Actor Steven Cole has just tweeted that he has joined the cast of Game of Thrones as… Kovarro? We have been monitoring Cole’s Twitter feed for a little while, as he had been dropping hints before this, but this was the first out-and-out confirmation from him and also the first mention of what role he will be playing.
Steven Cole is an actor and model, best known for his role as Leo Johnson in the British soap Brookside. I really have no idea who Kovarro is, but based on Cole being in Dubrovnik and the fact that he’s been taking a lot of horseback riding lessons lately, I’m going to assume that Kovarro is a Dothraki character. As to what role he will play in the story? Your guess is as good as mine.
Winter Is Coming: And my guess is that Kovarro may be taking the role of Rakharo. Elyes Gabel was cast in the big-budget film World War Z, which is reportedly filming now, so I’m guessing he won’t be returning for season two. Rather than recast the role, the producers may have decided to write out Rakharo and bring in Kovarro as Dany’s primary, named bloodrider. That’s my guess anyway. I’ll see if I can get any sort of official confirmation of both his casting and his role in the story (although I wouldn’t count on the latter). In any case, welcome to the cast Steven!
Loading ...
90 Comments
i approve wholeheartedly of this casting lol. Tho, I hope Rakharo is still around. I enjoyed his scenes with Jorah.
PacoQuote Reply
First Jhogo, then Rakharo, now Kavarro? That primary bloodrider role just keeps moving along. Not that its too important, he just needs to look good, ride a horse well, and seem menacing.
Ryan EQuote Reply
Winter, that makes a lot of sense. In later seasons, Rakharo could be back if need be.
SugarVampireQuote Reply
I can’t wait for Kovarrogate. Wait, what am I saying? I hate gates.
Cole has a good Dothraki-esque look to him and I for one welcome him to the cast.
Josh ParkerQuote Reply
Yeah, that was my first thought too.
And I am not too happy about Gabel leaving eventually.
But in any case: Welcome to the family Steven!
The RabbitQuote Reply
:(
I liked Elyes Gabel a lot.
I’m sure this guy will do a good job. But I will miss Rakharo.
ZackQuote Reply
Gabel was really good as Rakharo; I’d hate to lose him. It’d be a deal worse than losing Conan, tbh.
GaRQuote Reply
ARE YOU KIDDING ME
I mean the casting is fine but the ELYES GABEL NOT JOINING SEASON 2 PART?!?
FFFFFFFFUUUUU-
jellydonutQuote Reply
Hmm .. to bad if true, I liked Gabel a lot. But I see sense in it. Cole is the Rakharro type, definitely. Hope they find a good way to switch them in the story :) definitely beats recasting! Also cool what Ran is saying, that Kovarro is like Quaro, a Dothraki guard that actually exists in the books.
Hear Me RoarQuote Reply
Makes sense to me. Besides the handmaids GRRM never really makes any of the Dothraki or Bloodriders stand out as characters to not be interchangable. Past book one I should say.
dizzy_34Quote Reply
could he be the dothraki that is with the bloody companions?
i remember there being one with Vergo Hurgo?
Nimble DickQuote Reply
Nimble Dick,
Was that the case, I doubt he’d be in Dubrovnik.
PepiQuote Reply
He could also be a replacement for Mago? That was my first guess anyway.
It’d be a pity if Gabel left the show.
ANHQuote Reply
Mago doesn’t need replacing. Not for a good long while, anyway.
Nimble Dick,
The Bloody Mummer Dothraki was a fatty, I think.
GaRQuote Reply
…and the re-casting has truly begun.
First Conan, now Elyes… I’m sad. :(
LexQuote Reply
Nimble Dick,
:) sorry, but Vergo Hurgo is just so funny :) you made my evening. LOL
Hear Me RoarQuote Reply
Ko Kovarro? Sounds like a chocolate brand.
Erik SjöströmQuote Reply
Oh noes! i liked Elyes Gabel :(((((
SuzanneQuote Reply
Is there any chance that Gabel has worked out some crazy schedule where he can still appear as Rakharo and be in World War Z? If so, I’m wondering if “Kovarro” might not be introduced and prepped to essentially take on whatever significant role Mago is meant to play in Book 6. You know, the one that GRRM told Weiss and Benioff would severely complicate their choice to kill him off.
Towers RiceQuote Reply
On one hand – all the bloodriders and Dothraki in general are interchangeable, on the other hand – Elyes Gabel was really good as Rakharo and it sucks if he’s out.
BTW, everything I hear and read about the WWZ adaptation sounds pretty bad.
Alexander DubrovskyQuote Reply
Alexander Dubrovsky,
Having read WWZ and loved it I am really saddened by what I have read as to how the film will play out. The only link to the book is the title and zombies.
Should have guessed as soon as the cast someone like Pitt I suppose.
PhilQuote Reply
This book should’ve been adapted as a mini-series on HBO or something like that. While it looks like they will keep some parts, the final product will indeed resemble the book in title only.
I love this book, just finished re-reading it yesterday.
Alexander DubrovskyQuote Reply
At the beginning of book 2, Dany sends her bloodriders out scouting. They could show the back of his head (stunt double) as he goes off, and just say he was lost in the desert trying to find Qarth, maybe taken prisoner or slave somewhere, and then Dany frees him after she finds him in the fighting pits in Meereen.
spacechampionQuote Reply
Well, that’s disappointing. I thought Gabel did a fine job in a smallish role. He was a good fit for the role. It seemed like he had a good on-screen chemistry with both Iain Glenn and Emilia Clarke.
Ah, well. I suppose we should get used to this sort of thing. A multi-year series can’t expect to keep all of its actors. We just have to hope that the main actors remain hale and hearty and contracted.
LangkardQuote Reply
I really liked Rakharo, his interaction with Jorah and, particularly, Irri was great. If he does have to be written out I hope some mention is made of it rather than the character just disappearing he could be killed off in place of Doreah, who I wouldn’t be surprised to see survive.
Cole has a good look for a bloodrider though so let’s hope he becomes just as well liked as Gabel.
ShinyteapotQuote Reply
Another sad part if Elyes Gabel is gone is that he was one of the better of the actors at pronouncing the Dothraki language.
Some tweets from David Peterson:
“M’athchomaroon, zhey @StevenCole_ ! Welcome to #GoT. :) Hope you enjoy sinking your teeth into Dothraki.”
“The writers came up with the name based on the info I included about creating names in Dothraki.”
From Brian Cogman: Tis true. It means “to be standing up” #GameofThrones
This also serves as a conformation of sorts that the Dothraki language will still be seen to some extent in season two (this was always assumed but it seemed like they might have been setting things up to have the handmaids and bloodriders speak english so we weren’t sure.)
Ingemar SvenssonQuote Reply
Wow yet another African looking character, and those that said the casting is not PC! Are we up to three this season, where last season we had what? A few extras. The producers are really buckeling to pressure
New StarkQuote Reply
Think the tweet has been deleted? I can’t see it anyway….
Gytha OggQuote Reply
Pitt has made major changes to WWZ…too bad….it is great as is…
coltaine777Quote Reply
what´s wrong with GoT? is not a big show? Why the actors run out to other “big” shows? I don´t quite understand.
I liked Rakharo :(… although it´s true that this actor has a similar look so, welcome to you Kovarro (really sounds like a chocolate).
Knurk: with this news you will be forced to treasure that scene you liked so much.
andreaQuote Reply
andrea,
Because actors who play small roles probably don’t have a multi-year contract and don’t get paid as much as the stars of the show. Everyone has to pay the bills somehow …
Alexander DubrovskyQuote Reply
Could be a Brave Compainion, they had dothraki.
Kevin ReadingerQuote Reply
At least they are signing newcomers for multiple seasons and recasting may not happen again…
Annathema BackstromQuote Reply
Alexander Dubrovsky,
Of course, I know that but I just wonder if they go because they have better roles in other shows … or what. Rakharo is a good role for an unknown actor… this is what I don´t understand.
andreaQuote Reply
andrea,
I guess he got a bigger role on World War Z. Adding a participation in big Hollywood production to ones resume is a good thing, I guess.
Alexander DubrovskyQuote Reply
Alexander Dubrovsky,
I know nothing about Worl War Z. Surely you’re right.
andreaQuote Reply
I second this!
metalgoddessambQuote Reply
He looks fine as a Dothraki..but I’ll still hope for Gabel to come back at some point. I think dany needs more than 1 or 2 prominent Dothraki around her.
ObsidianQuote Reply
Hmm. WORLD WAR Z is well into filming and probably not far off finishing. In addition, a large chunk of the film is being made in Glasgow, a hop, skip and jump from Belfast (seriously, on a good day you could probably fly between the two cities for less than £20). It doesn’t look like taking part in WWZ would automatically rule out Gabel from GoT, though it could mean a reduced or changed role (though Jhogo/Rakharo don’t do much in ACoK anyway).
Adam WhiteheadQuote Reply
andrea,
Ok, I’m not going to count out Rakharro/Gabel just yet, this is pure speculation on our part. Yes, Gabel is in World War Z, but who know how much filming he needs to do. It can be done in 2 weeks for all we know.
We know Dany needs some more Dothraki around her to make the audience clear that she actually has some followers/bloodriders now. And I know we’re a bit heated up now that the Mountain has been recast, but are there any other signs besides our speculation that Rakharro is out for the season? I think the Dothraki scenes are yet to be filmed (? I’m not up to date on the filming reports).
If it does happen to be true it’ll be a big loss for me (my guess is 99% of the audience doesn’t know who the heck Rakharro is or wouldn’t recognise him), he and Amrita were f*ing great together. Good news would be I don’t have to be jealous when Gabel is flirting on the screen with Amrita.
Oh, and of course welcome to the cast Steven! Seems like a good addition, hope you have a blast.
KnurkQuote Reply
That’s it, I’m done with this show
davebQuote Reply
Knurk,
Caramba … I see, you just loooooove Amrita, well, no worries for you then, you can keep drooling.
I was saying because every time there is a speculation here, proves to be true. But you´re right, we don´t know yet.
andreaQuote Reply
andrea,
I really appreciate the speculation this site brings, but a lot of the commenters automatically assume WiC’s speculation is news instead of speculation. I know a lot of the speculation is true, and I know this site threads carefully because they don’t want to be reporting false news. So maybe WiC has a little bird whispering some more news but can’t tell us more?
Until then, I’m benching the ‘Rakharro is out’ speculation and I’m playing ‘Rakharro can’t be the only Dothraki dude, so Kovarro is an addition’ speculation.
I must admit that I have bad memories with a silly ‘rumour by blowjob’ that a main actor from True Blood would have a guest role in season 1. The rumour had absolutely no grounds yet the commenters here we’re all going crazy on who he would be playing.
(And yes I love Amrita, but her character will definately lose some charm without her ‘connection’ with Rakharro, who’s she going to yell to now to kill some dog for the Kaleesi?)
KnurkQuote Reply
Adam Whitehead,
Good to know. My bet, as I said earlier (and I know it’s a longshot), is that the character of Kovarro will be introduced in season 2 for the purpose of taking on whatever ostensibly large role Mago is going to play in the books, but can’t in later seasons of the show since they killed him off.
Towers RiceQuote Reply
That’s what I thought and so I got carried away I guess.
It´s true this speculation is not entirely exclusive (in this case)… of course we should have more than two dothraki warriors in season 2.
andreaQuote Reply
Or shrug her shoulders to Rakharo when she can not understand why Danny forgives her brother… (that was funny to me).
andreaQuote Reply
andrea,
Ah, almost forgot about that one, it’s time for a blu-ray release to rewatch everything. It’s really cool that a lot of the ‘small’ roles in this show still have a good few memorable scenes and aren’t just backgroundfiller (a lot of good tv-shows have these kind of roles, I remember fondly the Bada Bing bartender).
(Now that we’ve shortly hijacked the thread: are you walking again?)
KnurkQuote Reply
:) hijacked ? Bada Bing? jijijii
No, and it seems I’ll have to wait a little longer for that. The surgeon has to remove stitches from the wound next week. We´ll see.
andreaQuote Reply
Zack,
So will Irri and Jhiqui lol
KGQuote Reply
Kovarro is the secret love child of Lyanna and Drogo’s father. He’ll appear in GRRM’s next book; but was moved up in the timeline to Season 2 of the series because D&D needed another reason not to have the Blackfish in the show.
LangkardQuote Reply
Nooo I loved Elyes Gabel! Loved the chemistry with him and Amrita Acharia (Irri)
MoeQuote Reply
yeah, because only white people makes good actors ¬¬
Thiago SlashQuote Reply
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
I LOVED RAKHARO IN THE SHOW
That actor was awesome (and also very attractive I don’t mind saying)
Maybe they decided they needed 2 primary bloodriders rather than just one? After all someone needs to go riding out to find Quarth in each direction from the ruins… *clings desperately to tiny scrap of hope*
userjQuote Reply
New Stark,
WTF? This actor absolutely fits the casting description for other Dothraki characters given back before season one. Me thinks thou doth protest too much..
userjQuote Reply
this!
andreaQuote Reply
What a beautiful man!
I hope Gabel can return for a potential S3, and we could have double the hot bloodrider goodness.
eleusisQuote Reply
Why not just name him Aggo? why Kovarro
Michael TQuote Reply
I was hoping to see the Handmaids start snarking at each other over which one Rakharro likes best a couple of seasons early… so I’m still crossing my fingers for Elyes to return. Loved the way R & I played off each other.. But Steven is a welcome addition.
ObsidianQuote Reply
Rakharo would be dearly missed. It is known. But welcome Steven Cole!
Tar KidhoQuote Reply
I remember reading about him when he was hinting on Twitter that he’d been cast. All the speculation pointed to the role of Edmure Tully, but I never pictured Edmure having curly hair… A Bloodrider makes more sense.
CallBrogoQuote Reply
Coco-varro…Hehe, nice pun!
I’m going to go with the “more bloodriders theory”, since they need them to go scouting this season.
The Dothraki with Vargo Hoat (Vergo Hurgo, ROFL), is Fat Zollo, also known as Choppy-Choppy…
SidQuote Reply
I hope we get to have both of them around, that’s Cole’s an addition, not a replacement :)
clemintineQuote Reply
clemintine,
Me too :)
Hear Me RoarQuote Reply
Hm. Is every actor I give compliment going to quit the show?
First, I praised Conan Stevens – we’ve got Ian Whyte as Mountain.
Then I called Elyes Gabel the third of the Best Season One Surprises – we probably have Steven Cole as Dany’s bloodrider.
I am afraid of sharing my opinion.
GrzebykKQuote Reply
Or being black surely, especially seeing as he’s Catelyns brother…
you-know-nothingQuote Reply
I think that Cole is going to be a fantastic addition to the cast, i do hope he’s replacing Mago (like others have suggested) as i really liked Rakharo.
But, que sera sera….
you-know-nothingQuote Reply
Nice fish: Welcome Steven Cole! You’re pretty. <3
Cynical fish: I read the title of the post, I opened the comments, sat back comfortably and prepared to watch the thread explode.
I'm perfectly aware that all of this is speculation, that Gabel could be still with us (or return to us) and that sometimes we overanalyze things, hungry as we are for any scrap of info that The Powers That Be deign to drop strategically every now and then to boost publicity and watch us tear each other apart to get at it and gobble it up.
(was that cynical enough? not to mention ungrateful to TPTB for having given us an awesome S1?)
But what drives me up the wall as a philologist is: One of the great abilities of GRRM is creating awesome names. I don't think I'd be half in love with the Blackfish as I am if GRRM had called him "the Black Eagle" or something as glorious. ASOIAF has HUNDREDS of great names, of whom SCORES are Dothraki. Why make up a new one???
(see also Alton & Yara)
I”m beginning to wonder, is there some contract clause? Has GRRM forbidden to use his names in a certain way? But it doesn’t make sense.
I need some help here. I got to the end of ADWD yesterday (yes, I know) and I can’t find how Mago is important in it. Or elsewere. Would someone be so kind as to hand me some spoiler bars? Thanks!
OT: I loved WWZ but I wasn’t aware of the movie. I looked it up on IMDB. I have no big problems with Brad Pitt (none whatsoever with Elyes Gabel!). Bit more worried about changes – what a surprise. I don’t know any of the actresses. However, one actor in particular makes me want to burn my eyes out. My interest for the movie just almost disappeared.
Aye, the Blackfish is in a foul mood this morning.
Blackfish BluesQuote Reply
The tweet was deleted… I wonder why.
CéliaQuote Reply
Blackfish Blues,
Regarding Mago, (SPOILERS for ADWD and TWOW!)GRRM said in an interview that Mago will cause problems for Dany in TWOW, he’ll be a bloodrider to a Khal. It’s assumed this follows on from her meeting up with some Dothraki at the end of ADWD. I don’t see this being an issue for the show if it gets that far- Mago can be replaced with any other Dothraki bloodrider, Dany only needs to comment ‘you were in Drogo’s khalasar’. The chance of getting the same actor much later on would have been minimal anyway.
ShinyteapotQuote Reply
I think the reason Mago is said to be important to the story is that GRRM cited him as an example of how the show differs from the books, and how by changing one small thing in the first season they may have unknowingly made it impossible for future seasons to play out as GRRM intends. (The Butterfly Effect he calls it.)
He used Mago as an example saying, that although he was (awesomely) killed by Drogo in the TV series he is still alive in the books and apparently has an expanded role to play in The Winds of Winter.
Plus, I completely agree about the name changes, GRRM has so many solid, well-formed names it seems ridiculous to create new (less interesting usually) ones.
ChristyboyrebelQuote Reply
Very unlikely.
There is no reason for Mago to be around in Season 2 as he disapears after Book 1 and does not appear again till Book 6. If the Show gets that far they just introduce a new Dothraki then.
Having a Mago who spends 5 seasons with Dany will alter the story far more than him being killed in Season 1 would do.
MormegilQuote Reply
Shinyteapot,
Christyboyrebel,
thanks!
Blackfish BluesQuote Reply
Is there any definitive confirmation that Elyes Gabel is out?
Actuall World War Z is being filmed in Hungary, which happens to be a neighbouring country to Croatia (althoug Dubrovnik is pretty much the farthest away city.
I’m saying, that if they really wanted, I guess they could have managed to synchronize the schedules…
FelagundQuote Reply
Really hope Elyes Gabel did not bail – he was a wonderful Rakharo! And his interactions with Irri were spot on! I still remember that scene where he takes out the wineseller with the whip.
All these small part recastings make me sad!
persephone88Quote Reply
Nope. No little bird. You’ll notice where I said “your guess is as good as mine.” So I don’t have any extra info on this one.
All I know is that Elio said there may be other recastings and this would be a clever way of “recasting” the role of Rakharo, without having to actually recast. When you put it together with Elyes Gabel’s current schedule, it seems to make sense.
Winter Is ComingQuote Reply
There is no confirmation at all that Gabel is out. WiC is just speculating. It could be something, it could be nothing at all. Given how small Rakharo’s part is, it’s not impossible for him to do both projects, depending on the precise scheduling. I think freaking out now and/or spreading rumors is silly.
Steven Cole, very easy on the eyes. Never seen him act, but happy to welcome him to the show. :)
Steve the PirateQuote Reply
Welcome, I guess. But why name him Kovarro instead of Aggo?
FlourideQuote Reply
Steve the Pirate, yeah, I guess I should be careful about speculating in the post’s themselves anymore. I thought I made it pretty clear that it was just a pure guess, but many people seem to be taking it as a sure thing. :/
Winter Is ComingQuote Reply
Actually, in a recent interview (I think from Ireland somewhere), Finn Jones mentioned that he had gone to a concert w/ Emilia Clarke and others, so she’s definitely in town and filming Dothraki stuff. Now I suppose if they really wanted Gabel they could film a bunch of scenes with him out of order but perhaps they decided that was just needlessly complicated. Rakharo is in the background of almost all of Dany’s outdoor scenes in S1 so it could be rather difficult…
I just want to add that one of the reasons I really liked the TV adaptation of Dany’s storyline was in fact because the Dothraki were not faceless and interchangable like they were in the books. Instead they focus mostly on Irri and Rakharo so that the two of them have a chance to develop personalities and a relationship. Therefore it’s quite disappointing to see HBO go this direction, even if out of necessity. :(
userjQuote Reply
Winter Is Coming,
I think you were perfectly clear that it was just speculation, but people don’t read too carefully. It’s more fun to spazz out, usually. :)
Steve the PirateQuote Reply
Steve the Pirate, well then those people should really enjoy our next post… ;)
Winter Is ComingQuote Reply
WORLD WAR Z started filming in Malta and is filming right now in London, having apparently completed its Glasgow leg:
http://www.comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=82250
There will be some additional filming next month in Hungary:
http://www.darkhorizons.com/news/20677/-world-war-z-begins-shooting-next-month
Adam WhiteheadQuote Reply
Next up, a mystery Dothraki bloodrider in a mask. Hmmmm, need a name, I know! Zorro :D
Nick LarterQuote Reply
I wouldn’t write off Gabel just yet. Dany had three bloodriders and it always bothered me a bit that only one got a decent role. Plus Gabel doesn’t have a massive role in WWZ, it’s not like he can’t film two projects simultaneously when the roles aren’t big. He managed at least GoT, the Borgias and Psychoville at the same time.
HouseLarkQuote Reply
Steven Cole’s easy on the eyes for sure, but Elyes Gabel is uber cute and his Rakharo has good on-screen chemistry with Dany, Jorah and Irri. I hope the speculation is untrue, and Cole’s an addition rather than substitution. It’s bad enough they changed the Mountain :(
DeeQuote Reply
HBO, stop changing character names! Seriously.
MihaiQuote Reply
Mmm yummy…
Franny BeeQuote Reply
THIS. Oh, this :D
Elena AmiciQuote Reply
its probably a combination of the blood riders now that they have an important role. their is really no reason for their to be three of them.
Mike BowenQuote Reply
This sucks. I liked Eyles Gabel.
PhilQuote Reply
2 Trackbacks