Today’s update from Making Game of Thrones is a new promotional photo from Game of Thrones showing Jerome Flynn as Bronn the sellsword.
Helen Sloan / HBO
Winter Is Coming: Wow. I know Flynn as Bronn was one of those casting decisions greeted with a collective “whaaa?” but I’d say he looks pretty badass here. Nice job by costuming and makeup and, of course, Flynn himself to get in character.
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89 Comments
This certainly constitues a “Zomg moment” ™, especially as I wasn’t blown away by the casting. Great to see an action shot as well.
WhipporowillQuote Reply
I admit I wouldn’t recognize the actor in this photo! well done.
Hear Me RoarQuote Reply
wow… he looks almost nothing like the picture on the cast page. Well done HBO!
tekQuote Reply
Odd choice of character to release a promo still of but still awsome none-the-less.
dizzy_34Quote Reply
dizzy_34,
Probably the best action shot they had, that didn’t require a ton of post production work, ie the Turny of the Hand.
seanQuote Reply
The fact that people didn’t like his casting always puzzled me. Knowing nothing about him, he was EXACTLY what I pictured Bronn being like in the books.
ECUdanQuote Reply
phew,
it was definitely an odd choice of casting, but that is a somewhat reassuring shot – although the expression and action pose have no doubt been chosen to deliberately contrast his normal clean-shaven, grannies favourite, look.
Martin
MartinQuote Reply
Awesome. This was definitely the casting choice that puzzled me the most, and he still doesn’t look much like the Bronn I visualized while reading. But I can see where they’re going with him now, and I like it.
Still hoping to see him and Wilko get together for a jam session in the DVD extras.
Maxwell JamesQuote Reply
I haven’t done a re-read in a while, but they seem to be promoting him as the Lord Protector of Stokeworth…isn’t that title a bit premature? I seem to recall that happening closer to ACoK or ASoS. Maybe I’m wrong.
SteveQuote Reply
Looks badass!
Steven ScottQuote Reply
No costume-gate here! He looks amazing, as does his garb. My excitement continues to build! :D
PutterQuote Reply
So I’m wondering if he fights reverse grip style or if he’s getting ready to plunge that sword into the dude he’s holding. Probably the latter.
dizzy_34Quote Reply
Great move from HBO to end the Bronngate from the casting days.
Badass!
The RabbitQuote Reply
The moustache threw me for a moment. I can’t remember if Bronn is bemustachioed in canon — can anyone confirm/deny?
AoedeQuote Reply
Steve,
I agree. I wondered the same thing, the Lord Protector stuff happens only after Bronn gets married. I love the interchanges between Bronn and Tyrion and I hope those conversations will come across on the screen as well as they do in the books. Bronn looks good in this pic and I’m much encouraged.
OldGranQuote Reply
I, like most others, was very dubious about the casting of Bronn, but this picture pretty much removes my fear. Sure, he’s not quite how I imagined him, but he LOOKS like a sellsword.
I think that this choice of promo image was very deliberate on the part of HBO. They want to disprove all of the negative comments surrounding the casting of Bronn, and I think that they have done that with this pic.
Spring can not come soon enough….
Mike LQuote Reply
ECUdan,
Me too!
Steve WestenraQuote Reply
Aoede,
I think he’s just appearing very grizzled and unkempt here. My guess is that this is clearly from the mountain clan battle scene on the way to Lysa’s keep. I don’t think that HBO is going for a mustachioed Bronn, rather than a hasn’t-shaved-in-a-few-days sort of Bronn.
Cutter Allen KilgoreQuote Reply
I really like this new picture, its a great shot. I will admit that I was doubtful when the role was announced but I think that he looks great in this picture.
GrimtuesdayQuote Reply
I was never worried about this casting, since I’m American and had never heard of Robson & Jerome, but I am happy with this pic. A nice gritty action shot, a badass Bronn, and an effective shutter-up of the worrywarts. :)
SteveThePirate2Quote Reply
The costume looks great, I like his dirty looks. But the best thing about this picture are his teeth*no sarcasm*. :)..lol
LibelleQuote Reply
He looks perfect to me…hoping for a Jamie pic next
Coltaine777Quote Reply
Great picture the costuming makes it really look authentic. Spring is coming!!!
CaesarSnowQuote Reply
If they released a pic of a character in this series every week day we’d have over three months of stuff to discuss. One can hope right? :)
dizzy_34Quote Reply
Wow, looks great. I also was a little doubtful of the casting decision for this character but this is the set photo (either leaked or official) that I think I’m most happy with so far.
GrinbombQuote Reply
dizzy_34,
Same idea poped up in my mind-
It would be great.
As you put it: one can hope…
The RabbitQuote Reply
Love it! I am now officially over my disappointment of not having Dominic West in this role. Great photo!
Derek SharpQuote Reply
I realise, could this be the death of Chiggen? Althought not “seen”, Tyrion later recalls how Bronn finishes him, after taking an arrow wound, with a knife behind the ear. Saying that, he looks rather happy about it, and the victim less than thrilled/still struggling, so perhaps not…
MurfQuote Reply
OldGran,
I honestly think this is Jim (the man behind the @GameofThrones Twitter account) illustrating to fans that he’s read the books.
Bronn’s one of my favorite characters, and I’m happy with this photo. Not how I imagined him, but HBO’s take is fine by me. There are sure to be more “not how I imagined” moments as we get closer to air.
paulgudeQuote Reply
He looks nothing like I pictured Bronn in my head, but…he looks outrageously awesome! Even though is physical appearance doesn’t jive with the way I see him, its is blantantly obvious from just one single shot that Flyyn has the character nailed down. Calm, in his element and what;s more, enjoying his work! That says Bronn to me.
Lord Ned’s HeadQuote Reply
My picture of Broon has just changed.
FassadQuote Reply
wow he looks amazing. The one thing I really liked about this casting was that you could see him as the Bronn in book 3. Anyone can pull off a dirty sell-sword, but the scheming and calculating Bronn will take some depth and this actor looks like he can pull it off.
TheReaderQuote Reply
Costume-naysayers, eat your hearts out :P
DomQuote Reply
Wow what an awesome picture.. It really looks epic to me =)
And his costume looks so real and…. uhh well beautiful, though that might not be the correct word to put it, but I’m sure you guys will get my point ;)
LiesieQuote Reply
The costume department is doing an absolutely fantastic job.
VohdreQuote Reply
As for many others who had scant knowledge of Jerome Flynn, his first portrait when cast did not shout crafty badass sellsword. But this pic shows the he is, well, I fear I must say it, he is in like Flynn…
(sorry, so sorry, just had to write it)
TPFKA Thoros of MyrQuote Reply
Well he sure looks the part. Still gotta wonder why he looks so much older than Ser Vardis, but I’ll live if his sole advantage in Tyrion’s trial by combat is not wearing full plate.
P.S. Lot of fuckin’ spoilers up in this bitch o_O
GaRQuote Reply
Hahaha! Bronn looks rad! I barely even recognize Flynn, which was one of the stranger bits of casting IMO.
This is a great photo, and an interesting choice for HBO. Maybe they wanted to put some of the Bronn-worry to rest.
LexQuote Reply
Bronn strikes me as the Boba Fett of Westeros. He’s not really a major character in the series, but he’s developed a sort of cult fan following.
izakmoQuote Reply
The casting of Flynn could just be similar to that stroke of pure genius that was the casting of Lovejoy as Swearengen (Deadwood). For those that don’t know, Lovejoy was a warm soft cuddly Sunday evening type BBC production, with Ian McShane in the title role as an anodine antique dealer with about as much presence and danger as a puddle.
How he morphed into the dark brooding manipulating – and of course swearing – Swearengen, I’ll never know, but McShane has never looked back since.
Just maybe, Flynn will be the same.
Martin
MartinQuote Reply
Not how i imagined him… I do not know why but i thought that Bronn had darker hair…
IkertzekeQuote Reply
I think he looks awesome here! About his hair – at least its darker. His natural hair color is a light blonde.
I was both puzzled and exited about his casting. The fact that he seemed such an unlikely choice, seems to point towards Nina and D&D casting him despite of some things, and that should mean he just did a bang up job in his audition!
sjweningsQuote Reply
Awesome!
the goatQuote Reply
Badass photo, and I mean really badass. It seems HBO is trying to silence some critics? I don’t know if that’s gonna work, it’s only one photo. His acting can still suck, although I personally don’t believe that.
KnurkQuote Reply
dizzy_34,
Easily one of my favorite supporting characters. Bronn is a bad ass.
CalvinQuote Reply
This just looks incredible, and so close to my mental image to boot.
ZackQuote Reply
Lex,
Agree, that pic is not of Flynn, it is Bronn come to life. They must have pulled him from the pages. Kudos to the makeup and costuming departments, keep it coming.
TysnowQuote Reply
One thing I never quite get about casting discussions is why fans don’t want talented actors above all. The Ian McShane observation is an excellent illustration why. He was completely sold in a role and then he was completely different in another role.
Actors act and become a character and change by the role.
I am not objecting to fans not liking a casting or not understanding or agreeing, I just always think a gifted actor first, and a type or look second.
Larry D CurtisQuote Reply
Larry D Curtis,
I think a huge part of it is that the acting skills are frequently an unknown factor. When it’s someone who’s never had a major role in anything before (or never had a role in film at all before in some cases) we have to either trust HBO or not: there’s nothing to be said either way, acting-wise. Even when it’s a reasonably established actor, they’re still not usually big enough for most of us to be familiar with them. So even though looks and types are probably secondary for most of us, that’s what we end up talking about.
DemokritosQuote Reply
Larry D Curtis,
I agree completely. If a strong actor is playing the role, then the character will come. And it will be worth it.
Would you rather have a bad actor that looks the part or a great actor that doesn’t look quite how you imagined him or her looking?
SimoneQuote Reply
Larry,
I see you can’t quite get something…. I say let sleeping dogs lie.
The show looks amazing, and the eggplants that write comments and reactions on the show might as well dance, for all it’s worth. You should try it. Dancing. It would do you a lot of good.
Nobody puts Baby in a corner
mcgrampsQuote Reply
Fail
JohnQuote Reply
He looks like he’s Bronning out pretty hard in this picture.
SockMonkehQuote Reply
Probably the initial response to the actor was of perplexity because indeed he is described differently in the book. I don’t think this is his first appearance, but
Also, it was fun to read that
because I was thinking that Bronn is in some ways the Han Solo of Westeros. Thus fan drawings and even professional illustrators tend to go the Han Solo way, and that might have influenced us.
To me it makes even more sense if Vardis is younger and Bronn is the scruffy seasoned sellsword. More surprise when Bronn defeats him.
All in all I like the actor and the pic. Notice that his armour is damaged right in the center of his chest, as though he has already experienced a near-miss by some axe-wielding adversary.
Blackfish BluesQuote Reply
This was the only bit of casting I wasn’t sure about – Flynn’s blondy hair and cheesy grin went totally against how I pictured Bronn.
This pic has shown me why I don’t work in casting. Looks awesome!
JDPQuote Reply
Demokritos -
What you said is exactly right. We can’t engage in a real discussion about acting chops so we do discuss what we can all discuss: visuals.
Excellently said.
Larry D CurtisQuote Reply
My fav supporting character as well.
I also imagined him as a dark haired raven looking guy, ironic and ferocious at the same time.
Flynn looks good enough here though :)
Really hope there will be plenty of Tyrion/Bronn scenes…
Christian DelboveQuote Reply
Cool shot, “Bronn” looks as i remind him: A good mix of badass and smart like a fox. No dumb sword-swinging warrior.
I really wonder about the huge amount of people, ranting about the cast. There are dozends of incredible good actors found for GoT. Maybe it is a good idea to be patient and be a little more trustfull with cast and crew.
Beg your pardon, according to my english language abillities.
regards
Marc (reading the books for the fourth time at the moment)
MarcQuote Reply
I was one of the very disturbed brigade when the announcement came out. I wouldn’t have recongised him in this photo. He looks like a BAMF! We already know he can do comedic quite well, so lets hope he can get the black-humour across. This is the best bit of Bronn in my mind. I’m not a full convert but I’m getting there and he may win me over. Not bad for one photo!
dimensionallyTQuote Reply
I think this picture is from the mountains. As such, Ser Vardis could still look a good deal older than our Bronn does. I always imagined Vardis to be in his 50′s, while Bronn here could pass for late-30′s to 40′s.
OhDanyBoyQuote Reply
I’m unimpressed.
Does he look like a sellsword? Sure. It’s the proper costume and he looks dirty. I’m fine with him as a badass.
Does he look like Bronn? Not in my book.
world_dancerQuote Reply
Our first action shot from the show and it is epic!! It communicates so many things about the quality of the production.. I was never worried about (any) casting, and at the same time this exceeds my expectations. Kudos to makeup, costuming, and of course The Flynn!
I also agree with the Boba Fett comparison for Bronn.. sardonic, patient, and ready to strike at moments of opportunity. How amazing that instead of 1 or 2 movie’s worth of character development, we will see hours.. and hopefully seasons.. of action and intrigue with Bronn. As well as all the amazing characters GRRM has created.
BradQuote Reply
Maybe you are not aware that Vardis has already been cast? The role went to Brendan McCormack. Thus some people expressing surprise at his young age vs Bronn’s.
Also, WiC,
considering the nature of most comments on here, I think a second “exponential badassery” tag is in order :)
Love this shot. But I must admit I’m getting impatient… where are those majors characters we haven’t seen yet? Jaime? Drogo? give me some eye candy :)
NymeriaQuote Reply
Like so many other folks – this doesn’t match *my* mental image of Bronn, but he certainly matches my mental image of “badass” and totally works. May there be more to come.
BlueCanaryQuote Reply
I was aware – with just a little grey in his hair he could easily be in his fifties, or pass for it – he has the rugged look of a veteran knight, which is exactly as he is supposed to look, from what I got in the books.
OhDanyBoyQuote Reply
Wow!!! To the professional casting critics i ask…What would have made you happy in the casting of Bronn??? Is his hair not quite dark enough??? Keep in mind, the sun is behind him in the picture. I think they did a fantastic job with him. Martin isn’t overly specific when it comes to physical descriptions for most characters so no one will fit perfectly with what we had imagined the characters to look like. It’s capturing the personality of the characters thats most important.
JJtheCrowQuote Reply
I totally concur!
For me, the picture has a somewhat magnetic quality because of Bronn’s expression, which baffled me with Mona-Lisa-esque ambiguity. Is he angry, in pain, triumphant, worried? Ehrm, no, that’s not quite right.
Then I read Lord Ned’s Head’s comment, there, and it transformed the picture for me. This is a man in his element. He knows his job, that much is obvious. But beyond that, he is enjoying himself immensely. The expression on his face is sublime.
McKeeQuote Reply
This is great! I can’t wait to see more.
I agree with that!
bastetQuote Reply
LOL. See, this is a perfect example of mindless criticism. You haven’t explained, in any way, why he doesn’t look like Bronn.
LexQuote Reply
I didn’t realise until now that Bronn was meant to be dark – I’ve always imagined him as being fair – so this picture is really very similar to my mental picture of him. So yay for that! Looking at Flynn’s picture before it’s hard to imagine him emoting like this – but I did see a few eps of Soldier Soldier ( I think that’s what it was called) years and years ago, and I thought he was a good actor at the time.
SilverjaimeQuote Reply
Hey all, new tweet from Game Of Thrones: Good Morning! Let’s start the day with some #GameofThrones trivia. What is the correct order of the Stark children, oldest to youngest?
The last time they asked us questions, we got the awesome picture of Bronn. So, let us hope…
John EngedalQuote Reply
John Engedal,
Robb, Sansa, Arya, Bran and Rickon, Jon doesn’t count (he even says as much at the finding pups scene) because he is a Snow (bastard) if you want to add the older generation it would be Brandon, Ned, Lyanna and Benjen.
TysnowQuote Reply
I always pictured Bronn as dark, though not as brooding or (outside of battle) very intense. The most important thing about the character is his relationship with Tyrion, followed by his humor. His coloration is a minor point. But Flynn seens to have inhabited the character rather well in this photo.
D&D could well play up the handsome, young, virile Ser Vardis as a new, emerging protagonist in the scenes he has, which will be more than he had in the books. This ought to make Bronn’s victory over him that much more striking; remember we’ll probably be seeing their combat play out with no POV from either Catelyn nor Tyrion to make us root for one or the other.
If you stop to think about it, this is very Martinesque, turning the expectations of the audience on their heads. It could even be a presaging of the shocking events that will be transpiring later on Baelor’s Steps.
Maester TcostQuote Reply
Awesome picture :D
Damryn of DorneQuote Reply
Damryn of Dorne,
This is pretty much what I pictured Bronn as, a capable badass, with limited morals and an abundance of asskickery skills :) can’t wait until Spring :)
Damryn of DorneQuote Reply
I had hoped for James Purefoy for this role. Flynn looks nothing like I pictured Bronn.
NicoQuote Reply
Same, Bronn will always be Purefoy in my head.
Still, I’m going to give HBO a chance even though what I’ve seen so far doesn’t impress me. Stupid armour/costume decisions, excessive ‘dung aging’, etc.
RogerQuote Reply
FAIL. I was wrong, I opened the high-resolution pic and understood that what I thought was damage was in fact a shadow. However I’m still impressed by the level of detail in the armour.
Yes, this particular pic is from the mountains, I did not mean that this was the actual Bronn-Vardis scene. Although right now it would be great to get some pics from the Eyrie!
Blackfish BluesQuote Reply
Dunno, Bronn was always like THIS in my head, all rugged and worn-out and yet totally awesome sellsword. This is it for me; sometimes I tend to ignore evene Martin’s description, they (the characters) just pop in my head and it’s hard to kick them out, although I’m sure it’ll change after I see them on screen.
m4st4Quote Reply
Now if the next picture release shows Lena Headey as the arrogant ice Queen she should be (really affraid she can’t pull that off, based on images I’ve seen so far), all my casting worries will lie in the past…
KelsierQuote Reply
Kelsier,
Never saw Cersei as an Ice Queen, she may think she is i her own POV but I think she comes accross as somewhat petulant and spoiled, barely keeping her emotions below the surface.
If they can pull that off (the tonal shifts depending on who sees the Character) that would be amazing but if they do start with an Ice queen I want to see the cracks appearing ASAP!
PaulQuote Reply
On a different note, after looking at http://jeromeflynn.com/index.php (worth noting? ) and discovering that both Jerome Flynn and Peter Dinklage are vegetarians, one bemused corner of the brain wonders when we will get the Tyrion/Bronn dialogues on salads, tofu and the joy of rutabaga?*s*
TPFKA Thoros of MyrQuote Reply
Even though he’s not my mental image of Bronn, this picture is awesome and I am not disappointed at all. More importantly is how much different everything looks when we see an officially released photo, compared to the behind the scenes footage and leaked set photos. His costume looks amazing, and the detail really pops off… we don’t get this from the behind-the-scenes clips we’ve gotten or the leaked set photos.
When we actually see the show, I think the sets that we’ve seen and the costumes we’ve seen are going to look so much better that it will be hard to recognize them at times.
ChrisQuote Reply
Blackfish Blues,
I’ve said that Bronn reminds me of what Han Solo would be like if actually were who he professes to be.
As far as the Boba Fett of Westeros, I always thought of Jaqen H’gar as filling that role.
paulgudeQuote Reply
Yeah, ‘ice’ might not have been correct there. But whatever she is, ‘ice’ or ‘drama’ queen or anything in between, she definitely will have to look arrogant for most of the time. (or is that a wrong picture I have of Cersei in my mind?) What I meant with my comment is that Lena Headey will have to act it since she doesn’t have a naturally hautain face. And I think that’s one expression that is not easy to make look natural. But yeah, that’s what actors and actresses are for I guess ;-)
KelsierQuote Reply
paulgude,
good thought. Indeed Han’s and Bronn’s personalities are quite different. However, they both have tongue-in-cheek humour and end up marrying above their station. :D
Jaqen=Boba is a good comparison too, although I hope there’s no Sarlacc waiting for him.
Star Wars comparisons might take us to very dangerous places…
Blackfish BluesQuote Reply
My thoughts exactly. This makes me really hopeful and excited.
Hear Me RoarQuote Reply
I’ve always considered Bronn more of a Bossk than a Boba.
“No disintegrations.”
“As you wish.”
Although I reserve the right to change my opinion if Sam Jackson shows up in Dance and cuts Bronn’s head off.
Here’s some great Bronn:
(from aCoK, so its slightly spoilery)
In the chilly white raiment of the Kingsguard, Ser Mandon Moore looked like a corpse in a shroud. “Her Grace left orders, the council in session is not to be disturbed.”
“I would only be a small disturbance, ser.” Tyrion slid the parchment from his sleeve. “I bear a letter from my father, Lord Tywin, (Spoilers omitted). There is his seal.”
Jaime once told him that Moore was the most dangerous of the Kingsguard – excepting himself, always – because his face gave no hint of what he might do next. Tyrion would have welcomed a hint. Bronn and Timmett could likely kill the knight if it came to swords, but it would scarcely bode well if he began by slaying one of (the King’s) protectors. Yet if he let the man turn him away, where was his authority? He made himself smile. “Ser Mandon, you have not met my companions. This is Timmett son of Timmett, a red hand of the Burned Men. And this is Bronn. Perchance you recall Ser Vardis Egen, who was captain of Lord Arryn’s household guard?”
“I know the man.” Ser Mandon’s eyes were pale grey, oddly flat and lifeless.
“Knew,” Bronn corrected with a thin smile.
the goatQuote Reply
OK, I’m sold. Sam Jackson as the Blackfish. :D
Blackfish BluesQuote Reply