Casting Game of Thrones - Season 2: Balon Greyjoy

HBO's Game of Thrones premiered Sunday, April 17th to rave reviews and decent ratings. That combination was enough for the network to officially greenlight a second season. We'll be getting at least 10 more episodes in the spring of 2012, covering the events of the second book, A Clash of Kings.


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.

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Balon Greyjoy

Art by Amok

 Balon is the Lord of the Iron Islands, and Theon Greyjoy's father. Several years after Robert Baratheon's rise to power, Balon decided to test the power of the new dynasty by declaring himself King. Greyjoy's Rebellion was put down, and Balon two oldest sons were killed in the fighting, leaving him with his daughter Asha and his young son Theon.  Theon was taken by Ned Stark as a ward/hostage to keep the Greyjoys in line, and Westeros has known relative peace since. However, the Greyjoys thrive on chaos, so who knows what might happen if things in King's Landing were to fall into confusion.  Balon is described as "small and gaunt with black eyes and long gray hair." - (from Tower of the Hand)















Ian McShane

Ian McShane needs to be in GoT, and this would be a great part for him.  He's in the movie theater right now playing Blackbeard in Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides.  He was Al Swearengen on HBO's Deadwood, and he played Silas Benjamin on NBC's Kings.  


He's British, and he's worked for HBO. He's got the right look, and he has the acting chops.  He's a little bit older than Balon probably is in the books (he'll turn 69 in September), but if you consider the TV Theon will soon turn 25, it's not out of the question that Balon could have had his last kid when he was 54.  Besides, it's called acting.  Ian McShane doesn't have to be Balon, but he better make a visit to Westeros in some capacity before the TV series is over.










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NEXT TIME:  It's going to keep getting tougher to know which direction I'll go with my next casting speculation.  We'll probably start to get actual casting news any time now, and once that happens I won't need to guess for those characters.  For now let's go with the wildling woman Ygritte.


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PREVIOUS GoT S2 CASTING SPECULATION:
Stannis Baratheon
Melisandre
Edmure Tully
Asha Greyjoy
Davos Seaworth
Margaery Tyrell