Best (and worst) casting on Game of Thrones?

[bartholen_v1legacy]

I was browsing the pages of several actors on Game of Thrones on IMDB, and noticed that almost every one of them has a thread titled something like "So great on Game of Thrones" etc.

So I got to thinking. If you had to pick just one, who would you nominate for the best casting? This was very hard for me, since I especially love the castings of Littlefinger and Varys, but since they have fairly little screen time, my pick goes to Maisie Williams as Arya. Not only is she phenomenally convincing but she also displays the variety of emotions Arya goes through very effectively. Though the version in the show is slightly different from the books, she still hits the nail on the head in every scene she's in.

EDIT: Since many people have pointed out that it's easier to name a bad casting choice, the thread is now also about that. In that regard my loser's award would sadly have to go to Diana Rigg for the Queen of Thorns. Don't get me wrong, she did a great job, but IMO she didn't fit the role. I always pictured her character as a much older, dried-up, cranky foul-mouthed crone. Rigg seemed a bit too young (is that an absurd thing to say or what?) and healthy for the role. On the other hand I loved that the creators added extra scenes for her, because her character is just so great.

So, your picks?

 

[Glongpre]

In before Tyrion.


My pick is Tyrion. Runner up Eddard Stark.

Spoiler

No one dies like Sean Bean.

 

[shrekfan246]

In before Tyrion.


My pick is Tyrion. Runner up Eddard Stark.

Spoiler

No one dies like Sean Bean.

If you're going to say the thing you're trying to "inb4", you could at least put spoilers in a spoiler tag.

OT: I haven't watched the show, but I've been reading the books and Tyrion is my favorite character by far, so... I'll give it to him because Peter Dinklage graduated from a college in my state.

 

[BloatedGuppy]

1. Charles Dance as Tywin. Much like Alan Rickman's Snape, Dance's Tywin is arguably better than the actual Tywin.
2. Maisie Williams as Arya. That would've been an easy role to make too precocious, Williams has given Arya depth and nuance she arguably didn't even have on the page.
3. Coster-Waldau's Jamie. His hot tub speech re: Aerys was arguably the dramatic high point of the show to date, and one of the few scenes not beggared by the show's hyperactive pacing.
4. Natalie Dormer's Margaery. She's expanded a secondary character into a major player, whilst keeping more or less true to Martin's vision of the character. Plus she's hot, that helps.
5. Peter Dinklage as Tyrion. He's in danger of falling out of the top five if he keeps mailing it in, but he earned top billing on the show for a reason.

HM: Rory McCann as The Hound, David Bradley as Walder Frey, Sophie Turner as Sansa Stark, and Rose Leslie as Ygritte.

 

[Sehnsucht Engel]

It has great acting overall, and picking a favourite is hard. I think Tyrion and Tywin probably has the best actors.

Little Finger, Arya, The Hound and Daenerys would be among my favourites. I wish Little Finger got more screen time. His chaos monologue was awesome. I hope he comes back, instead of becoming another Jaqen...

Also, Joffrey. Everyone hates him, and it's likely because his actor does such a good job.

 

[BloatedGuppy]

Also, Joffrey. Everyone hates him, and it's likely because his actor does such a good job.

Aw snap, I forgot Jack Gleeson. Yeah, his Joffrey is awesome. Did you know he has no plans on even continuing with acting after this? He's like, a scholar or something.

 

[Miyenne]

Charles Dance and Jack Gleeson. Just so good in their roles, they really make you hate them.

I love them to death.

 

[Colour Scientist]

1. Charles Dance as Tywin. Much like Alan Rickman's Snape, Dance's Tywin is arguably better than the actual Tywin..

I'm not sure if he's my favourite casting but I will agree that Dance's Tywin is much more... I don't know... Interesting, I guess. I loved the scenes he had with Arya.

Also, Joffrey. Everyone hates him, and it's likely because his actor does such a good job.

Aw snap, I forgot Jack Gleeson. Yeah, his Joffrey is awesome. Did you know he has no plans on even continuing with acting after this? He's like, a scholar or something.

Yeah, he's in Trinity in Dublin and he won a scholar award there last year which means he's excelling.


OP: I'm not sure who my favourite would be. It's a total cop-out but I think all of the core Lannisters were extremely well cast.
I love to hate the ones I'm supposed to (Cersei, Joffrey) and I hate that I love the others (Jamie, Tyrion).

They're a big family of arseholes but they're the best part about the tv show, for me.

 

[Kitsune Hunter]

My vote goes out to Charles Dance and Jack Gleeson, Dance because, well it's Charles Dance, the man is just charming and a really good actor. Gleeson, because you know you're a good actor when you'll able to make people just outright hate you

 

[Geo Da Sponge]

That is an impossible question. Well, okay, it's not. The moment I saw the title heading, I know which answer I had in mind. Then I actualyl came into the thread and realised just how many other perfect castings there are, ones which are honestly much better than who I had in mind. Charles Dance, Jack Gleeson, Sean Bean... They all fit the roles so perfectly it's impossible to imagine anyone else in them.

But personally, I'm a huge fan of Iwan Rheon as Ramsay Bolton. That's actually partly because he plays the part completely differently from how I imagined it, and yet he's still really good. He actually makes me think of a psychotic version of The Doctor now and then.

 

[Ignatz_Zwakh]

Charles Dance. The moment I saw him cutting open that stag I literally said 'This man IS Tywin Lannister'.

 

[Dryk]

Charles Dance. The moment I saw him cutting open that stag I literally said 'This man IS Tywin Lannister'.

That scene made me feel so sorry for him. He's such a magnificant bastard and two out of his three children and his grandson are just run of the mill bastards.

 

[Henrik Knudsen]

I like who ever plays Brienne. Haven't read the books but the way she toyed with one of the best swordsmen by reputation, untill she disarmed him in a few clashes when the game was getting out of hand and then stood ready to defend him afterwards.

That made me like her instantly, where I really found her obnoxious before.

She got a quad. Hope her story line won't end drastically. (yeah I'm probably in for a disappointment)

 

[Killclaw Kilrathi]

I hate to be a conformist, but I think it's Peter Dinklage as Tyrion.

Charles Dance is probably a very close second, if not an equal though. During the scene in the last episode where Joffrey accuses him of hiding under Casterly Rock during the rebellion, the look Tywin gives him is some of the best acting I've seen in a while. You could feel the tension in the room, and you know shit's going down. He nails that look described in the book, where Tywin would "threaten to smile", which is meant to be the most terrifying look he gives anyone.

 

[Zhukov]

I've only watched the first two seasons and I don't know any of the actor's names, but...

- Tyrion. (Duh.)

- Commander Mormont.

- Jorah Mormont.

- Varys. (Or however you spell it.)

- Ygritte.

- Littlefinger. (Actually found the TV version more compelling than the book.)

Honourable mention to Brienne. What I've watched so far isn't enough to judge the actress, I just like that they actually chose a six foot plus chick who genuinely looks like she could crack heads for a living.

Worst match is the chick who play Danyeraeeuas... Dani. It's her voice. She just sounds so bloody tremulous all the time. It worked early on, but now I can't do anything but laugh whenever she tries to threaten someone.

Don't much care for Arya. She looks the part and has her moments, but she has that hard-to-define awkwardness of a lot of child actors. She's getting better though.

Lastly, there seem to be a lot of suspiciously white desert dwellers running about.

 

[GonzoGamer]

Peter Dinklage. Like that's the easiest question I've ever had to answer.

I'd have to say he's a favorite of mine too. Been a fan of his since Living in Oblivion, he was hilarious in that.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4je71Tz_9IE
However, I have to say that the actors that have most impressed me from this show are the kids, especially Maisy (Arya). It's rare to get so many really talented yet unknown young actors to perform that well.

 

[s0p0g]

Also, Joffrey. Everyone hates him, and it's likely because his actor does such a good job.

ah, so much THIS! really, an actor who makes you loathe his character you almost forget that he's playing a role is doing something right! one just loves to hate him ^^ Gleeson's great!


OP: oh come on, you know that this question is mean
they're all great, the only two where i have my doubts are Sansa's (that maybe the role though) and Daenerys' (i like her character, don't get me wrong; *sometimes* it just feels like she's acting (which shouldn't be the case; you don't feel a good actor acting, just as you don't see good mak-up), but i'm not sure if it's in-character acting, or lack of talent on part of Clarke) actresses (i'm not sure about both because of lack of comparisons to other roles they played)... and maybe Bran (played by... whom again? but maybe it's just the haircut. and the dull look on his face. always.)

Lena Headey is wonderfully bitter all the time (seriously, has she smiled even once??)
i think Glen could shine much more if they gave him something to work with - like him very much though!
Dinklage and Dance - nothing to add here; same goes for Williams, Coster-Waldau, Arbuthnot-Leslie, Hill, Gillen, let's not forget Tena, damnit, you could basically type down the entire cast here, with VERY few exceptions - a casting job VERY well done, i'd say


attention, incoming heresy: (i know, i know: Burn the heretic! Kill the mutant! Purge the unclean!) alsthough i like to see Tyrion the most, i am not sure that he's the best *acted* character, as he feels kind of... well, normal. (character vs acting)

 

[T8B95]

Most of my favourites--Aiden Gillen as Petyr Baelish, Charles Dance as Tywin Lannister, Maisie Williams as a FUCKING PSYCHOTIC Arya--have already been said, so I'm going to go with one that hasn't been said yet: Alfie Allen as Theon Greyjoy.

Spoiler

Let me clarify this: Theon is one of the few characters that I like far better in the series than in the books. I hated Theon in the books; I thought he was smug, self-centered, and whiny. And he is is all that and more in the series as well. But, in the TV show, it gives him a moral depth that I don't think he had in the books. I really got the feeling that he is torn between his loyalty to the Starks and his desperation to prove himself to his family and his people. I actually felt sorry for Theon for most of season 2, and all of season 3, whereas in the books I didn't really care that much until Dance of Dragons.

This isn't just a character thing though, it's about the actor playing the character. I feel that if a less talented actor got the job, then it would have just fallen flat and had Theon come across as just as insufferable as his book counterpart. However, I think that Allen truly has the chops to pull it off properly, and I think he's done a great job showing off just how tortured Theon is.

Spoiler

I'm sorry, I had to.