HBO's
Game of Thrones premiered Sunday night to rave reviews and decent ratings. That combination was enough for the network to officially greenlight a second season of the show. 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 on screen, 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 the start of a series of posts where I cast the major roles. And don't forget, Sean Bean and Peter Dinklage were the early favorites to play Ned & Tyrion, so who knows, maybe I'll actually get one right along the way.
Stannis Baratheon Art by Amoka
Stannis is the middle Baratheon brother, younger than Robert and older than Renly. He is mentioned in
Game of Thrones, but never seen. When Jon Arryn died, Stannis was the Master of Ships and sat on the Small Council. By the time everyone makes it back to King's Landing from Winterfell, Stannis has left for his home on Dragonstone.
Stannis is a major player in future installments of the series. For most of the Rebellion, he was under siege as the commander of the forces at the Baratheon's home and castle, Storm's End. When Eddard broke the siege, Stannis was sent to the last Targaryen stronghold, Dragonstone, to find the Queen & her two remaining children, Viserys & Daenerys. By the time he arrived, they had fled.
Robert installed Stannis as the new Lord of Dragonstone, and put him in charge of the navy. Stannis is the most somber and conservative of the Baratheon brothers, and he feels slighted that his younger brother Renly was given Storm's End. He is described as "broad-shouldered and sinewy with leathery skin and a pinched, narrow face. He has only a fringe of black hair remaining around his head and a close-copped beard covering a square jaw. He has dark blue eyes." (from
Tower of the Hand)
Brian F. O'Byrne
Here's my realistic choice for Stannis. He was born in Ireland, even though he's been living and working out of New York City for the last 20 years, so he could actually work for the production without a bunch of red tape. He's about 4 years younger than Mark Addy, our Robert, so he fits in the right age range. He's 6'2, so he has the physicality to fit in with his brothers, but he's not as heavily built. He's been nominated for 3 Tony Awards, and won it in 2004. He's got an in with HBO, having just appeared in the HBO miniseries
Mildred Pierce. Best of all, he's somewhat familiar to American audiences, having appeared in the terrible ABC show
FlashForward, and the under-rated Showtime series
Brotherhood. Short of pulling a major movie star for the role, I think Brian O'Byrne is perfect for this part.
NEXT TIME: I'm pretty sure my second post will be on Melisandre, the Red Lady.
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.
Stannis is the middle Baratheon brother, younger than Robert and older than Renly. He is mentioned in Game of Thrones, but never seen. When Jon Arryn died, Stannis was the Master of Ships and sat on the Small Council. By the time everyone makes it back to King's Landing from Winterfell, Stannis has left for his home on Dragonstone.
Here's my realistic choice for Stannis. He was born in Ireland, even though he's been living and working out of New York City for the last 20 years, so he could actually work for the production without a bunch of red tape. He's about 4 years younger than Mark Addy, our Robert, so he fits in the right age range. He's 6'2, so he has the physicality to fit in with his brothers, but he's not as heavily built. He's been nominated for 3 Tony Awards, and won it in 2004. He's got an in with HBO, having just appeared in the HBO miniseries Mildred Pierce. Best of all, he's somewhat familiar to American audiences, having appeared in the terrible ABC show FlashForward, and the under-rated Showtime series Brotherhood. Short of pulling a major movie star for the role, I think Brian O'Byrne is perfect for this part.
