If you've read the series, you know that means we'll be seeing a host of new characters, in addition to the favorites who managed to survive season 1. I've always been a huge fan of casting speculation, so I'm channeling my excitement for season 2 into a series of posts where I cast the major roles. And don't forget, Sean Bean and Peter Dinklage were the fan favorites to play Ned & Tyrion, so who knows, maybe I'll actually get one right along the way.
Melisandre
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| Art by Amoka |
Rachel Hurd-Wood
I'm going to cheat a bit here, and say that my realistic pick for Melisandre is some Scandinavian actress none of us have ever heard of before. It makes perfect sense, both in terms of finding someone who has pale skin and red hair (or who wouldn't look ridiculous with red hair), and because the accent would do some of the character work in establishing her as hailing from a very Different place.That being said, of the people I was able to find, I'd cast Rachel Hurd-Wood. She's a terrific young actress who first appeared on the international scene playing Wendy in the 2003 version of Peter Pan. She then played Betsy, the main character in 2005's An American Haunting. She also had a major role in the 2006 German film Perfume: The Story of a Murderer. She most recently appeared in Tomorrow, When The War Began, a sort-of Australian Red Dawn movie where teens fight a guerrilla war against an invading army. The biggest argument against Ms. Hurd-Wood will likely be her age. She'll turn 21 this summer. I wasn't ever able to find a specific reference to Melisandre's age in the books, but I'm sure many people will equate age with gravitas. That aside, I like what I've seen from her thus far on screen, and I think she's someone who has some level of fame, but would also be game for acting in a show on HBO for a year (or more?).
P.S. - click here to see a picture of her with much more extreme red hair, albeit from when she was considerably younger.
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NEXT TIME: I haven't decided for sure, I may finish out the Dragonstone trio with Davos Seaworth, or I might start thinking about the Tullys.
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PREVIOUS GoT S2 CASTING SPECULATION:
Stannis Baratheon
Too young to be Melisandre and too pretty to be Ygritte but that´s not a big problem, they can ugly her a bit.
ReplyDeleteMelisandre at least has to be 25+ years old and Rachel is, 21? I´d love to have her in the TV series, I am a big fan, but she is not Melisandre IMHO.
My pics for Melisandre:
Romola garai
Bridget regan
I actually like the idea of Romola Garai a lot, she was one of the ones I considered. I'm not sure she really has the "build" mentioned in the books, and I think that would be a sticking point for a lot of fans.
ReplyDeleteBridget Regan was another one name I ran across, but basically eliminated her because she's American. Unless something big changes from the way they cast season 1, it seems like the production avoids casting Americans for cost reasons. The only exceptions are when the perfect actor is American (i.e. Peter Dinklage). I'm guessing they'll be able to find a great Melisandre without crossing the pond.
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My favorite pick for the role would be Shirley Manson. She's the singer for Garbage, and I think her acting career extends to only a single role, as a CEO of dubious origins and loyalties in Terminator: Sarah Connor Chronicles. However, she did an excellent job there, and I think she has the perfect look for the role.
ReplyDeleteI don't like the idea of Shirley Manson in this role... while she's beautiful and did a fantastic job in T:SCC, she's got a coldness to her delivery that I don't associate with Melisandre at all. Mel's all red and fire and heat and RED. :) Granted, though, the only thing I've seen Shirley in was Sarah Connor, where she was SUPPOSED to deliver her lines that way.
ReplyDeleteFor some reason, I've always sort of held Nicole Kidman in my mind's eye when I think of Mel, I think. I also never pictured Mel's hair being any sort of naturally found red. LOL!
I have no idea who this woman is (hooray for random Google searches) but can we get her to play Mel? 0_o
What about Karen Gillan? :)
As I said in the post, my best guess is that Mel, like Brienne, will go to a complete no-name, and with Mel I think she might be Scandinavian. However, I still like Rachel, and I think I've been vindicated a bit by the casting notice asking for someone 25-35, and opposed to the people like Monica Belucci that many fans wanted.
ReplyDelete