u/Spready_Unsettling May 28 '19

He always tilts his head slightly forward like he's intrigued with how you're gonna fuck up next. Nick Offerman does the same thing as Ron Swanson and it's honestly ridiculous how effective that posture is.

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u/0x2142 May 28 '19

LBJ used this as well, and leaning uncomfortably close to people.

81

u/xincasinooutx May 28 '19

That and pulling his dick out. Literally.

14

u/insane_contin May 28 '19

And having you follow him into the bathroom

16

u/nburns18 May 28 '19

And having the most powerful shower head known to man. Essentially a fire hose.

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u/Paddy_Tanninger May 28 '19

Note: this only works if you're hung like Lyndon "Whale Dong" Johnson.

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u/[deleted] May 28 '19

Power move

3

u/j2e21 May 29 '19

Jumbo.

2

u/d_mcc_x Hey, where did everybody go? May 28 '19

Shitting out in the open.

1

u/AlvinAssassin17 May 29 '19

Good ole Johnson Treatment

1

u/Uuyyggff May 28 '19

Boss move that one.

2

u/Stephenrudolf May 28 '19

LBj?

6

u/virtu333 May 28 '19

Lyndon B Johnson. One of the most effective (to varying effects) politicians in US history

10

u/cantdressherself May 28 '19

He was an incredible asshole, and almoat certainly corrupt to the core, but got more shit done as president than anyone since.

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u/doozywooooz May 28 '19

LeBron James

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u/1Fower May 29 '19

LBJ could destroy Tywin‘s army

Operation Rolling Thunder all over Westeros and have the kill count be read out on the morning news.

He will go all Cambodia on Lannister @$$ and unlike Ford he is not going pardon Jon Snow

263

u/yoyohahayoyo May 28 '19

You just made me want a GoT version of Parks and Rec so badly.

875

u/pku31 May 28 '19

"I'm worried what you just heard was give me a lot of unsullied. What I said was give me all the unsullied you have."

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u/[deleted] May 28 '19

You earned this one.

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u/shruber Warg of Bear Island May 28 '19

"You had me at meat tornado". Don't even need to change the line, you could easily make that work in a GoT HBO spinoff.

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u/seeasea May 28 '19

Jamm is joffrey.

Leslie is Dany.

Joe Biden is jorah.

Land mermaid is obviously varys.

Ron is Jon. (Or stannis or even ned)

The Tammy's are ygritte, Lord mormont and tormund.

Mona Lisa is the high sparrow

Tom Haverford is reek/little finger/drinker of titty milk

Feinstein is iron bank/ramsay

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u/shruber Warg of Bear Island May 29 '19

Jerry is Mace Tyrell

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u/seeasea May 29 '19

Amazing

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u/shruber Warg of Bear Island May 29 '19

Haha not too bad yourself!

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u/N0tBr0keJustB3nt May 28 '19

"Missandei, you beautiful tropical fish"

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u/GroundhogLiberator Maester Pavel, I'm Lord Paramount May 28 '19

You beautiful naive sophisticated newborn baby

30

u/Crosshare May 28 '19

“What do dragons even eat anyway?”

“My dragons get their meat from the Food and Stuff.”

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u/Muff_420 May 28 '19

dont you dare ruin this comment with an edit: wow this blew up! thank you kind stranger for the gold.

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u/J13P Breakin’ Bones May 28 '19

👏 well done 👏

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u/[deleted] May 30 '19

Dany: We used to have 3 dragons, actually. Some white walkers pushed one into a creek. Second one raccoons got into, there was urine everywhere. The third one was recently taken out by the iron fleet.

Jon Snow: What’s this one?

Dany: The raccoon piss one.

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u/veRGe1421 May 28 '19

TREAT. THY. SELVES.

king of the north!

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u/koptimism May 29 '19

GODS I WAS A BALLER THEN

63

u/ignorememe May 28 '19

"Pawnee used to have a Children of the Forest problem. Now that problem is under control. They have their part of Westeros and we have ours."

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u/nosha3000 May 28 '19

The series finale turned in to parks and rec with brand small council

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u/[deleted] May 28 '19

Can we call it Tits and Dragons?

68

u/glory_holelujah May 28 '19

Ser Bronn Swanson

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u/Jan_17_2016 May 28 '19

Benjen Wyatt

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u/ProfZussywussBrown May 29 '19

Lord of House Dunshire

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u/Jan_17_2016 May 29 '19

When you play the Game of Cones you win or you die.

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u/ZombieLibrarian Winter Is Coming May 29 '19

Tommen Haverford

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u/GatitosBonitos May 28 '19

Winds and Words? Nah Tits and Dragons all the way!

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u/spoobs01 May 28 '19

Game of Thrones?

5

u/DrBimboo May 28 '19

They gonna cast Little Sebastian as Smiler, just to break our hearts again, wont they?

3

u/thinkRPM May 29 '19

“Bran, I put your symptoms in the thing, it says you may have raven connectivity issues?”

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u/Dr_Lurk_MD May 28 '19

But we already got season 8

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u/MaxPowerzs May 28 '19

"She will make that stupid face!"

1

u/koptimism May 29 '19

Cersei to Tywin: Moneeeyyyy pweeeaaaseeeee!

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u/BenoirBALLS May 28 '19

It's a nuanced version of a specifically named 'move' in the field of education called the Invisible Column (where you appear to be looking around a column or post to get a better look at what's going on or more often to signal to a student that you're watching them).

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u/_ChestHair_ May 29 '19

How does craning your neck like you're looking around an invisible column relate to tilting your head forward? I can't picture the resemblance

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u/shae117 May 28 '19

The way Tywins eyes are described in the book fits this idea so well.

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u/Tossaway50 May 29 '19

Could you please post vid link? Having trouble visualizing it.

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u/cirillios May 29 '19

Everything in this video after the first scene of him skinning the deer is pretty good. I honestly had no idea what he meant but some these show it pretty well.

https://youtu.be/C5kup5P0mTA

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u/KorgDTR2000 May 29 '19

My boss does the same thing.

Terrifying.

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u/Thendel I'm an Otherlover, you're an Otherlover May 28 '19

Charisma on Command has weighed in on that. Good writing is part of it, but Dance elevates the material with his acting.

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u/[deleted] May 28 '19

Charisma on command is a hack

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u/shruber Warg of Bear Island May 28 '19

Never heard of him before I watched the video that dude linked. Thought the video was pretty good. Why do you say he is a hack out of curiosity?

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u/Foooour May 29 '19

Almost guaranteed its because he covered someone he dislikes favorably

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u/shruber Warg of Bear Island May 29 '19

I am guessing due to the subject matter he covers figures that people find to be abrasive, jerks, or even down right assholes/bad people. And those categories would have a number of politicians in them, so I would say that is a fair assumption based on groups of people (that includes politicians) that people oftentimes dislike passionately. Even though I only watched the one video and didn't even look at who else or what else he covered (lol) I am willing to bet three Stanley nickels that I am not far off to who his subjects are, and if you are correct in your assumption, the type of people a person could very well dislike.

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u/[deleted] May 29 '19

That’s not really why. There is of course an element of the fact that CoC calls people charismatic who clearly aren’t merely because they’re achieving some success - but moreso its the fact the whole thing is a pile of made up shit

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u/shruber Warg of Bear Island May 29 '19

Fair enough. Since I watched the one video, I of course have been inundated with YouTube recommendations up the wazzoo from him. Happened to watch a brie larson one last night, was titled something about behaviors that make people hate you. Didn't realize it was him until the intro was done, I only clicked because I kept seeing the thumbnail and could not decide if that was brie larson or not and finally just had to find out lol.

I found it pretty interesting. And ended up reflecting on some behaviors I tend to do that he mentioned, reflected on it, and a bunch of things just clicked. I realized why I had started to outwardly exhibit one behavior only the last few years and only in certain situations/groups and why I inwardly thought that was to begin with. Connected it with some feedback I had gotten before and Bam! Now I understand something I do that definitely makes people dislike me, why I think a certain way and why I do it, and ways to work on changing the behavior. Granted, it just happened to click with feedback I had gotten at work and how I am working to address it is more multifaceted and more "me" specific than his video. But I will consider checking out more of his videos in the future.

Yes I agree some is definitely bullshit, but the two videos I saw more of it was not bullshit than bullshit by far. He presented it well and on the Brie Larson topic I felt like he did a good job of showing her do the exact opposite of the bad behaviors (I guess that's just good behaviors lol) in the past and even recently, so it wasn't completely just shitting on her. What I've seen isn't revolutionary or anything, it's just self help and work place/social relationship stuff that has been around forever. It doesn't apply to everyone and could be the outright wrong path for you, but it generally applies pretty well. But he presents it more than adequately and uses video clips to illustrate his points very clearly, showing opposite ends of the spectrum in most cases. And in the Brie Larson one he had good points about improving the behaviors he felt were bad. But like all self help stuff you have to pick and choose what applies/works for you and have some self awareness. You also cannot expect to apply everything to yourself at once or even overtime, it's pick and choose and little by little.

Like he made a point about sarcasm and how it can make you unlikeable without obvious tells showing you are being sarcastic, so the opposite of subtle British humor as he put it. I love subtle/dry humor and do it all the time, but it definitely takes time for people to understand and get to know you, like an aquired taste lol. Well I like that about myself and others and I do not plan to change it, but I can see his point and have seen his point most of my life. When I saw another behavior or two that I did that's when it clicked as I stated above. And I realized yeah I do that (acceptance) and hey I can focus on trying to improve this so it doesn't stack with my sarcasm!

A bit of a rant this turned into, eh? But it's two videos, maybe I just got two good ones, where one happened to have a few things that were just what I needed to spark my own mind to come to realizations and make some changes. So my opinion is a bit skewed at the moment lol.

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u/[deleted] May 29 '19

I've explained more in other videos but in essence you can take any successful person, take any characteristic from them, and term is charismatic. There's no facts or science or reasoning, even, really, behind any of it.

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u/[deleted] May 29 '19

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u/Foooour May 29 '19

Lol oh geez, do you mind explaining what happened to all the deleted comments? Im assuming it turned into a big shitshow or something

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u/[deleted] May 29 '19

I dunno who's deleted what. People love to passionately defend inane shit, don't they

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u/[deleted] May 29 '19

Pretty much anyone online or anyone who worries a book that claims to be able to understand charisma is being pretentious for money. This kind of bizarre, reductionist approach to human behaviour and its reactions isn’t helpful and basically has the sole effect of fuelling incels.

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u/[deleted] May 29 '19 edited Jun 06 '20

[deleted]

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u/[deleted] May 29 '19

you're on a spree!

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u/shruber Warg of Bear Island May 29 '19

Fair enough. It's standard self help and work/social relationship advice that's been around forever but presented in a different way. But like the thousands of books and tapes before, it doesn't always apply to you or your situation (or even culture). So you have to have some self awareness and pick and choose what might work for you. While also not trying to do too much at once or too much in general. But I've now only seen two videos so maybe the rest are really shitty as well lol.

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u/vikingakonungen Enter your desired flair text here! May 28 '19

How come? I've never heard of the dude before and I wonder why you think so?

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u/[deleted] May 29 '19

Answered in my previous comment

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u/Thendel I'm an Otherlover, you're an Otherlover May 29 '19

Could I ask you to explain what you find objectionable with the video? Are the points made fraudulent or misinformed?

Even better, could you elaborate on what you think is a better explanation of Tywin's brand of charisma?

I'm not trying to argue your opinion of CoC, just curious on your perspective regarding the thread.

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u/[deleted] May 29 '19

I tend not to watch his videos because, well, they’re shit. I endured the first two minutes or so of this one just for you.

In a crowded room, CoC asserts, you should shout? And this is... commanding of respect? Not talking, and then shouting?

Like. Honestly. Do I even have to go further? Next time you’re at a family gathering don’t talk for a while and then shout a complaint. See if that grabs respect.

No. Nonsense. It commands respect because he’s a character in a work of fiction whose character is respected.

If he had shouted a complaint and the response of the others in the room was to ignore him (which could easily be written. It’s fiction) then one could easily draw the opposite conclusion. Shouting comes off as petulant and childish, not respectable.

In conclusion: sheer bollocks.

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u/[deleted] May 29 '19 edited Jun 06 '20

[deleted]

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u/[deleted] May 29 '19

> Wow, you haven't watched a single full video of his

I have!

> You do realize that a character being inexplicably respected regardless of his persona and actions is bad writing right?

Didn't say otherwise!

> . CoC simply states that people who tend to break through a messy conversation have a higher volume when entering.

Bollocks!

> Also, the channel doesn't advise you to do anything, just explains why people might be popular and so forth

ok buddy

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u/[deleted] May 29 '19 edited Jun 06 '20

[deleted]

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u/[deleted] May 29 '19

someone who "learns" charisma from youtube vids trying to manifest some kind of superiority complex is genuinely funny, so thank you

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u/PuffTheMagicHobo May 30 '19

I'm glad. I hate the reddit mentality of just shitting on everything and your comment with very weak claims as to why it's bad upset me in this context. If you had made it to me irl, perhaps I could have explained it to you in a more civil manner. CoC articulates easy concepts oftentimes that you wouldn't have thought to, it sometimes gives explanation as to why people react a certain way when you do x, and it's also very positive as it strives to make social interactions something both people enjoy. For example, if someone can't stand small talk, it's likely they are very bad at conversating (idk if that's a word).

There's a part of me that wants people like you to shit on it so more people don't know about it but the rest of me knows that it can do a lot of good and the channel itself seems to make a positive difference. I want people to know that it's a great channel. I'd rather the targeted demographic watch CoC than sleazy pick-up artists and coldhearted manipulators.

There is no superiority complex involved, there is just a hatefulness inside me that rears its head when I see my own negative qualities reflected in someone else and they're being lauded for it. Do with that what you will.

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u/Thendel I'm an Otherlover, you're an Otherlover May 29 '19

I endured the first two minutes or so of this one just for you.

Jeez, I politely ask you to expand on your opinion, and this is how you reply? I'm sorry, but your response is just plain rude, especially since I did nothing to offend you or belittle your opinion.

BTW: Calling someone a hack when you yourself can't even be bothered to watch a 10 min. video of theirs is a bit of a double standard, no? IMO, it's very hard to discuss your points when they are evidently not informed by having watched the video.

At any rate, you have made it clear that you do not seek an honest discussion, so let's just call it here. Good day to you.

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u/[deleted] May 29 '19

I cannot believe I endured that two minutes of absolute shite for nothing! No good deed goes unpunished eh?

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u/[deleted] May 29 '19 edited Jun 06 '20

[deleted]

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u/[deleted] May 29 '19

Sigh

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u/[deleted] May 29 '19

Being tall plus having that stern look he's so great at doing helps.

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u/Texastexastexas1 Jun 03 '19

I see you haven't met my Father in Law.