Child actor Michael Nevin cast in “substantial role” on Game of Thrones
By Dan Selcke
There’s more Game of Thrones Season 6 casting news afoot. Michael Nevin, a young actor attending the Belfast School of Performing Arts, has been cast in a “substantial role,” according to an announcement on the school’s Facebook page.
The next step is to determine exactly what the School means by “substantial.” Universal Youth Agency, the organization that represents Nevin, said in a different Facebook post that the young actor will be shooting material for two weeks, which does sound like it could be something sizable. Given his location in Belfast, it seems likely that Nevin will be shooting in the area, but beyond that, it’s hard to make much in the way of educated guesses. Let’s try anyway.
A while back, casting notices for several young actors surfaced, including:
"12 year old boy, with brown hair and blue eyes. He needs to use a Northern accent. He has scenes where he has to spar with a wooden sword.7 year old boy with dark brown hair, a narrow face and green eyes. He also has a Northern accent. He also spars with the wooden sword, so it’s safe to assume it’s the same scene.A large boy, with an actor who is 10-12 but playing 7 or 8. He’s described as “a clever boy” who seems too large for his age. He’s big and tall but not fat."
Although nothing’s set in stone, it’s assumed that these characters are young versions of the Stark kids (and company) who will figure into a flashback/weirwood vision at some point in Season 6. The large boy is assumed to be a young Hodor, before an accident drastically reduced his vocabulary. The other two boys are likely a young Ned Stark and his brother, either Brandon or Benjen. Reportedly, young Ned Stark has already been cast, but perhaps Nevin is playing Benjen, Ned’s younger brother?
There are other reports that say that the flashback involving the young Starks has already been shot, so Nevin may be playing someone entirely different. Until things are firmed up, it’s basically open season on Nevin as we enter the dark maw that lies beyond the limits of the books, where our guesses mean little.