Ehle out, Fairley in

Does this announcement imply there won't be anymore recastings? Would they announce them all at once if there was more than one?

This is a totally unknown person for me. I just hope they took her for her skills and not as a cheap local alternative.

I think this is her in http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OL914ymt9wY at 1:10 so we can check it out a bit. Correct me if I'm wrong

Well, that's not reserving your judgement much ;) give this some time to settle in.

Shocking. Hopefully this is the only bad news George was referring to (He did mention several fronts). Lets spare a thought for poor miss Fairley however, she's already had one fictional child slaughtered by Jaime Lannister in the recent Suduvu contest and now she has to endure him crippling another! Still, I'm sure she will greatly enjoy kicking shit on him come season 2!

Wha???!?!?

Maybe this is the "bad news" that GRRM mentioned on his blog yesterday?

Going through her filming history I see this interesting role she played…

Mrs. Marlish in the movie "The Others", where she played one of the others.

I should not be the only one to see the irony in it.

In the end she is good enough to be playing in movies so why shouldn't she be good enough for our movies. I just miss the riddle game GRRM could have made out of it. With her being an Other and playing in Harry Potter like someone else in the cast as well

I just PRAY no one else gets re-cast. For example, if Sean Bean or Peter Dinklage leaves the project, I will be CRUSHED!

IMHO Fairley looks more like Cat in my head.
I am not saying at all that Ehle was a bad choice, but I like Michelle s face more for Cat.

So, as I said earlier the casting is in progress.

I think she could pull the look off once they address her hair color. She seems to have the weathered face that has seen a lot of pain and distress as seen in the later novels. Let's hope she can act well too, which I'm sure isn't an issue if HBO made the move.

I'm not super keen on her look (she seems quite a bit older than Ehle), but her acting seems pretty good in that youtube clip.

"Behind the scenes reasons" is a pretty strange and dubious statement for an announcement like this. It's one I've never seen before in any re-casting announcement. Usually you get phrases like "creative differences," "family/personal reasons." It could be anything. If it was a problem they had with her performance, they would never publicly say it, so it's likely we'll never hear about it except maybe as gossip at some later date. But professionally, that kind of thing is just not done, especially for an actress of her stature.

I know that after the pilot of "Star Trek: Voyager," the original Captain, Genevieve Bujold, dropped out because the pace of shooting was something she knew she wasn't familiar with. So, it could be something like that, but maybe it's more about the size and length of the commitment – the style of shooting the show seems to be more like a movie set than at TV show, which is very different.

I don't know, it's a huge question for me what that statement could mean.

I hate to focus on looks, but… In terms of Fairley's "look", I think she'll be excellent as the grief-stricken Cat, and as Un-Cat…

But it may be a bit strange in the first season. Isn't Sansa supposed to look just like a younger version of her? Does Fairley look like someone that Littlefinger would be in love with/obsessed with?

Jeez… please, let's not repeat the embarassing type of reaction that Tamzin initially got. That made us all look bad.

Thank you to The Rabbit for helping get the worst imaginable photo from Google Images. Just about any other one is better than this one. I like the one from here: http://www.guardian.co.uk/stage/theatreblog/2007/…

I think the new lady will be great, she has plenty of experience. Goodbye Ehle, it just wasn't meant to be. Plus I couldn't imagine you as Undead Cat. And plus you looked suspiciously like Gillian Anderson.

Worst photo? I don't think so. THIS is the worst google photo:

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/multimedia/arch…

I definitely think she looks too old for Catelyn. Ugh.

After seeing more of her photos i am not that sure anymore about what i said before :))

Thank you for posting that. Clearly HBO knows when sometihng isn't working and isn't afriad to change it. Rutina's Tara is so much more interesting.

I've yet to see a good photo of her. Unless Cat is supposed to be a homely looking lady in her mid 50's.

Nicole you have the most terrible logic i have ever encountered. These are two different people.

I don't have a big issue with the change as at least they haven't started shooting episodes yet. My only question…she's supposed to king of look like Sansa?

http://www.potterstoryweb.com/gallery/displayimag…

Yeah, she will work…

Shes also supposed to be attractive. I dont get it, wasnt she even famed for it??

wow…. HBO should make an appearance on failblog

Okay you are right.

Bwahaha, good point there. :)

Dear Rabbit, First of all, she is old. Second, you can't see Kelly's eyes, so by your logic, etc… . This doesn't change the fact that the above photograph complete with pools of molten darkness for eyes and an ashram smile, looks extremely fuzzy, weirdly benign and vaguely humanoid.

Thanks for the Star Trek trivia, thank you very much.

why, a woman can give birth until menopause, and menopause surprise babies aren't uncommon… and we're talking of a Medieval setting here, with limited birth control measures…

It's Rickon.

I'm dreadfully sorry to be so superficial, but Fairley looks so old and disheveled. Yes Cat goes through hell, but she *is* supposed to be an attractive lady. Maybe Ehle was too dainty, but this woman doesn't seem stronger to me, just more nondescript and mousy.

The only problem I can see here, is the that Jennifer Ehle is the bigger name than Fairley.
And somehow we were used to picture her as Cat.

Fairley is almost unknown actress, and not many of us are familiar with her work.
The same case is with majority of the younger cast.

I am pretty certain that HBO knows what is doing.

I do not know what GRRM refered to yesterday in the bad news statement, hopefully I think that was it.

That's what I thought in that photo too. Of the two, Fairley is not the one I'd pick for Cat. I'm seriously starting to think that the producers just don't get her. Or like her, which may be believable for this character.

You know what Rabbit, I absolutely loathe when people like yourself try and speak for everyone else. Go bahhhhhhhh in some other paddock

She looks like Sansa, who we know is very pretty. If Littlefinger sees Sasna and thinks back to his obsession for Catelyn, I'm thinking Catelyn Stark is probably quite attractive. Thick auburn hair, high cheekbones, sweet mouth, great rack, blue eyes that make Littlefinger wax rhapsodic, that's what we're told.

exactly

I think you got it all wrong, pat, I am speaking just for myself.

I think, I have right to say loudly what I am thinking about that recasting.

There's nothing we can really do except to Trust in the Awesome Power of Makeup. (Makeup is awesome, really. My bosses have no idea that I average 3 hours of sleep each Tuesday night due to excessive dancing.)

Let's see her act and then we'll talk. And if she's a bad casting choice, that's HBO's fault, really.

I loved the idea of Ehle, but if she's recast, so be it. And people who think that attractive redhead is just perfect for Catelyn– you're smoking something. :P She __is__ very pretty, no doubt, but I'd never buy her as 1) the mother of a 16 year old, nor 2) someone of comparable age to Sean Bean.

They've aged up the cast, that's clear. She's a good fit for some of the reimagining their doing. People who think she's not pretty enough are too stuck to the books. Her being pretty doesn't really have much to do with her character, like Cercei or Jaime, for instance. I buy her perfectly fine (from a pic) as an overprotective mom who's riding the fine line between steely hard and brittle. And _that's__ the core of Catelyn's character. As for whether Littlefinger would love someone as a teen if they weren't drop dead gorgeous. That seems a bit of an oversimplification of his character.

Basically, Ehle was awesome, maybe this lady will be good to. They'll obviously not bring the same vision of Catelyn to the screen, but lots of different tweaks could work dramatically.

WHY DON'T WE TRY AND KEEP IT CLASSY PEOPLE! You don't know anything about this woman and you're ready to tear her down based on a couple pictures? You barely have an accurate example of how she looks now, and not at all after make-up and hair.

If I were going to rank the things I want to see from the actress playing Catelyn, I would be looking for performance, chemistry with the children, and a host of other things before looks. All of the characters are being aged up, and I think Fairley's look works well as the duty-bound wife and mother of five.

Any of you who want to see "hot milfs" facing off against each other, go watch Cinemax after dark.

eligible**

guys…would anyone be so kind to pass me the links in the coments? cause i am not seeing them right

What's funny is how I was planning a post centered on the fact that the green light happened without any casting changes. It's common enough in normal shows; something this size, with this many actors … it has to be like juggling cats, keeping the production together given that so many things can go wrong. Some actors don't jive with other actors, some have conflicting schedules, some even want to have some semblance of a normal life.

I don't personally have any inside information, but I think Werthead might have hit the nail on the proverbial werthead. The long shoot could have been daunting for Ehle–she of the growing family and prodigious theatre schedule–and may have decided she'd bitten off a little more than she could chew. A single year is one thing, but three years is an entirely different commitment.

My hope is that we don't lose Lena Headey due to similar circumstances, as she's about to have a baby, and Cersei is an even longer commitment than Catelyn.

Aside: being that Headey still may have not given birth (or may have just given birth) to her baby when filming starts in June, it will be interesting to see how and when they do the re-shoots with Fairley. Possibly they'll just back-end them.

At any rate, if this is the only re-casting they do (fingers crossed), at least it was someone who wasn't truly counting on this role to kick off a career in acting. I think I'd feel much worse for any of the kids, or Harington, or Madden.

i also see the "not many" part so let's be less overeactive (don't know of i spelled it right) please?

Odd. I found out that she is 45, so not much older than Ehle. So, technically, she should fit the part.
The actress herself actually indeed looks like she is a mother of five living in a harsh medieval world. O_o

Crap. I was eagerly awaiting for more casting news, but not of this kind!

With all my respect and affection to Ms Fairley, but of all the cast membres, she is the one I have more trouble to see "in character" by a wde margin. It's just so unlike the image of Catelyn Stark I had created…

But, since there's nothing I (or any of us) can do about it, let's keep our hopes high. In HBO we trust, and so far they didn't let us down, didn't they?

She is a horrible choice. First true blunder that I've seen from D&D on this.

This pisses me off.

LOL!

Worst choice so far, no contest.

Personally I always imagined her as beautiful as Cersei, the difference being in style and behaviour. While Cersei is known to use her sex-appeal to get what she wants, Catelyn doesn't really play that card (although I have some vague memory of the Frey business hmmm…). Cat is more subtle. Book description aside, I just don't think it's that important to have her played by a drop dead gorgeous actress.

The original TRUE BLOOD pilot leaked onto the Internet from an internal HBO source some months prior to transmission of the series.

Except they say the True Blood pilot actress didn't fit in. The reasons here are different. Still, it's not the end of the world.

that's just going from that photo though, so in the long run, I dunno :P

WiC chose one of the _nicer_ photos. She's not ugly but she looks way older than she should, even with the aging up.

There is a big difference between Ehle and Headey, however, which is that Ehle has not done regular, episodic, multi-year television before, whilst Headey just came off the back of two years on SARAH CONNOR CHRONICLES, filmed on the much harsher even than HBO American network television schedule. In addition, Cersei is not as prominent a character as Catelyn and has considerably less screentime, particularly in Season 1 (it'll rise in S2, when she's in every other Tyrion and Sansa chapter).

In short, Headey has more recent experience in TV work and likely knows how this will pan out, and will likely not find it daunting (in fact, compared to SCC she may find it relatively relaxing, not having to do fight scenes, work out or being pretty much the main character).

Okay, dinks. We're getting into Tamzin Merchant territory with all the snide comments regarding her looks. You haven't seen her as Catelyn

Hell, you haven't even seen Jennifer Ehle as Catelyn, so how can you even know who's better? Catelyn Tully may have been a beauty, but Catelyn Stark is a mother of five and is clearly past her youth. Watch the damned series first, then if she stinks up the joint, pass your judgments.

Some of this stuff is truly in bad taste; I might expect it from Twilight pre-teens, but not you all. Quit kneejerking, and try to treat Fairley fairly.

From the speed of this, it is likely, even probably, that Fairley was one of the other actresses who auditioned for Cat, and was probably the producers' second choice after Ehle. Given the number of excellent 35-50-year-old-odd actresses who must have gone for the role (seriously, roles like this for women of that age are not as commonplace as they should be), Fairley must have been very good indeed in her audition to get the role.

And people do need to remember that actors, producers and HBO execs are reading this blog. When they see the extremely uninformed and unintelligent responses to some of the posts here, they must wonder why on earth they are bothering with the project in the first place. If the TV series starts and the actors suck, that is the time it's fair to bitch about it, certainly not before a single frame of footage has been shown and in Fairley's case, even shot.

Actually, the producers reading this blog was exactly why I was commenting. I'm truly not the kind to bitch and moan for no purpose, but I think if the actor cast doesn't seem to match the character for me, I have the right to give that feedback. If Sylvester Stallone was cast for the role of Ned, then would people then be entitled to object? We have a difference in perception of suitability, that's all.

I don't know Fairley, but from all I've seen, she simply doesn't fit, and I think I have the right to make that known. We don't have to agree first with everything the powers that be do in order to voice our opinions. If the TV series starts and the actors suck, you do realize that it's too late then to have a new actress? Maybe that's why people want to give all their feedback now?

I think her age and look is fine considering Ned Stark is being played by Sean Bean.

I'm sad to read this bit of news. I thought Ehle was perfect casting for Catelyn. While Fairley is not anywhere close to how I see Catelyn, I'm sure I can live with this bit of casting. Here's hoping there aren't too many more casting shake-ups in our show's future.

I think this picture gives a better idea of how she might look in the role
http://i3.digiguide.com/up/0809/634265-LarkRise-1…

is make-up
this photo is better

http://www.hotflick.net/flicks/1998_Hideous_Kinky…

I'm starting to wonder whether the majority of posters on this blog are teenaged boys.

Personally, I have no problem with her 'look' (in fact I prefer it to Ehle). Besides which, HBO obviously knows better than us.

Seriously, replace all the "old looking" photos in the article with some of these "younger looking" ones people have found. It's amazing what make-up can do, but I'd like to think that this is like Charlize Therion getting crap for getting cast as Milf with only pictures from "Monster" as a public reference.

that said, I would think that this actress really would put up at least one recent glamor shot up on her IMDB site if she's going for these sorts of roles rather than the plethora of doughty looking pics she's got right now.

Good catch! That's her. Here's a direct link to the time in the video where she is:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OL914ymt9wY#t=01m0…

Actually, she's around 35 or 36 in GoT.

That's Ned, man. His wife is like 33.

Okay, people are getting grumpy…

I brought hugs and cookies for everyone :)

WHile I'm disappointed that Ehle was lost (I had really gotten used to the idea of her as Cat), I 100% trust D&D in the decision. As Adam said, she must have tested very well in order to be cast. I'm not worried. You people are all entitled to your opinions, but remember that this is a human being with feelings we're talking about here. Keep it civil and respectful, please!

Congrats to Michelle Fairley on the role!

let me guess:

In THIS

they haven't cast the hot chick that looks like Julie Delpy but instead the old chick that looks like grizzled Joan Allen

Jennifer ehle was perfect. So this basically sucks! She seemed like the perfect mother of mothers. Which was what i was hoping for with Catelyn…

So this… is… I dunno… What is this?

50-year-old Sean Bean (playing a character originally 35)
46-year-old Mark Addy (ditto)
41-year-old Peter Dinklage (playing a character originally 26)

If you're ageist, you should have given up hope for this show way back with the first casting announcements.

(The reason they aged people up, by the by, is probably because the actor[s] they wanted for Ned were in their 40's and 50's, plus they wanted to age up some of the younger characters like Robb and Jon I imagine.)

Oh Shit! Dinklage HAS been replaced! By Danny Freakin DeVito!!

Source

I can definitely see Fairley as Catelyn. Methinks she looks more fitting for the role than Ehle does. Ehle has dainty and lovely look, while I pictured Catelyn more tough and handsome than pretty. I had actually thought casting of Cersei and Catelyn might as well be switched. In the books Cersei was described repeatedly as being lovely, Catelyn as fair and handsome. Not that Heady is not beautiful.
Congratulation to Ms. Fairley(fingers crossed)

did you notice who is playing Dany?

Treat Fairley fairly? Was that really necessary?

Boobs.

Maybe it has a everything to do with that picture on this article up there. The picture is shocking, along with the shocking news. She looks like a mousy soccer mom. Additionally, people have no problems with a 20 year old Catelyn. So why bother arguing? The whole think is a prank.

My last cent… You guys might want to reconsider how you display information. A large details like the crappy Google Image #2 as the headshot to introduce readers to the replacement of a beloved pre-season cast member is likely to have some ill reactions among the rabble. Put things in a more positive light and then you will be sorta surprised that people will react more smoothly to it.

Break my heart…

I just hope that if there is more "bad news," they give us some good news along with it, or this place might riot.

I agree with this. The headline and the photo, all at once, is too much of a shock.

I am just laughing to myself at all these posters who are unhappy with this choice because Of her looks…..thank God you morons are not in charge of casting….or else we would have Adrian Paul and others of his Ilk involved in the show……nobody has seen her audition but yet many are calling it a mistake….give me a break !…::..relax ….get on board or get lost …

Why would Catelyn's character need "a softness"? She is what she is, the way GRRM wrote her, and I don't think there's much softness there.

You mean from the the dozen or so recent pictures we've seen of her? Right.

I'll withhold my judgment until I see recent film of her. I don't trust pictures so much. I do trust the casting director for the series…so….I am not worried.

I respect that you have a different opinion. But I haven't said anything disrespectful about Ms. Fairley, only that I don't think she fits, so stop trying to micromanage other fans. That happens way too much with this series. You can make your point about not changing the cast with far less rudeness. I'm not responsible for the behaviors of other fans either, I didn't say anything nasty about Tamzin Merchant or whoever else you're referring to. You want to know who my other misgiving is? Alfie Allen, not an actress.

Man, I just started to go through the books again about a month ago and in my mind's eye Caetlyn looked like Ehle… Now I need to reprogram my brain.

Although it sucks balls that the reality of TV means changes are made on the fly. I think the new Strk Woman looks fly and starkish to the max… Stark you all stark! STARK.. trolls beware starks is following

what worries me is the feast scene, that one must have been costly so I hope they can avoid redoing it, otherwhise it may be for the best, we'll wait an d see

Your comments are fair enough, and I think there is plenty of scope for constructive criticism of the choices. That said, people must acknowledge that they haven't seen the auditions, they haven't seen the performances filmed so far for the pilot and they don't know what direction the TV series is going to go in with changes to characters and storylines, which may necessitate very different casting. And in this particular case, virtually no-one has seen the actress in other performances, a few brief YouTube clips aside.

Yeah, that's Julia Sawalha as a regular in LARK RISE. Michelle Fairley was in LARK RISE as well as a guest star (in Season 2, Episode 10). I was trying to find a picture of her in period costume but couldn't find any.

The person in that picture isn't Fairley, it is Ali White the writer of a play she was in. Hover over the pics in the link and it is clear that this woman is not the same as Fairley. http://www.bbc.co.uk/northernireland/drama/radio/…

Yep, that looks like her. Fast work! Back to lurking now ;)

Bear in mind that she is of the nobility, so she wouldn't exactly be called on to do any hard labour.

Oddly enough, the Dark Sword Miniature rendition of Catelyn appears to have more in common with Fairley than Ehle:

http://www.darkswordminiatures.com/gallery/GRRMli…

Mere coincidence or oddly prophetic?

I don't care much about the actress who will play Catelyn, but I have to say that this one is definitely not nice looking for the role.__She' s Northern Irish, I guess is going to come in cheaper than Ehle.

I noted that dany is perfect. Quit trolling my friend

I don't mind the replacement. In fact, I think Fairley looks more like Catelyn to me than Ehle did.

As for the comments about her age, it's just how growing up in Northern Ireland makes you look. You see a lot, you age quicker.

While I am sad to lose Ehle, because I thought she was perfect for the role, perhaps she will be able to come back and work as Lysa Tully! Now wouldn't that be awesome?! That way we would get to see her, but she would get a smaller, yet more deranged role, something to really show off her acting chops.

I dunno, I am having a hard time with her departure, because I really do think she is great, so I am trying to cope by seeing her placed in the show as someone else :P

There's also other good pics of her. I like these two:
Michelle as Ann Best
Michelle in The Weir (1998)

Except that imo, in a medieval setting (and setting book canon aside which places Cat in her mid 30's), it's actually more likely for a woman to start having babies early on rather than the opposite.

this is exactly right. You didn't even have to say "imo" because, it isn't opinion, it is fact.

Women used to get married, and started having kids a lot younger than today.

Maybe if you were a peasant. She is suppose to be nobility.

Whoa, long comment is long! Sorry!

I would think she only signed for the pilot, the rest wasn't fully settled yet. It couldn't have been, not before the green light.

Not really feeling it. Hear Me Roar must have seen the same pictures we all saw, I wonder what he means by "She has the right looks, as far as I am concerned" …

I never said the contrary. Cat's age vs Robb's age would mean she would have had her first baby in her late 20s to mid-30s and that IS very late for a medieval setting.
However, I was only addressing Paul's issue with Cat's age vs Rickon's age, and while it is true that not many women survived her forties, it is quite possible that those who did survive still had babies at that age, for the lack of birth control. In fact, many women probably died in their 40s while giving birth to a 4th, 5th or 6th baby. Still, families weren't that big because of a high rate of stillbirth and child death.
So what I am saying is that if Robb is 15 y.o. in the series, then Cat shouldn't be more than 35 y.o. IMO. However, if you forget Robb and only focus on the fact that Cat has a 3 y.o. toddler (Rickon), as was the subject of Paul's original post, than in this matter I wouldn't have a problem with her being older up to her early 50s.

I agree, Tamzin looks pretty hot in that preview. I think she's one of those people who looks better or worse depending on lighting, makeup, etc.

No offense but… in the looks, Ehle was much more fitting. this actress is MUCH ehm… worse-looking to say the least :S

Nice update!

i like her, she looks more mature and worried than Ehle. my only concern – aren't they going to have to re-film a lot of stuff? how much will this set them back in terms of cost and time? how do other actors feel when they have to re-shoot scenes months later?

Does an actor (i.e. Ehle) get penalized in any way for something like this? I mean, does HBO just eat the cost, or what?

Personally I'm guessing they'll use some clever editing, and probably won't have to re-film the feast scene. They may just re-film any close-ups of Caetlyn. From afar, and in costume, it may be difficult to spot the different.

Having just done a quick google search on her name, I think she has the right sort of look for the part. I have to admit though that Catelyn Stark was never a character I had a strong mental image of…

It doesn't really matter how the actors "feel," they just gotta do what they gotta do. They reshot a third of Back to the Future several weeks into production when they replaced Eric Stoltz with Michael J Fox. For this they only need to reshoot a few scenes.

concur

Alright people. Let's try and keep it civil in here, both of you.
Concurr about the cussing, but would also like to point out that IQ in no part is related to the knowledge of the english language.
There are many people on this blog, like me, that are not from an englishspeaking country. Therefore the english abilities vary a lot. I can say that for me my english looks ok most of the time, but an english speaker from birth may think differently.
So let's keep the putting people down because they do not stand up to your standards to a minimum shall we?!

A disappointing fact of life is that in any country people not being able to speak the native tongue as good as people who were raised in it and who's family lived there for generations are easily considered stupid! A REALLY disappointing fact of life and humans in general.

acting would make more sense if I'd written actions… or whichever
I hope you get my meaning, cause this comment was a bit fuzzy

*northeners – sorry

in all fairness it was the black and white picture before that one that first irked all the "haggard" responses, not the ali white one. the first picture is one of the first to pop up when you google michelle fairley, where, as it turns out, she plays an old haggard alcoholic… go figure…

Typical Hollywood practice is to sign actors definitively for the pilot and then give options on another five to seven years on top of that, and they have to keep their diaries clear for when filming is due to start IF the show is picked up.

In practice, this is not practical for most actors who basically double-book themselves to keep the bills being paid if the pilot isn't picked up. They will usually let the other project directors know they might have to pull out due to this prior commitment, however.

One possibility we haven't floated yet is that Ehele agreed to do THRONES before starting this new theatre production in New York (close to her home) and enjoyed it so much that she had second thoughts about the huge commitment of THRONES.

Michelle Fairey on Youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xMABaMyZOrc&ha… @ 10:30 mark

Yup, she looks pretty good there without the aging-up make-up from BEST, not too different age-wise in appearance from Ehle (I think people need to remember that PRIDE & PREJUDICE was 15 years ago as well). Change her hair colour and she could be a very good Cat, and acting-wise in that scene she is nailing the tortured strength element that is really needed for Cat.

Although my initial reaction was “not positive”, I am less disturbed by the casting change than by HBO’s characterizing it as a “minor tweak”. Ms. Ehle seemed to have the right look, but Ms Fairley may bring a more formidable presence to the role that could contrast nicely with Ms. Headey. The producers seem to have consistently gone for substance over style, so in this, my instinct is to trust them.

However, as Catelyn is without question the dominant female role in the pilot, I am less trusting of seeing this as a “tweak”. I don’t see how they will be able to pull this off without re-shooting large swaths of the pilot, if not the entire episode. At the risk of stirring up a hornet’s nest, combine this with the attributions of the hated Sourcenator, and they now have an excuse to do just that.

To be fair, I'm pretty certain "Sourcenator" was a troll who just made educated guesses on what was happening (perhaps someone from the industry familiar with the process…) and wrote untrue, controversial things here to garner attention and work people up.

Kind of a moot point in this discussion, considering that Ehle was 41, anyway. I mean, yeah, Fairley's older, but four years is not going to make that much difference here.

Michelle Fairley was brilliant in Best: His Mother's Son. And she has amazing eyes too! Here's a link to her appearance in 2009 episode of Misfits, fast forward to 10:30 mark
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xMABaMyZOrc&ha…
and another Misfits episode at 09:05 mark
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EMrr8EY4orM&fe…

1. Well, a lot of things Catelyn does is what any mother of any personality would do, she's protective and she worries. But she isn't gushy with endless nurturing, she isn't taking in orphans left and right. She is definitely no Molly Weasley. No mother would think of much else while her children are in mortal danger, just about all mothers consider their children their #1 priority. I have two, a mother and a stepmother, they're very similar in this regard, and still very different people. I would not cast them with the same actress simply because they're both mothers.

2. No, I don't mean cast the character based on the actor's personality. Cast an actor who will bring out the character's personality. I just don't see "maternal" as any good kind of personality trait. Look who else is a mother in this story – should Cersei be cast to look maternal? Does she not protect and worry over her children? The only difference is readers put her in the Femme Fatale box and Catelyn has to go in a box too, so she becomes perceived as needing to embody some Mom stereotype.

I'm kind of disappointed Ehle's left, but not that much. In terms of overall look, Fairley's closer to how I imagined Catelyn, though she does look a bit older. I'm not really familiar with any work by either of them, so I can't give any concrete judgments on acting ability, but unless Fairley actually hadn't already auditioned, they obviously chose Ehle over her before. This basically means we can assume D&D would have preferred Ehle, and I tend to trust their judgment. However, looking back in GRRM's not-a-blog, I note that Catelyn's not one of the roles where he says the chosen actor blew the others out of the water, So I'm not really too concerned…

Just hope reshooting doesn't push back the schedule any…

I'm guessing Fairley may have done just as well (or better) than Ehle in auditions… but they went with Ehle because she was a bigger name, or because she had the better "look".

If that's true, then Fairley could end up being very awesome indeed.

Also, by the time the series airs (one year from now) I'm sure we'll be used to picturing Fairley as Cat. Eventually it will be hard to even imagine that Ehle ever had the part.

Catelyn and Cersei are supposed to be contemporaries, peers and foils. This is pretty obvious from any intelligent reading of the books. Whatever their reasoning for this casting change, I hope they understand this. "Tweaking the matriarch's role" could mean many things, it would have been better if they had been clear from the start.

I think Ms. Fairley will do a good job.

BTW Winter, speaking of Shae, I was wondering how everyone would take it if the just did away with Shae altogether and used Roz instead as a kind of composite character for Tyrion's hos. I've always suspected something along these lines ever since they changed her name to Roz from RHW. It could be something as minor as a change in dialogue that gave her a name, but it could also possibly hint that D&D want to alter the role a bit?!?

On the negative end you get some small changes to the order of the plot. This could be minor trouble. I consider myself a purist and would probably prefer Shae to be included in the series, but it could be a relatively small change that could save on casting and really not affect the greater story much. After all if they make the series exactly like the books, it will be fairly predictable to us long-time fans.

Cat doesn't start to look that bad, guys. Brienne doesn't even meet her until she's in the middle of her grief and still thinks about how handsome and strong she looked, how smooth her skin was, stuff like that.
Plus, not being as pretty as Cersei doesn't mean much, if Cersei's so beautiful. It doesn't have to be a constant comparison.

Sounds good to me!

HBO should pay you for the PR ;)

I loved it when they announced Jennifer Ehle as Cat, before that the only 2 actresses I could see playing the roll were Gillian Anderson and Julianne Moore.
Cat is a pretty woman even after 5 kids, sorry but this Fairley woman doesn't have the look. Give her a blonde wig and have her play the crazy sister instead.

very disappointed with this news- very

You were picturing her wrong. She's not a ginger. She just has auburn hair. Which is reddish brown.

I think Lord Ned's Head's proposition is that Ros would replace Shae: different name, slightly different character, but following the same plot, at least as far as major points. So all that would still happen.

listen friend in the industry is very very well know as a brilliant actress if not the best, she does not do PR she's a private person, the picture's that you have seen are all character pictures, she has play writes writing plays for her,she is a very big theater actress

Hey, I think it is time to change the info about Catelyn actress in the Cast and Crew section of the site.

Intersting. We seem to have jon jones and jack bruce who know Ms Fairley and defend her rather steadfastly. They produce quite strong arguments in her favor.

I am wondering if they know ASOIAF at all of if they just visited WiC's blog to learn more on GoT after hearing the new that Michelle Fairley had been cast.

In any case, here is proof that we should try and be more civilised when we express our opinions and worries. Let's remind ourself that WiC is the first GoT information source.

Thanks to jack bruce and jon jones for your input. If you care to share more information on Fairley, it would be welcome.

Yes, one of them could use a little more civility. Agreed.

i only joined this forum because i heard fairley is doing this role from a freind in the industry, and googled GoT and got this forum, i dont know who the guy your talking is.

Welcome! So you know nothing about Game of Thrones and the books is that right?

Can people PLEASE try and spoiler warn for things. I mean come on, that's quite a big reveal you just completely trashed for anyone who hasn't read through ASoS. There are people that come to this site that haven't read the books.

i know about about the writer of GoT, i only came to know about this book , because of the actress fairley, i seen her plays in London , which are complex, emotional , very heavy weight and deep, such as Ibsen, Mamet, Pinter, Shakesphere, Frank McGuinness, they are the types of writings and plays she normally does, from what i hear she is an actors actor.

On top of that, Fairley is only 3 years older, or what was the number we established? negligible, and don't tell me anyone can notice that :)

Well, even if she breached a contract, the penalty for doing so would depend heavily on what the contract terms were. I don't think HBO is going to try and make Ehle pay for all the re-shoots, or anything like that. I think the actor's unions would make darn sure that contracts that allowed for that would not be signed.

My guess, as long as an actor isn't leaving to take a comparable acting job for a different studio, the studios are content to release them from their contracts.

BTW, I f*cking hate intensedebate. Sometimes it doesn'work at all, and a lot of time I miss some of the comments (when ranked by date or last activity). For example: I see Gregory Kelton made a comment about spoilers at last 5 comments, but I can't find it anywhere!

Fairleys portfolio of work includes, Ibsen, Mamet, Shakesphere, Frank McGuinness, she's an actors actor and very well respected , i only seen her in top line theaters in Londons westend, and when i spoke to other actors about her ( and every one knows her, i promise you) the reaction is always 'wow a very heavy weight theater actor she's brilliant' she did dancing at Lughnasa with kevin Spacey as Director, Brian Friel's best Plays, she dominated the show. She as also worked in Broadway with Likes of frances McDormand, Ewan Mcgregor etc i can go on for ever

Thanks for replying!

If you don't mind answering another question, would you say the pictures we've seen of her do her justice?
http://m.gmgrd.co.uk/res/578.$plit/C_71_article_1…
http://www.harrymedia.com/img/data/media/814/othe…
http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/multimedia/arch…

I mean, people have suggested that she had been intentionally aged and made haggard-looking to fit a particular role in some of these pictures.

Also, still pictures can be misleading as they sometimes amplify traits that are actually quite fine, or even charming, when you see them in live motion (e.g. Nicolaj Coster-Waldau’s nose).

So having seen her in recent plays, how would you compare her look age-wise against Jennifer Ehle’s?
http://images.broadwayworld.com/upload/18431/New Folder 4/42.jpg
Would you say she can play a 35 y.o.? The character in the book is supposed to be around that age, but we suspect the directors might have decided to age her in the series.

Personally, I think she looks just fine for the role and I am delighted to hear she is such a good actress, but I would like to hear a more informed source's opinion on the matter to see if other commentors' worries are founded and thus help inform the conversation here, even though I am conscious that your take on it is still subjective.

It's cause Sansa looks exactly like her, men would say she had her mother's look. Lysa looks ten years older altho she's younger, men fought a duel over her, Littlefinger just has to look at Sansa to start thinking about getting lost in her eyes, he's remembering the effect her mother had. Say handsome if you don't like the word beautiful, but she doesn't have to be a model or as hot as Cersei to come off like she's supposed to in the books.

Michelle Fairley isn't ugly but she comes off as older than the character was. Being talented is really good, but wouldn't there be plenty of talented actresses that fit Cat closer? It really depends on what this reason for the change was. Are they covering up for Ehle dropping out by calling it a change in direction?

She _looks_ older is all I'm saying. I do think skill matters more but there's probably actresses that look like the character's age that are also talented right?

well these are better than the critics I read of Ehle's latest theatre performance…

Yeah, but wasn't Sansa supposed to be far prettier than Catelyn?? That Catelyn was cute when younger, but that Sansa is far more a greater beauty. I'm still hunting for all those quotes that talk about how beautiful Catelyn is (not was) and how important it is to her character.

As for the older thing– I guess it's a matter of opinion, but they _are_ aging everyone 5-15 years.

lol i no what your thinking, filming? a new set?

but im afriad not, i thought the same so did a bit of research – shanes castle is now, and has been for some time closed to the public and is now only open to large events by appointment only, nothing to do with GoT.

I also spend each summer in the mourne mountains, mentioned in other post, a really beautiful place and hope they film there.

northern irelands most famous tourist attraction is the giants causeway, not read anything it could be used for yet, but its so unique id love it to make an appearance.

the main pic on wiki is a good one

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Giants_Causeway

Can someone give us an overview of the kinds of roles Fairley is usually cast in? I'm seeing that she's really talented but so far it's like all her roles are about being worn out matronly supporting types. What are all the different stage roles she's had?

"You have your mother's eyes. Honest eyes, and innocent. Blue as a sunlit sea. When you are a little older, many a man will drown in those eyes." That's waxing!

People used to say Famke Janssen for Catelyn, I guess because she played a redhead in another geek franchise. I said hell no, Janssen doesn't have the acting chops or the presence, even if she is hot. My problem is more age. Older women should have roles but Catelyn just isn't that much older than Cersei.

Sorry I'm not familiar with theater. I know the names of the playwrights but they write a lot of different kinds of roles. In Dancing at Lughnasa she played a matronly role, in Ibsen's Lady of the Sea she was Bolette. Isn't Bolette passive? What Im reading is her best role was Valerie in The Weir, what was that role like? Is that like the roles she's getting lately?

Catelyn lives in an expansive castle surrounded by servants! It doesn't matter if its in the north, the north is harder for the smallfolk but the nobles have it made. Catelyn doesn't go around hunting or foraging, she's kept in the nicest quarters of a very comfortable castle, the only difference maybe that Cersei is more ornamental.
Long periods of stress do affect your health and appearance, but the character should be cast the way she starts out, so we can see that its a vibrant healthy woman being dragged down. Fairley and Headey could be the same age for all it matters, she just _looks_ older, and no there's no reason Catelyn should've not aged well. That doesn't seem to match Brienne's response.
I know people are hard to please, but this role is in danger of a lot of stereotypes if you think about it.

Are you reading the parts where I was saying she doesn't have to be a supermodel? Im not expecting Miss Universe here.

Yeah people should be nicer to Fairley. Being so mean doesnt solve anything. But I still think the age thing is there, thats why I wanna know more about the usual roles she gets these days. Maybe that will say about why the producers tweaked the role. What are they thinking I wonder?

It never says she let her looks go in the books either ;) That's just people thinking she must be that way because she's "The Mom", and I hope D&D don't share that opinion no matter how many fans do.

Thats probably why all the fans are arguing, we dont see the character the same way. If you think Catelyn is a stereotypical dowdy soccer mom then you missed the point of her character. She's not a soccer mom, she's a LADY, and putting her in that stereotype is changing whats in the books. It is cliche, and the idea that beautiful must mean your vain is not a good message. Cersei is beautiful but bad, Brienne is plain but good, there are characters who are not good looking or good people, and beautiful people can be good too. Sansa is beautiful but she's also gentle whereas Cat is strong. I think its good to see strong good women as well as strong bad ones, so Cat and Cersei should come off like the foils they are. Being older in order to fit a stereotype is backwards. If Fairley was cast for her talent _despite_ being older, maybe because she was the only one available when Ehle quit, thats understandable. But its like theyre saying they purposely chose her.

Again putting words into my mouth ;) I said age not beauty.

OK sorry if I dont get you. Here's what you said:
"Too cliche for you? Sorta fits Catelyn's character to me…. "
So I thought you meant that the stereotype fits the character?
And I don't think the recast has to mean anything, but it is believable that it could, especially if you look at how moms are always shown in movies and tv. The stereotype isn't powerful women=dowdy, but good women are matronly, benign and of lesser beauty. Bad women are sexy and powerful. If you look at some arguments, its like being beautiful must show that your vain and bad, while being only pretty or not caring about your looks shows that your good. As for age, I think she really should look like Cersei's age cause in the books, they are peers, theyre written as foils. Martin already lets the male characters interact with each other more than the female ones, I dont want to lose the few indications of female stories that we have, and the thing thats great with Catelyn is that she's strong wtihout being the stereotypical warrior babe or tomboy.

For nostalgia's sake, I just took a look at the comments from when Ehle was cast:

http://winter-is-coming.blogspot.com/2009/08/jenn…

As I remembered, there were a few arguments at that time about Ehle not having the right look for the role, as well, and then defenders stepping in to remind/inform the detractors about her stage work.

I think it was Neil Gaiman who said recently that people always hate the new Doctor after a regeneration, it's a given. I doubt any casting or recasting will occur without some controversy.

I honestly am not concerned about D&D or others involved in the production seeing a lot of folks belly-aching on this board and thinking, "Why are we bothering with this?" Their love for the project is what brought them to this, not a desire to please critical fans. They're not just going to pack it in because a few people called Fairley old. I'm positive that any argument we can think of has already been discussed to death in the casting process.

Still, I do think that the way posters conduct themselves will have a bearing on how much weight those involved in the production give the opinions they read here. That in and of itself is a reason to stay civil, if you care at all about the work Winter and others have put into this.

Announcement -> Flare Up -> Acceptance seems to be the standard pattern, and I'm not too worried about it changing any time soon.

The only possible exception to this (in my head anyway, to each his or her own), would be people who intentionally wish to remain in the dark in order to enjoy the story for the first time via the series and not the books. but again, if this is you, it might behoove you to stay away from any media outlet that could possbly leak info.

I don't mean to chastise anyone who wants to be a part of WiC. All are welcome. I'm just suggesting that if you prefer to be surprised when you watch the series for the first time you might be smart to patiently wait it out without checking the daily comments.

Must be the movie where she playes the mother of Best. Well, I was really wondering if that's not characterisation. Good to know it might be.
As to Miss Bennett -> Same here. I see some doubts in the community whether she could pull UnCat off, but I think she would have been awesome ;) But alas, now we will never know :D

Oh, ok. That would hardly be a change at all, so i wouldn't have a problem with it.

Catelyn is used to persuading her husband, thats how it came off to me. And Ned listens to her. Robert doesn't listen at all to Cersei I bet. But when their husbands die Catelyn has to deal with an older Robb who is more northern than she is. Cersei can keep acting _for_ Joffrey because he's young and his bannermen arent making him prove he's a man like Robb's are. Catelyn is cooperative and Cersei is competitive but Catelyn can also get away with that for most of her life. But in the first part of the story it changes because of the difference in husbands and sons.
Danerys makes her decisions differently than Cersei does, she truly cares for people and listens to her advisers and Cersei does not. But Cersei doesnt have dragons and that means she has to deal with powerlessness more like Catelyn. Shes done it through using her body while Danerys doesnt have to (her sex scenes are about enjoyment but Cersei never enjoys sex that we see). Catelyn chooses not to use her body, but like Cersei, she has no easy way to make people listen to her like Danerys does.
Cersei uses her body too much actually, she never developed her father's cunning. But Catelyn was raised as her fathers heir and probably would do things even better than her brother does. Both Catelyn and Cersei are the oldest born but have to defer to brothers. The limitations they deal with are more similar, Dany has an easy way out of it because her husband dies and her barrenness means she doesnt have to deal with motherhood, that too limits your power as a woman. Catelyns and Cerseis lives being so similar makes their different strategies mean more. It makes us admire Catelyn being a better person but also makes us feel bad for Cersei who had such a worse life.
I think making Catelyn dowdy isn't necessary though. There are those other bad messages with the mother part. Beauty and power usually make a bad woman, why not a good one? Also I dont think she needs to be as beautiful as Cersei or whatever, but she is in the prime of her life and I dont see a reason to change that. It makes a lot of her lines make more sense like when she looks at Brienne and pities her for being ugly, when Walder Frey jokes about her seducing him, when Tyrion gets angry about her calling men to her rescue with her feminine charm.

You know, after seeing those book descriptions of Cat (i.e. high cheekbones, big blue eyes, etc.) I am now very happy with Fairley. She DOES have the right look.

Forget Ehle. She abandoned us!

I'm 100% Fairley, all the way!

(I think most of the negativity stemmed from people being shocked and disappointed that Ehle left. People will warm up to Fairley, trust me. By the time the show airs, people will love her).

Sorry Steve, I meant to say that POWER isn't part of the dowdy mom stereotype. Being good is.
I don't think being not beautiful enhances the foils, foils dont mean youre opposites. Foils mean you set each others differences off, often times you have to be a little similar to do that. Cersei and Catelyn both have political marriages, their husbands are supposed to be in love with some tragic dead woman, their weapons are politics instead of fists, they would do anything and everything for their children. They even both worry about the safety of their children's inheritance, and their husbands have this infidelity thing. But Catelyn is a good person, her anger has limits, she genuinely wants to make things work and tries to do right, and all the men in her life are nicer and it makes it easier for her. Cersei comes off more powerful but she also does heinous things to get there, Cat doesn't ever give up she just has to pick her battles. Theyre like mirror universe counterparts, and they are foils for much longer than Martin wanted Cersei and Danerys to be which was just for A Feast For Crows. That was just to show us how they do as queens, but Cersei and Cat are the ones who are peers. Danerys is the beautiful younger woman here to knock Cersei off her throne. Every time Cat struggles with something in her society we see the parallel situation with Cersei and vice versa.
I just think it works a lot better if they come off as contemporaries. Maybe they'll do it that way anyway, I don't know. I just want to understand why they changed their minds. Fairley is talented but so is Ehle, she has a BAFTA! Maybe it really isnt a planned change, maybe something really did happen to make Ehle drop out.

People are too reactionary, you have not even seen either as Catelyn, and are already bashing. Life goes on, enjoy it while you can. This is not something to be riled up about.

Sure I'm a little disappointed since I was comfortable with Ehle, but I'm sure this woman will do a fine job. Will I bash her? Possibly I will in the future, the difference is I will wait until there is actual substance for bashing.

huh…whats wrong with Adrian Paul- best highlander ever! has great fighting/sword fighting skills, I'd love to see him cast in a role on the show.

I actually liked Highlander too…but Adrian Paul didn't impress me as an actor and I think with so Much talent out there we should set our standards higher

Imagine this, you heard about this show because of one of many reasons, a friend, you like Sean Bean, or who knows whatever reason. You think hey, this could be cool so you start reading the first book. Not everyone goes through a 900 page book in a week.

You still want to hear about the show so you keep coming to the site and you accidently see a HUGE spoiler from the 3RD BOOK! Why are we speculating over what might happen 3 seasons from now, could be 4 if they split ASoS! Now I know something that's going to happen 2 1/2 books from where I am because I'm only half way through GoT.

True, maybe you should stay away from places that might have spoilers, but at the same time, it shouldn't be so hard to have *SPOILER* written before a comment that may hold a key plot point that not everyone knows.

I just need to say that not everybody feels that way. I find Nikolaj Coster-Waldau very handsome.
Although it is true about TV and movies in general that almost every actress needs to be pretty to make it in the industry, while there are plenty of ugly or ok-looking actors who are landing major roles. Beauty standards seem to be higher for women in general in this field. personally, I think talent should always come first, but a combination of both beauty and talent is always desirable.

But I must say GoT fans are lucky thus far look-wise with the male casting, from the youngs to the middle-aged, I find there is at least one attractive man in every age group which will make our viewing experience even that more satisfying.

Jennifer Ehle has a fairly formidable presence in many of her roles (even in P&P she showed a lot of steel, even moreso in THE CAMOMILE LAWN), but it did occur to me that in the movie she did with Lena Headey, she did come across as a stronger presence (and IIRC she is taller than Headey as well), which HBO might have felt to be undesirable for the Cersei/Catelyn dynamic and contrast. Although to be honest, given their lack of screentime together (the only scene they share together alone is a new one, set in Bran's bedchamber for the second episode), this probably wasn't a major issue or dealbreaker. And if it was it could have been solved by them flipping the actress' roles, something suggested at the time as I recall.

ouch, watch out for the spoilers!

HBO wouldn't issue a press release if it weren't official.

After the initial shock, I have to say I'm now perfectly happy for the replacement. Ms Fairley seems to be an actress more than accomplished, her age is in tune with the general age-up of the series, and now I'm positively sure she'll do a hell of a job here.

Still, I think the initial reaction was, albet somewhat over the top, comprehensible to a certain point.
Most people were thrilled to have Jennifer Ehle aboard. Michelle Fairley is an almost unknown actress outside the UK theatre scene, specially in other countries, there's not a single good image of her, in fact, the first ones were disgraceful indeed. And the announcement came all of a sudden, nobody expected the spanish inquisition here.

So, Ms Fairly, if for any dismal chance you're reading this: WELCOME TO WESTEROS!

Wow

Just wow. Nailed her spot on.
She even got the big eyes (can't check out color, though, but that's what contacts are made for, are they not?

They are aging the characters, but theres a limit… She looks to be maybe 40?

I agree with you, I'm 100% for Fairley now.

I think the initial reaction was mostly due to shock (AND the fact that we had a picture of the WRONG PERSON attached to the story! Ali White did not look right at all).

I still think the initial Tamzin reaction was even more negative than this, though.

WHOA… how tall is she?!? She looks like a giant in that photo.

He posts under his twitter-account @sgnp.

You can see Gwendoline also on Patrick Wolf's Damaris video.

I've been searching for hours and haven't found her age, either. I think this Twitter account might be her's but it's private.

Unfortunately, I don't have access to IMPD Pro since I was let go from my job, so my efforts won't be as immediate. But, yeah…A Shakespearian actress who is over 6ft tall, looks younger than the rest of the cast, with big eyes? Honestly, this is the best suggestion I've seen so far.

I have to question why it would be undesirable though. Catelyn is the one that comes across as stronger, Cersei is the one that seems gentle, and that's the wonderful irony about her character. Remember how easy it is for Sansa to find her so soft and sweet, while she thinks of her mother as the hard one. Tyrion calls Cersei "sweet sister" with so much wonderful irony, because he knows that her surface image is such a lie. The show may want to change that, for some reason, but to be totally precise, I think that would be their own insertion.

I mean, for my part I think Jennifer Ehle comes off as a bit nice, while Headey comes off as more gritty, but that's my own take.

Just realised that I've been in a scene with her!

I did some work on 'Best: His Mother's Son' a while ago. My main role was one of a handful of journalists trying to get a quote from George Best as he leaves his house but they kept me back to do a small 'passer-by' role. This was a very simple 'man walking past' job which I've done loads of times. This scene is at the start of the film when George's mum, play by Michelle, is scrubbing her front step (this was common practise in NI in the 60's – I remember my mum doing it!) and a small kid comes up to her and gives her a drawing he made for George to say good luck in a forthcoming match. The wee lad playing the part was very excited and he showed me the drawing.

<contd>

For example, on GOT, when I was filling my Brazier (I know – not the Braziers again!) I had to time it just right to be walking back across the courtyard just as the the lannister crowd (Hound, Tommen, Joffrey et al) are leaving from the sparring session. I timed it so that I would have to stop to let them walk past. I remember giving a look of servititude mixed with contempt as I stood watching them go by. Now this may not even be seen but I strongly believe that if all extras take care with this attention to detail (and most of the extras I've worked with do) then this gives the overall appearance more integrity.

You can't expect to be hand-held through every scene as an extra. More often than not you need to come up with something quickly that will work in the scene.

<contd>

Awesome insight on being an extra Rimshot. Cool you already did a scene with Michelle. If I see the Best movie again I'll be sure to pause it at your scene!!

George writes a bit about Michelle Fairley and says he's going to write one episode (but not which one).
http://grrm.livejournal.com/142143.html

Honestly, that interview sold me. I think Gwendoline would approach Brienne with the same thoughtfulness, and we'd see a real reflection of the character from the book.

wow, thanks for the input!
This was very interesting.
I actually thought an extra was told what to do down to where to place your feet and where to look, and that they made you rehearse until everything was perfect before bringing in the big actors. I guess they just don't have the time to do that…
Keep up the good work as an extra and keep telling us more anecdotes!

Except for that in the actually BOOKS we know that Cat was almost the same age as Ned (they were both teenagers). So whatever social "norms" are supposed to be in Westeros, the actual AGE of Cat should be nearly the same as Ned. And in fact Ms. Fairley is 10 years younger than Sean Bean. So… what's your point exactly? That we should change the canon of the books to more "accurately" reflect what other people in Westeros may have done? That's really backwards logic.

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/00091/michelle-fairley_91142a.jpg

I'm sorry, but Fairley is way too old for this roll. If I'm not mistaken, isn't Catelyn in her 30s? Of course, everyone cast in the show is older than they should be.

I am disapppointed. I was excited about seeing Jennifer with Sean Bean. She is awesome. Don't know Fairley. Hope it works out.

at least I can spell :)

me personally i think it is a great move, fairley is a very well known theatre actress with a year or longer stint in broadway theatres . grrm is said to be delighted she has joined the cast , i think she will be fantastic in the role. stop being so bloody minded and give other actors a chance!!!!!!!!!!!

I personally think Michelle Fairley would make an excellent choice as Catelyn Stark in HBO's Game of thrones as she looks more to the part that Jennifer Ehle. With all respect to Ehle i think Fairley is a much more experienced and professional actress. And to all you who think Michelle looks old, it doesn't take inestine to work out she is working and in role in most of her photos. I am very excited to see the series and and hoping for only the best which i am confident Michelle will bring to her performance.

you sound like a right ignorant big blubber, typical if you are such a fan of grrms books you should be delighted they are taking the time to make adjustments, it shows things were not working. Bet your big fat and ginger!

I agree..Ms.Ehle is quite good if we dont look all her perfections in her.